Search

Nurturing a low-carbon residential building stock requires businesses to create new solutions for markets. Wood material-based retrofits would be one solution but have remained rare in the urban context. Our study explores the structure and dynamics of an emerging business ecosystem (BE) of wooden retrofits in Finland. We study wooden retrofit projects, from the perspective of the initial steps of local-level development. By applying the concepts of BE and dynamic capabilities, we aim to shed light on the role of actors and their early-stage decision-making and use actor mapping and qualitative analysis of 27 thematic interviews with retrofit businesses and municipal actors. Results show that project initiation has relied on individual champions seizing opportunities as a main base in building dynamic capabilities. Builders and customers are key actors of wooden retrofit projects in local BEs in Finland. The identified actors are further involved with future plans for wooden retrofits, some with ambitious deep renovation with wood. Motivations for projects are driven from urban densification strategies, improvement of suburban neighborhood attractiveness and from the efficiency of space utilization. Results further elaborate a certain degree of difficulty in the early-stage decision-making. This study contributes to the scientific knowledge of both the BE and the dynamic capability perspective by exploring a path to material-driven sustainable construction in the Finnish context. We provide new information on this emerging retrofit construction business with potentially significant international implications if scaled up more widely.

Few studies have investigated the processes and strategic interactions among the Wooden Multistory Construction (WMC) industry actors, its customers, and local policymakers. Further insights into this field are needed for a sustainability transition in the construction sector. This study aims to explain WMC’s corporate sustainability strategies for co-creation with customers and municipalities. This was based on interviews with key informants in the sector and WMC actors using three case studies in Sweden. Our interviews focused on business processes, interactions with users and municipalities, sustainability, and innovation in the WMC market. The findings reflect the notion of a slow transition in the Swedish WMC market toward using more wood as a bearing structure, which is supported by the competitive advantages and climate performance of wood. The three case studies indicated that the corporate focus is currently placed on incremental improvements in operations, price competitiveness, and successful project management. However, in contexts where wood construction is seen as a unique advantage, collaborations between the construction industry and end users have developed and served as novel platforms for WMC market development. The study concludes that WMCl growth hinges on the industry’s housing offerings prioritizing quality, affordability, and swift construction.

Abstract Background . Decreased work ability due to mental disorders is a growing concern in Europe. We studied the role of work-family conflicts in association with long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders (LTSA-MD). Methods . Baseline data were extracted from the Helsinki Health Study for women aged 40 to 55 in full-time work in 2001 − 2002 (N = 2386). Questionnaire responses were linked with register data from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland on SA spells due to mental disorders during 2004–2010. We studied an overall question on satisfaction with combining work and family (WFS) and composite scores of work-to-family conflicts (WTFC) and family-to-work-conflicts (FTWC), and their components in association with the first certified SA spell (≥ 12 calendar days) due to a mental disorder during the follow-up. We performed Cox regression analyses with hazard ratios (HR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for sociodemographic factors, work schedule, perceived mental and physical strenuousness at work, and self-rated health. First, we examined all participants, and second, only those who reported no prior mental disorder. Results . Poor work-family satisfaction (WFS) was associated with subsequent LTSA-MD, adjusting for all covariates (HR 1.60; 95% CI 1.10–2.16). Both high WTFC (1.64; 1.15–2.23), and high FTWC (1.43; 1.02–2.00) increased the probability of LTSA-MD in the full model. When participants with prior mental disorder were excluded, the association between poor WFS and WTFC with LTSA-MD retained while that between FTWC and LTSA-MD attenuated; however, two items of the FTWC were still associated with LTSA-MD: ‘Family worries and problems distract you from your work’ and ‘Family matters prevent you from sleeping enough to do your job well’. Of the WTFC items, the following remained associated with LTSA-MD: ‘Problems at work make you irritable at home’ and ‘Your job takes so much energy you do not feel up to doing things that need attention at home’. The experience of decreased time for work or family did not associate with LTSA-MD. Conclusions . Among female municipal employees, dissatisfaction with combining work and family and both work-to-family and family-to-work conflicts were associated with subsequent long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders.

Climate change places great pressure on the construction sector to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions and to create solutions that perform well in changing weather conditions. Our study explores citizen perceptions on wood usage as a building material under expected mitigation and adaptation measures aimed at a changing climate and extreme weather events. The data are founded on an internet-based survey material collected from a consumer panel from Finland and Sweden during May-June 2021, with a total of 2015 responses. By employing exploratory factor analysis, we identified similar belief structures for the two countries, consisting of both positive and negative views on wood construction. In linear regression models for predicting these beliefs, the perceived seriousness of climate change was found to increase positive views on wood construction but was insignificant for negative views. Both in Finland and Sweden, higher familiarity with wooden multistory construction was found to connect with more positive views on the potential of wood in building, e.g., due to carbon storage and material properties. Our findings underline the potential of wood material use as one avenue of climate change adaptation in the built environment. Future research should study how citizens' concerns for extreme weather events affect their future material preferences in their everyday living environments, also beyond the Nordic region. Key words: climate change adaptation, wood, residential building, extreme weather, citizen data Les changements climatiques exercent une forte pression sur le secteur de la construction pour l'inciter a reduire ses emissions de gaz a effet de serre et creer des solutions performantes dans des conditions meteorologiques changeantes. Notre etude se penche sur les perceptions des citoyens en ce qui a trait a l'utilisation du bois comme materiau de construction dans le cadre des mesures d'attenuation et d'adaptation prevues pour faire face aux changements climatiques et aux evenements meteorologiques extre mes. Les donnees sont fondees sur une enquete en ligne menee aupres d'un panel de consommateurs finlandais et suedois en mai et juin 2021. Nous avons recu un total de 2015 reponses. En utilisant une analyse factorielle exploratoire, nous avons identifie des structures de perceptions similaires pour les deux pays, consistant en des opinions positives et negatives sur la construction en bois. Dans les modeles de regression lineaire permettant de predire ces perceptions, on a constate que la gravite percue des changements climatiques augmentait les opinions positives sur la construction en bois, mais n'etait pas significative pour les opinions negatives. En Finlande et en Suede, on a constate qu'une plus grande familiarite avec la construction en bois a plusieurs etages etait liee a des opinions plus positives sur le potentiel du bois dans la construction, par exemple, en raison du stockage du carbone et des proprietes du materiau. Nos resultats soulignent le potentiel de l'utilisation du bois en tant que moyen d'adaptation aux changements climatiques dans l'environnement bati. Les recherches a venir devraient etudier comment les preoccupations des citoyens concernant les evenements climatiques extremes influencent leurs preferences futures en matiere de materiaux dans leur environnement de vie quotidien, et aussi au-dela de la region nordique. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : adaptation aux changements climatiques, bois, batiment residentiel, conditions meteorologiques extremes, donnees citoyennes, 1. Introduction Increasing awareness of climate change since the launch of the IPCC (2018) Global Warming of 1.5 [degrees]C special report has set great pressure to the aim of rapidly [...]

This study aimed to investigate Finnish primary school teachers' experiences of the three-tiered support system, which was launched in 2010-2011 with the goal of promoting the inclusive approach in Finnish compulsory school. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight teachers in Finland, and the analysis was based on a thematic analytical approach. Results show that the teachers experienced having a central role in providing continuous support to pupils with different learning disabilities within the support system. Generally, they had a positive assessment of the system, which they saw as a natural part of their regular job. Nevertheless, they expressed facing challenges, such as the extended documentation and too little time for supporting all pupils in the class. The support from colleagues (i.e. special education teachers) was seen as very important, although their experience of consultation time was limited. Regarding the teachers' competences in handling the system, it was evident they had developed relevant skills by collaborating with the special education teacher and by being active themselves. Despite the challenges, the results show that Finnish primary teachers experienced the support system as a possible and practicable way of supporting pupils with learning disabilities.

Interaction between actors in sustainability transition is fundamental for generating knowledge about what constitutes a just, equitable and sustainable society. This paper focuses on the Finnish housing and construction sector as a socio-technical system, which currently accounts for about 40% of energy consumption and 35% of greenhouse gas emissions. A qualitative interview study with 18 organizations and a larger network study involving 35 actors were conducted to address the research questions: How do actors constitute a network and define climate-wise housing and construction? What specific focus areas can be identified around climate action? What issues support or inhibit climate-wise housing and construction? Although the network appeared relatively dense and inclusive, misalignment emerged upon closer examination. The actors were uniformly engaged in energy-related topics, but differed in their emphasis level on household choices, low-carbon materials, and the circular economy. Supporting and inhibiting factors were identified within three broad categories: alignment of goals, network characteristics, and transformation propensity. The findings suggest that climate action is gaining ground in housing and construction, but there is evidence of institutional inertia, a demand for accelerating support for intermediation, and a need to harness organizational resources and individual capabilities to create sustainability transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wooden multi-storey construction (WMC) offers an alternative building solution for urban consumers seeking a low-carbon, sustainable lifestyle yet, the literature on consumer experiences in newly constructed WMC-apartments is sparse. This exploratory study develops an understanding about consumer choices with newly built WMC-apartments through thematic interviews of residents and property managers in five cities across Finland and Sweden. Contents analysis reveals that neither building material nor sustainability triggered the residents' initial interest in the new apartment. Residents found WMC appealing but traditional housing choice criteria (e.g. location, floor plan and affordability) guided the ultimate purchasing decision. Notwithstanding, residents expressed that the newly developed neighbourhoods suffered from limited services but trusted that future long-term development would increase service availability. Wood material was experienced as mainly positive and was assessed together with overall aesthetics, sustainability and durability aspects of the building. Residents trusted that the builders considered the apartment's sustainability criteria during construction (e.g. material durability and resistance to changing climate conditions). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finland shows strong support for reducing its climate footprint originating from the built environment as part of the national carbon neutrality goal by 2035. Two prime examples are increasing wood use in construction and favoring building renovation to alleviate emissions from the use of virgin construction materials. However, the open question remains whether citizens also support these decarbonization pathways. By using national-level data from a randomly sampled citizen survey in Finland (n = 1448), we model citizen preferences to these two decarbonization pathways. The results suggest that a preference to renovate rather than to build anew is shown by respondents of the female gender; over 55 years of age; with a lower household equivalent income; and possessing housing property investment. Wood material is positively favored by respondents with higher age; a lower household equivalent income; living in smaller population centers in the countryside; and owning forestland. Interestingly, the effect of climate agency was negative in both models. This can be interpreted in the wood material case as reflecting conflicting views of negative environmental effects from forest harvesting to produce renewable building materials. In the renovation model case, we argue that the climatic impact of renovations remain weakly understood by citizens in Finland, given that the media and national regulations emphasize operational emissions. These results benefit both policy makers and municipal-level decision making in understanding of acceptability of wood material use and building retrofits among the general public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned Aircraft Systems-relevant education is a rapidly evolving domain-specific topic that needs wide expertise in ICT. That kind of topic is very difficult for a single research group to gain overall competence and keep the courses updated within a rapidly evolving education topic. This paper gives an overview of the education and research activities of Finnish universities that are members of the UAS (Drone) University Collaboration Network project funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

Using wood in multistory apartment construction (WMC) has a climate-positive advantage with buildings acting as long-term carbon storage. Business ecosystem (BE) development around WMC is needed to accelerate the adoption of wooden materials in the conservative construction industry. As the business actors around WMC are essentially different from those using other building materials, new knowledge must be built from the project level. This study uses a qualitative interview approach among actors from three pioneering urban building projects to address their perceptions of building with wood regarding a project-based BE. Based on the thematic analysis, sources of both tangible and intangible value creation were found to arise from building with wood. A higher degree of prefabrication associated with WMC was seen in all projects to influence the reorganization of logistics, enabling faster building processes and lean material use. No strong sustainability-driven culture could be identified in any of the projects. Results further flag the sensitivity and importance of management and coordination skills in targeting improvements of the construction business based on WMC. In the bigger picture, there is still room for further research at regional and global level on business model changes in building with this renewable and recyclable material.

Abstract Tea should be perceived more as a cultural product than a fast-moving consumer good with its roots deep in different cultures across nations. Nevertheless, consumer demands on tea have not been explored sufficiently from a cultural perspective. This research aims to examine motives that are driving Chinese tea consumption on two usage occasions, under the influence of the Chinese renqing, mianzi, collectivism, and man-nature unity culture. Linkage was established between Chinese culture and consumer motives. The factor analysis on 280 respondents identified five consumer psychological motives. Further logistic regression analysis suggested consumer motives and usage situations were related. The contribution of the findings is summarized. On one hand, this study adds to the limited understandings on consumer motives of tea in an emerging country from the cultural aspect. On the other hand, deep understandings of brand chasing, sustainability, and pragmatism motives should businesses to better serve consumers.

This study examines the role of business organizations in co-governing biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) using a phenomenon-based approach and bridging business management literature, ecosystem services literature and environmental governance literature. The empirical analysis includes twelve Nordic forest corporations considered market leaders in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Using content analysis of corporate sustainability reports and managerial interviews, we recorded 127 company-led measures addressing BES and we categorized them into seventeen types (e.g., land use planning and restoration, mobilization of financial resources for conservation, partner auditing, capacity building and consultation with stakeholders). For each BES measure, we also identified the BES issues being addressed (e.g., climate regulation, soil maintenance, cultural values); company motivation (i.e., compliance, strategic, profit-seeking); the stakeholders/beneficiaries involved (e.g., employees, forest owners, experts, local communities, public administration, NGOs); and the private governance instruments used for implementing the measure (i.e., regulatory, economic, information and rights-based instruments). The findings suggest that practices such as monetary valuation, biodiversity offsets and green bonds are emerging as profitable or strategically interesting options for Nordic forest companies. However, well-established practices, such as forest inventory, partner auditing and land sparing, continue to be the backbone of private BES governance among the leading companies examined. Although not directly motivated by compliance, private governance measures are largely nested in legislation. The contribution of this study includes reflections of relevance for both the scholarly and managerial realms. From a scholarly perspective, we further elaborate an understanding of BES management and governance from an organizational perspective. From a managerial perspective, we provide and discuss an overview of potential measures that forest companies can implement to address biodiversity and other socio-ecological issues at the land-use level.

Multi-story wooden buildings are hailed as a favorable means toward reducing the embodied energy of the construction sector. However, the sector's path-dependent nature hinders acceptance of using wood in multi-story construction. As a result, research predominantly focuses on examining the perceptions of construction professionals to identify means of breaking the path dependency. We propose using citizens' perceptions about the use of wood to inform professional decision makers. Our research thus aims to answer two questions: What are citizens' perceptions about using wood as a construction material, and are there country-based cultural differences between these perceptions? To elicit this spectrum of citizen views, an online survey was deployed in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze 6633 open-ended responses to the survey. Respondents held multi-faceted opinions about the physical properties, environmental, social, and economic aspects of using wood as a construction material. Citizens from Finland, Norway, and Sweden expressed discernably different perspectives about the acceptability of using wood than did citizens from Austria, Denmark, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Overall, respondents from all countries expressed high approval for the use of wood in construction. Key words: citizen, end user, perception, multi-story wooden buildings, wood construction. Les batiments en bois multietages sont consideres comme un moyen favorable pour reduire l'energie grise du secteur de la construction. Cependant, la nature conservatrice du secteur de la construction fait obstacle a l'acceptabilite de l'utilisation du bois dans les constructions multietagees. En consequence, la recherche s'est concentree principalement sur l'analyse des perceptions des professionnels de la construction pour determiner les moyens de rompre cet ancrage dans le passe. Nous proposons d'utiliser les perceptions des citoyens en lien avec l'utilisation du bois pour informer les decideurs professionnels. Cette recherche vise ainsi a repondre a deux questions : quelles sont les perceptions des citoyens par rapport a l'utilisation du bois comme materiau de construction et existe-t-il des differences culturelles propres a chaque pays entre les perceptions? Pour recueillir cet eventail d'opinions citoyennes, un questionnaire en ligne a ete deploye en Autriche, au Danemark, en Finlande, en Allemagne, en Norvege, en Suede et au Royaume-Uni. Une analyse qualitative de contenu a ete utilisee pour analyser les 6633 reponses au sondage basees sur des questions ouvertes. Les repondants ont des opinions diversifiees sur les proprietes physiques, environnementales, sociales et economiques de l'utilisation du bois comme materiau de construction. Les citoyens de la Finlande, de la Norvege et de la Suede evaluent l'acceptabilite de l'utilisation du bois en fonction d'aspects qui different des citoyens autrichiens, danois, allemands et britanniques. Dans l'ensemble, les repondants de tous les pays sont tres favorables a l'utilisation du bois dans la construction. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: citoyen, consommateur, perception, batiments en bois multietages, construction en bois., 1. Introduction Buildings account for 39% of global carbon emissions; 28% are generated during a buildings' operational lifetime (i.e., operational carbon), with the remaining 11% released during manufacturing, transportation, construction, [...]

Berries hold a unique appeal, stemming from their natural aspect and the embedded cultural ecosystem services they can offer. While extensive studies have examined rural berry collectors, there is a gap of research on the engagement of urban consumers in berry-picking activities, particularly in emerging markets. This study addresses this gap by investigating the experience, consumer motivations, and other influential factors of urban consumers engaging in berry-picking activities in selected municipalities in China. Drawing on in-depth interviews with urban consumers involved in berry-picking and the thematic analysis, this research revealed three berry-picking patterns, including wild picking, pure commercial picking (U-pick), commercial picking with extra services (Pick and Plus). It identified key factors influencing urban consumer experience, namely consumer motivations, social media marketing, convenience, and service capability. It explored the challenges confronting individual berry farmers. The results highlighted the cultural and social significance of berry-picking activities, as well as the service potential of fresh berries as territorial products to bridge urban-rural divides. The research contributes up-to-date insights to the broader discourse on the cultural and provisioning ecosystem services offered by berries, shedding light on the intricate interplay among urban consumers, fresh berries, rural berry farmers and other relevant stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change sets high pressures on the construction industry to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Due to the carbon storage properties and potential to use renewable resources efficiently, wooden multi-storey construction (WMC) is an interesting alternative for the construction industry to enhance sustainable development combined with the aesthetic and well-being benefits of wood perceived among many consumers. For forest industry firms, industrial wood construction is a possibility to seek for business opportunities and bring socio-economic benefits for local economies. Despite positive drivers, WMC still remains a niche even in the forest-rich countries.The purpose of our study is to add understanding on the WMC market development by conducting a systematic literature analysis on international peer-reviewed studies from the past 20 years. Our special focus is on the role of WMC in the housing markets studied from the perspectives of the demand, supply and local governance factors. As specific aims, we 1) synthesize the key barriers and enabling factors for the WMC market growth; 2) identify the actors addressed in the existing studies connected to the WMC market development, and 3) summarize research methods and analytical approaches used in the previous studies. As a systematic method to make literature searches in Web of Science and Scopus for years 2000â2020, we employed PRISMA guidelines. By using pre-determined keywords, our searches resulted in a sample of 696 articles, of which 42 full articles were after selection procedure included in-depth content analysis. Our results showed cost-efficiency gains from industrialized prefabrication and perceived sustainability benefits by consumers and architects enabled a WMC market diffusion. The lack of experiences on the WMC, and path dependencies to use concrete and steel continue to be key barriers for increased WMC. Although our research scope was the global WMC market development, most of the literature concerned the Nordic region. The key actors covered in the literature were businesses (e.g., contractors, manufacturers and architects) involved in the wood construction value-chains, while residents and actors in the local governance were seldomly addressed. Currently, case studies, the use of qualitative data sets and focus on the Nordic region dominate the literature. This hinders the generalizability of findings in different regional contexts. In the future, more research is needed on how sustainability-driven wood construction value-chains are successfully shaping up in different geographical regions, and how they could challenge the dominant concrete-based construction regime.

Few studies have investigated the processes and strategic interactions among the Wooden Multistory Construction (WMC) industry actors, its customers, and local policymakers. Further insights into this field are needed for a sustainability transition in the construction sector. This study aims to explain WMC's corporate sustainability strategies for co-creation with customers and municipalities. This was based on interviews with key informants in the sector and WMC actors using three case studies in Sweden. Our interviews focused on business processes, interactions with users and municipalities, sustainability, and innovation in the WMC market. The findings reflect the notion of a slow transition in the Swedish WMC market toward using more wood as a bearing structure, which is supported by the competitive advantages and climate performance of wood. The three case studies indicated that the corporate focus is currently placed on incremental improvements in operations, price competitiveness, and successful project management. However, in contexts where wood construction is seen as a unique advantage, collaborations between the construction industry and end users have developed and served as novel platforms for WMC market development. The study concludes that WMCl growth hinges on the industry's housing offerings prioritizing quality, affordability, and swift construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]