Business and Work in the Era of Digital Platforms

First remarks to presentations by Professors John Zysman and Aija Leiponen

BRIE-ETLA & SWiPE seminarAugust 30th, 2016

Musiikkitalo, Helsinki

Kirsimarja BlomqvistProfessor (Knowledge Management)School of Business and Management

Lappeenranta University of Technologykirsimarja.blomqvist@lut.fi

− Important to think our values and goals - are we building an utopia or dystopia?

− Not only efficient connection, also opportunities for restructuring & radical disruption

− Technology deployment as a key for productivity

− What are our human assumptions?

− If workers are only seen as a cost, robots replace workers.

− If workers are seen as an asset, digitalization is an opportunity for re-design of

work, augmented intelligence to benefit from cognitive skills and creativity

− Silicon Valley approach: Don’t ask permission, just do it and ask forgiveness

KB: What could be The Finnish approach for digital platforms? Finnish culture is very

different from Silicon Valley culture.

Professor John Zysman’s speech onthe rise of the platform economy

Kirsimarja Blomqvist

Professor Aija Leiponen’s speech on digital platforms

− Platforms reduce transaction costs, make markets more transparent and build

new market places

− Digital goods have special characteristics: low alienability and high inferability

− Centralized data platforms may not work

− Big question: who gains market power in digitalization? Strong platforms with

network effects and scale economies may become extremely powerful!

KB: How could Finland compete in the game where the winner takes it all?

I see opportunities in vertical high end platforms requiring complex expert knowledge.

Are there also local opportunities for platforms employing people for operative jobs?

Kirsimarja Blomqvist

Strengths

− Well-educated, technologically savvy population, ICT capabilities & skills

− National innovation system connecting large firms, small firms and researchers

− Reliable infrastructure and trusted institutions

Weaknesses

− Industrial logic, still too much ”wait and see” mode

− Too much planning and control instead of exploring and active trust building

− Finnish cultural tradition is not supporting entrepreneurial risk-taking

Threats− Losing critical time needed for learning and building new forms of organizing− Sometimes past strenghts may turn to weaknesses

Finnish perspective todigital business & work platforms (1/2)

Kirsimarja Blomqvist

Opportunities

− Competences and skills available (Nokia/Microsoft former employees, start-ups)

− Relevant research in universities and research institutions (e.g. how to build and

orchestrate networks and ecosystems, trust, alliance capabilities, communities..)

− Knowledge sharing and learning between industry and institutions

− The Finnish Way – differentiating based on strengths and potential

Positive Finnish examples

− Connecting industry and digital start-ups – IndustryHack and FIIF

− Expert teams solving complex problems in digital platforms - Solved

− Leveraging digitalization for high-quality human translations – Transfluent

− Research consortiums working on digital disruption and IoT – DDI and othersKirsimarja Blomqvist

Finnish perspective todigital business & work platforms (2/2)