Browsing by Subject "entrepreneur"

Avhandlingen består av en diskursanalys av intervjuer med kvinnoidentifierade personer verksamma inom startupekosystemet i Finland. Syftet med avhandlingen är att utforska kvinnornas tolkningar av startupekosystemets kultur från ett jämställdhets- och mångfaldsperspektiv. Avhandlingen bidrar med ett kritiskt perspektiv på startupkulturer och ämnar inspirera till nya synvinklar på sociologisk forskning om startupekosystem. De huvudsakliga forskningsfrågorna lyder: ”Hur förstår och tolkar kvinnor verksamma inom det finska startupekosystemet startupkulturen?”, ”Hur tolkar kvinnorna entreprenörsfiguren i rollen av det ideala startupsubjektet?” och ”Hur upplever kvinnorna jämställdhets- och mångfaldsdiskurser inom kontexten av det finska startupekosystemet?”. Det empiriska materialet består av kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra kvinnor som på ett eller annat sätt är verksamma inom det finska startupekosystemet. Intervjuerna analyseras genom diskursanalys. Det teoretiska ramverket för avhandlingen består av synen på startupekosystem som performativa diskurser – diskurser som konstruerar de verkligheter de beskriver – och entreprenören som en performativ figur och det ideala startupsubjektet. Det teoretiska ramverket betonar vikten av att inkludera ekosystemet som en forskningsparameter i kulturell forskning om startupkulturer. Avhandlingen hämtar inspiration från akademiska diskussioner om den diskursiva konstruktionen av startup, entreprenörskap och teknologifältet. I avhandlingen framhävs i enlighet med forskning tre diskursiva teman som beskriver startupkulturen: öppenhet och hierarkilöshet; passion och heroism; samt rationalitet och hårt arbete. Samtliga diskursiva teman bidrar till en hegemonisk förståelse om startupkulturen som inkluderande, jämlik och rättvis. Avhandlingen ifrågasätter dessa premisser och argumenterar för att startupdiskurser bidrar till att reproducera en förgivettagen sanning om inkludering och jämlikhet som osynliggör maktstrukturer och förhindrar att status quo ifrågasätts. Dessa diskursiva formationer konstruerar entreprenörsfiguren, som representerar ett demokratiserat och jämlikt ideal inom en objektiv marknadsekonomi. Analysen påvisar att entreprenören, trots sina neutrala premisser, är könad och rasifierad, och lättare fäster sig vid maskulint kodade kroppar. Slutligen påvisar avhandlingen att respondenterna blivit marginaliserade som kunskapsinnehavare när det gäller frågor om jämställdhet och likabehandling. Avhandlingen föreslår att startupdiskurser och konstruktionen av entreprenörsfiguren påverkar hur jämställdhet och mångfald förstås inom fältet och skapar en förutsättning för icke-performativa diskurser och tystnader gällande jämställdhet och mångfald.

In Finland, entrepreneurs (both employers and self-employed) are, compared to salaried employees, free to increase their compulsory retirement insurance contributions to the public pension fund; this being an alternative to additional saving for retirement in private pension funds. This thesis seeks to identify and further examine factors which supposedly influence entrepreneurs‘ perceived sufficiency of their retirement insurance payments . The purpose is to subsequently recommend retirement policy designs which would incentivize Finnish entrepreneurs to increase their contributions to the public pension fund. The empirical section of this work was conducted on a sample of 2 294 entrepreneurs (1 533 self-employed and 761 employers) who took part in the 2017 Labor Force Ad hoc Survey on Entrepreneurship carried out by Statistics Finland. The initial hypotheses gave rise to four categories of variables, presumably affecting sufficiency of retirement insurance contributions perceived by the study sample; namely, ’Personal characteristics & Business background’, ’Motivation’, ’Future perspectives’ and ’Job satisfaction & excitement’. The obtained results suggest that the majority of the selected variables have an effect on entrepreneurs’ perceived sufficiency of their pension insurance contributions. Besides, the factors identified as negatively affecting the perceived sufficiency of retirement insurance payments were more frequently present in the group of self-employed compared to the group of entrepreneurs (employers). Therefore, it is expected that the self-employed are more prone to pay themselves insufficient pension insurance contributions. However, all these factors are considered as incorrigible since they stem from the very nature of complex human behaviour. In this sense, the behavioural approach seems to be highly relevant when forming retirement insurance policies seeking to encourage prudent saving behaviour. This study applies an alternative approach of behavioural economics to the problematics of retirement saving. The first part of the thesis outlines foundations of behavioural economics which serve as a theoretical background for further analyses. For instance, propositions of procrastination, self-control and mental accounting are discussed.

The aim of the study was to find out what kind of view on product quality dressmaker and customer have, how the views differ from each other and how the difference affects dressmaker's work as an entrepreneur. The research data consists of eight thematic interviews: four dressmakers and four customers were interviewed for the study. In the core of customised dressmaking is a relationship between a maker and a client. The product of a dressmaker, a unique dress, is created in an immediate interaction between a dressmaker and a client. Also the quality of a unique dress derives from this interaction. In the results of this study, the views on quality are linked with six themes: dress, process, dressmaker, customer, interaction and enterprise. The dressmakers and the customers agree that the quality of a custom-made dress is based on unique fit. Describing the process the dressmakers insist on the quality of manufacturing. The clients' view on process insists on those phases where they themselves take part: designing and fitting. The personality of the dressmaker is part of quality in both the dressmakers' and the customers' points of view. The dressmakers and the customers are also aware of the customers impact on fulfilling the expectations. The immediate interaction between dressmaker and customer is a key to the unique dressmaking. At its best the interaction is followed by a trusting relationship. Entrustment derives also from a good reputation, which is essential in dressmaker-entrepreneurs marketing strategy. The dressmakers' views on quality are product- and manufacturing-based. According to the results of the study there can be seen different types of dressmakers, that emphasise different aspects of quality. At the other end is a manufacturing-based, even transcendent view on quality, which rests on the values of the dressmaker. At the other end lies a customer- and value-based approach, which is founded on fulfilling the expectations and needs of the customer. In their views on quality the customers emphasise the immediate interaction between dressmaker and client.