Government as entrepreneur: Changing ownership, strategy, and governance logics of state-owned enterprise from 1970s to present ( Valtio yrittäjänä - Akatemia tutkija)
Main funder
Funder's project number: 359880
Funds granted by main funder (€)
- 172 735,00
Funding program
Project timetable
Project start date: 01/09/2023
Project end date: 31/08/2025
Summary
This project examines the change of state’s ownership policy and strategy and governance logics of state-owned enterprise (SOE) from the early 1970s until present. SOEs have been, and are, important tools for government intervention in the economy. The starting point for the study is that the basic assumptions of 20th century research on state business and state capitalism do not account for the change in government business attributes.
State-owned companies were thought to be relics of the 20th century (cf. Tonnelli 2000), but in recent years they have reappeared in the debate. According to reports, they still exist (Christiansen 2011), and represent a growing factor in the international market (OECD 2015). Especially their share of the world’s largest multinational enterprises is significant (PWC 2015; UNCTAD 2017). Chinese companies are prominent, but the fact is that state ownership is still strong in Europe too (OECD 2017). In Europe, however, the form of ownership and the way SOEs operate have undergone a major overhaul. A broader understanding of this phenomenon - the return of state capitalism - requires qualitative basic research that challenges existing expectations, allowing also the theoretical concept of SOE to be redefined.
The assumption of this study is that the concept of SOEs has changed significantly. On the other hand, it is assumed that state ownership still has political purpose and impact on SOE’s operations. This study uses a historical method to examine systematically how state ownership policy and SOEs’ corporate strategies have changed since the 1970s in Finland, Nordic countries and beyond.
In particular, the study will determine how the concept of a state-owned company has changed in Finland and the other Nordic countries, and how the “old” and “new” SOE models differ. The empirical results are compared with the theoretical viewpoints of state-owned companies in order to know to what extent the theoretical assumptions hold true in the modern Nordic context. This finding, in turn, can develop theoretical understanding of state ownership in the context of modern developed countries.
State-owned companies were thought to be relics of the 20th century (cf. Tonnelli 2000), but in recent years they have reappeared in the debate. According to reports, they still exist (Christiansen 2011), and represent a growing factor in the international market (OECD 2015). Especially their share of the world’s largest multinational enterprises is significant (PWC 2015; UNCTAD 2017). Chinese companies are prominent, but the fact is that state ownership is still strong in Europe too (OECD 2017). In Europe, however, the form of ownership and the way SOEs operate have undergone a major overhaul. A broader understanding of this phenomenon - the return of state capitalism - requires qualitative basic research that challenges existing expectations, allowing also the theoretical concept of SOE to be redefined.
The assumption of this study is that the concept of SOEs has changed significantly. On the other hand, it is assumed that state ownership still has political purpose and impact on SOE’s operations. This study uses a historical method to examine systematically how state ownership policy and SOEs’ corporate strategies have changed since the 1970s in Finland, Nordic countries and beyond.
In particular, the study will determine how the concept of a state-owned company has changed in Finland and the other Nordic countries, and how the “old” and “new” SOE models differ. The empirical results are compared with the theoretical viewpoints of state-owned companies in order to know to what extent the theoretical assumptions hold true in the modern Nordic context. This finding, in turn, can develop theoretical understanding of state ownership in the context of modern developed countries.
