Towards a better understanding of innovation and industrial renewal in Finland-a new perspective

FOREWORD This paper describes the background, aims and the approach of the 'Finnish innovations'-project (Sfinno) and discusses theoretical and empirical issues related to innovation studies. The basic idea of the project is to deepen our understanding on the development processes taking place in Finnish industry. After the deep economic recession in the early 1990s, the Finnish economy is back on a positive growth track. The telecommunications industry has grown exceptionally fast. As a result, the telecommunications industry has quickly become Finland's third mainstay, alongside the traditionally forest-based and engineering industries. What is behind this transformation? How sustainable is the growth in the telecommunications? What is the innovation capacity and growth potential of the more traditional industrial sectors? These questions are the focus of Sfinno. In addition, Sfinno is developing new approaches and methods for innovation studies in general. The basic methodological approach of Sfinno is to study innovations at the micro level in their specific contexts. Most of the recent innovation studies are based on surveys, case studies, and indirect indicators. These studies have accumulated knowledge on many aspects of innovation activities, but even at their best many of the studies have remained either too general or too narrow. The only way to solve these methodological deficiencies is to study concrete innovations in their environments. This is Sfinno's mission and its challenge.