Business Thought and Practice Met at Combi2010

The October 7-10 conference in Vantaa, Finland, hosted by Laurea University of Applied Sciences was successful and enjoyable. The official theme was “Partnering for the Future.” The emphasis was on innovation of all kinds; in economic development and environmental sustainability partnerships, in business models of all kinds, and in distance teaching and learning. The audience was diverse and fulfilled the promise of extensive participation of both practitioners and academics.

The emphasis on innovation was timely as evidenced by an editorial I read in the Financial Times enroute. Discussing the global economic malaise, it argued that monetary policy has used up many of its available tools. Fiscal policy is moribund; consider the strikes and protests in Europe as governments try to impose structural changes and the fact that the political system in the US doesn’t have a coherent thought about fiscal policy. The point was that we have to innovate ourselves out of the economic mess we’re in. A talk by Dr. Toshiyasu Ichioka of the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation illustrated some of the possibilities.

Referred papers were presented in concurrent sessions, so it wasn’t possible to hear them all, but you can see the entire schedule here. I was particularly impressed with a paper entitled “Environmental Strategy and Organizational Capabilities: An Exploration of the Natural-Resource-Based View with a Focus on Columbian Firms” by Professors Mantilla and Rodriguez. It had a sound research design and good data that suggested a real difference between firms that include environmental sustainability as part of their strategy and those who do not. Innovative communication models were discussed in a session on “Multisensory Cultural Experiences” and another that featured faculty and doctoral students from the host institution, Laurea University of Applied Sciences. Read these and other papers in the Conference Proceedings.

It was a pleasure to hear an invited talk on customer co-creation of value by Professor Evert Gummesson, one of the originators of the services marketing discipline. I also particularly enjoyed a rousing call for “Stimulating Entrepreneurship and Creativity” from Professor Alan Barrell of Cambridge University.

As these few examples suggest, the conference was truly global in its scope. That is a major achievement and one that future conferences will hopefully be able to emulate. Next year’s conference will be hosted by HAMK University of Applied Sciences. Keep your eyes open; this conference is worth the time and effort!

ROI From Social Media Marketing

I'm looking forward to the Combi2010 Conference in Helsinki this week and to my own talk on social media marketing on Thursday. The plenary speeches are being broadcast live here. This is my presentation.

Roi from social media marketing

View more presentations from diy-marketing.

I've spent the early fall thinking about my next-stage writing plans. I'll have announcements to make when I return from Finland and a brief pleasure trip to Russia.

Should all be a great experience!

International Conference Announces Speakers and Renews Call for Papers

"Contemporary Views on Business: Partnering for the Future" (Combi2010) is an important forum for knowledge co-creation and intellectual exchange emphasising partnering and international knowledge transfer as sources of competitive edge. In Combi2010, you are reserved plenty of time for lively dialogue, responsive thought transference and ideation.

Submit online your abstract of 1500-5000 characters or a full-length paper on 30 March 2010 the latest @ http://www.combi2010.fi/.

Combi2010 actively seeks to promote synergies between business and academia. Besides traditional Keynote, Invited and competitive paper presentation sessions, our international conference programme contains tailor-made modules such as Practicums, R&D&I Rendezvous and Academic Writing Tutorial to satisfy even the most demanding needs of faculty members, business executives and post-graduate students.
As part of the Conference social programme, Combi2010 participants will be offered an opportunity to visit for example one of the seven Unesco World Heritage sites in Finland, the Finnish Science Center and National Park. You do not want to miss the themed evening banqueting opportunities either with Reception and Gala Dinner included.
Combi2010 is hosted by four Universities of Applied Sciences from the larger Metropolitan region (HAMK, Helsinki Metropolia, Laurea, LUAS) and is being organised in collaboration with partners incl. e.g.
• International Chamber of Commerce Finland
• SIVECO Romania SA
• Efficient Consumer Response Finland
• Regional Organisation of Enterprises in Uusimaa
• International Network for Scientific Information
• 8 international scientific journals.
Combi2010 has 20 Tracks representing the subject fields of Business Studies, Leadership and Entrepreneurship. Please consult the attached Call documents for details. The Track Chairs represent a large variety of both business and research specialists from Japan, Yemen, Malaysia, China, India, Romania, the U.S., the UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Portugal and Finland. Also public bodies are involved such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD and the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control INRIA.
Combi2010 Keynotes and Invited Speakers represent both business and academia, and come from prestigious affiliations and corporations worldwide. Join the presence of for example

• Evert Gummesson, Stockholm University School of Business: “New service ideas about customers as co-creators of value together with suppliers, other customers (C2C) and other stakeholders in a network”
• Mary Lou Roberts, Harvard University Extension School: "Getting Paypack from Your Social Media Efforts"
• Tero J. Kauppinen, VIA Group: ”Mastering Managerial Leadership and the use of the G-factor for your own organisation”
• Vincent Dessain, Harvard Business School Europe Research Center: ”Social Responsibility and Innovation”
• Håkan Håkansson, BI Norwegian School of Management: “A jungle or a rainforest? – Business in Networks”
• Veli-Pekka Niitamo, Nokia/CKIR: “Innovating in a Networked Operational Environment”
• Erkko Autio, Imperial College London: ”Building momentum for innovation ecosystems”
• Jukka Ahtikari, Logica Finland: "Developing Open Architecture in a Heterogeneous Operational Environment"
• Richard A. Lancioni, Temple University: “The Impact of Strategic Pricing on Worldwide Revenue Growth”
• Alan Barrell, University of Cambridge/University of Xiamen: “Creativity, entrepreneurship and innovativeness”

Best Paper in Conference will be awarded. All the accepted papers will be published in the printed, ISSN/ISBN identified, Conference Proceedings and in an electronic format on a USB drive. In addition to this, the best papers chosen by Track Chairs are eligible for publication as double blind peer reviewed articles at least in the International Journal of Technology Diffusion, International Journal of Management Innovation Systems, Journal of Applied Sciences Research, Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, Journal of Management Sciences, International Journal of Administration and Governance, Research Journal of Social Sciences and Current Science International.
If you are available to serve as a manuscript reviewer, and/or a session chair or discussant, please do volunteer online at www.combi2010.fi. In order to help the Track Chairs to prepare the assignments for you, please indicate your area(s) of expertise when signing up for the position.
Please feel free to circulate this email and distribute the attached Call documents among your peers. We would be also delighted, if your home institution could post online the attached Combi2010 banner and link it to the Combi2010 website.
Keep your eye at www.combi2010.fi for the latest developments. The Calls close by the end of March 2010.

The Combi2010 Organising Committee awaits to see you in Finland next October!
E-mail: info@combi2010.fi
URL: www.combi2010.fi

Contemporary Views on Business: Partnering for the Future

The Conference where research and practise become one calls for your contribution.

Come and start your life anew with us at Combi2010 in Vantaa, Finland, 7-10 October 2010.

The true power lies in you – let’s build up critical mass at Combi2010 to utilise the wisdom of many.

Contemporary Views on Business: Partnering for the Future" (Combi2010) is an important forum for knowledge co-creation and intellectual exchange emphasising partnering and international knowledge transfer as sources of competitive edge. In Combi2010, you are reserved plenty of time for lively dialogue, responsive thought transference and ideation.

Combi2010 joins the great minds of academics, business executives and other professionals from both private and public sectors to share and co-create knowledge on business-related topics. Furthermore, Combi2010 actively seeks to promote synergies between business and academia. Our international conference programme contains tailor-made modules to satisfy even the most demanding needs of faculty members, executives, entrepreneurs, and post-graduates.

Combi2010 is hosted by four Universities of Applied Sciences from the larger Metropolitan region (HAMK, Helsinki Metropolia, Laurea, LUAS) and being organised in collaboration with partners incl. e.g. ECR Finland, the Regional Organisation of Enterprises in Uusimaa and international scientific journals.



Calls for participation are open from 4 January 2010 onwards. Submit online at www.combi2010.fi your

· competitive paper manuscript not exceeding 20 double-spaced pages and/or

· poster presentation abstract of 1500-5000 characters and/or

· work-in-progress presentation abstract of 1500-5000 characters and/or

· special session proposals of not exceeding 5 double-spaced pages

See the Calls for the various types of submissions on this page.


Combi2010 has 19 Tracks representing the subject fields of Business Studies, Leadership and Entrepreneurship. Please consult the conference website for details. See the draft program, including keynote speakers here.

Best Paper in Conference will be awarded. All the accepted papers will be published in the printed, ISSN/ISBN identified, Conference Proceedings and in an electronic format on a USB drive. In addition to this, the best papers chosen by Track Chairs are eligible for publication as double blind peer reviewed articles at least in the International Journal of Technology Diffusion and International Journal of Management Innovation Systems. The Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce will publish a special issue on Combi2010 Conference Papers.

Keep your eye on the website for the latest developments.

The Calls close by the end of March 2010.


The Combi2010 Organising Committee awaits to see you in Finland next October!