A1 Journal article (refereed)
From state-owned smokestacks to post-industrial dreams : The Finnish government in business, 1970–2010 (2020)
Nevalainen, Pasi; Yliaska, Ville (2020). From state-owned smokestacks to post-industrial dreams : The Finnish government in business, 1970–2010. Business History, Early online. DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2020.1842874
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Nevalainen, Pasi; Yliaska, Ville
Journal or series: Business History
ISSN: 0007-6791
eISSN: 1743-7938
Publication year: 2020
Volume: Early online
Publisher: Routledge, Taylor & Francis
Publication country: United Kingdom
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2020.1842874
Open Access: Publication channel is not openly available
Additional information: Special Issue Paper in Business-government Relations and National Economic Model.
Abstract
While state-owned enterprises (SOEs) used to be considered obsolete tools for governmental intervention in the economy, in recent years governmental intervention in the business sector has re-emerged as a topic of debate. However, scholarship on the changes in and the modernisation of the SOE model is limited. In this article, we examine how the Finnish state’s ownership policy adapted to the requirements of economic globalisation between the 1970s and the 2010s. We show that the attitude towards globalisation was pragmatic and aimed at safeguarding the competitiveness of domestic companies. The state-owned company system was gradually adapted to meet new needs, losing most of its original industrial policy significance. SOEs had to be made competitive and profitable, but company-specific targets depended on the ownership criteria associated with the companies. At the same time, the government paid more attention to supporting research and development in the private sector.
Keywords: ownership (activity); public ownership; public administration; private sector; economic policy; state ownership steering; enterprises; competitive strength; state-owned companies
Free keywords: state-owned enterprise; government business relations; governmental intervention in the economy; ownership policy; new public management; R&D policies; innovation policies; varieties of capitalism; state capitalism; economic globalization; corporate governance
Contributing organizations
Ministry reporting: No, publication in press
Preliminary JUFO rating: 2