{"id":224,"date":"2026-05-07T08:28:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T05:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/?page_id=224"},"modified":"2026-06-10T15:06:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:06:37","slug":"strategic-orientations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/strategic-orientations\/","title":{"rendered":"Strategic orientations driving bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uef.varbi.com\/en\/what:job\/jobID:938362\/\"><button>APPLY FOR THIS PhD POSITION <\/button><\/a> <strong>Application period: 11 June \u2013 10 August, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Research project description<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The forest-based sector plays a key role in advancing the bioeconomy by reducing reliance on non-renewable resources and supporting sustainable development. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are central actors in this transition but face growing challenges due to digitalisation, changing markets, and evolving societal expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This research project examines how different strategic orientations, such as market, innovation, and entrepreneurial orientation, support the bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs.<\/strong> The project focuses on how firms interpret external stimuli, including customer needs, technological developments, and sustainability pressures, and how these shape strategic decision-making and business model adaptation. Attention is paid to changes in target markets, product and service portfolios, value chains, and revenue models. The main research objective is to identify and analyse how strategic orientations enable forest-based SMEs to adapt their business models and build long-term competitiveness in the bioeconomy transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Academic background and skills of the applicant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An ideal candidate holds a <strong>master\u2019s degree in business administration, marketing, entrepreneurship, management, innovation studies, or a closely related field. <\/strong>The candidate is expected to have a strong interest in sustainability, strategic decision-making, innovation, and the forest-based bioeconomy, as well as a commitment to high-quality research with societal and industry relevance. The candidate should be willing to complement their existing expertise with knowledge in business studies, forest sciences, bioeconomy, and other relevant research fields. An interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary research mindset is highly valued. The selected candidate must also fulfil the language skills requirements of the Doctoral Programme of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies at UEF (see the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uef.fi\/en\/degree-programme\/doctoral-programme-of-the-faculty-of-social-sciences-and-business-studies\">https:\/\/www.uef.fi\/en\/degree-programme\/doctoral-programme-of-the-faculty-of-social-sciences-and-business-studies<\/a> (Eligibility and admission criteria)).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The successful candidate demonstrates a proactive and collaborative attitude, enjoys working as part of a team, and is motivated to engage with industry representatives and other stakeholders in the bioeconomy sector. Willingness to participate in research popularisation activities is considered an advantage. The ability and willingness to undertake research periods abroad with international or non-academic partner organisations are also regarded as assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Doctoral programme and research group<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctoral education in the University of Eastern Finland is arranged in seven discipline specific or thematic doctoral programmes. This research project will be located in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uef.fi\/en\/degree-programme\/doctoral-programme-in-science-forestry-and-technology\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uef.fi\/en\/degree-programme\/doctoral-programme-of-the-faculty-of-social-sciences-and-business-studies\">Doctoral Programme of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies<\/a>, and the submitting department is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uef.fi\/en\/unit\/uef-business-school\">UEF Business School<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The doctoral candidate will join the <a href=\"https:\/\/uefconnect.uef.fi\/en\/marketing-and-consumer-behavior-research-group\/\">Marketing and Consumer Behavior Research Group<\/a> which examines consumer behavior and business success factors in the marketplace. The research themes cover issues arising from a range of factors including product and service innovations, sustainability, bioeconomy, e-commerce, digital technology, data analytics, sensory marketing, brands, international markets, and entrepreneurial behavior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Partners \/ Secondments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wageningen University &amp; Research, hosted by Dr. Emiel Wubben<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Other interdisciplinary, international and\/or intersectoral collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Intersectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration is strengthened through DP-FOBI&#8217;s three  summer schools involving academic supervisors, non-academic partners, and other stakeholders, enabling hands-on interaction and knowledge exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Supervisors and related research<\/h2>\n\n\n\t<div id=\"accordion-block_db2a6f02bd15592f4a7354b696b7769c\" class=\"accordions\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion accordion-js\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"accordion__button\" aria-controls=\"content-6726\" aria-expanded=\"false\" id=\"accordion-control-6726\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"accordion__heading\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHelen Reijonen\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion__content\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-control-6726\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"content-6726\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"py-1 whitespace-normal break-words\">Dr <a href=\"https:\/\/uefconnect.uef.fi\/en\/helen.reijonen\/\">Helen Reijonen<\/a> is an experienced researcher in marketing, entrepreneurship, and consumer behaviour, with a strong international publication record. Her research focuses on strategic orientations, SME performance, innovation, and sustainability-related consumption. She has published in leading international journals, including Industrial Marketing Management, International Marketing Review, Technovation, Journal of Small Business Management, and Waste Management.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"py-1 whitespace-normal break-words\">Dr Reijonen has substantial experience in thesis supervision and interdisciplinary research and is actively involved in international bioeconomy networks and European projects. Her expertise provides a strong foundation for doctoral research on strategic orientations, behavioural factors, and innovation adoption in the forest-based bioeconomy and forest-sector SMEs.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion accordion-js\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"accordion__button\" aria-controls=\"content-6315\" aria-expanded=\"false\" id=\"accordion-control-6315\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"accordion__heading\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJani Saastamoinen\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion__content\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-control-6315\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"content-6315\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"py-1 whitespace-normal break-words\">Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/uefconnect.uef.fi\/en\/jani.saastamoinen\/\">Jani Saastamoinen<\/a> is an interdisciplinary researcher whose work examines how individuals and firms make decisions under risk and uncertainty. Drawing on insights from accounting, economics, finance, marketing, supply management, and strategic management, his research focuses on the behavioural foundations of managerial judgment, market behaviour, and firms\u2019 strategic orientations.<\/div>\n<div class=\"py-1 whitespace-normal break-words\">His recent work has increasingly addressed the role of behavioural biases, cognitive ability, and personality traits in economic and organizational decision-making. He has also examined how strategic orientations, such as market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation, shape decision processes, innovation activities, competitive behaviour, and firm performance.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"py-1 whitespace-normal break-words\">Saastamoinen has published in highly regarded international journals, including Management Science, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, Technovation, and Economics Letters. His expertise provides a strong foundation for doctoral research on behavioural and strategic perspectives in economic, managerial, and innovation-related decision-making<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion accordion-js\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"accordion__button\" aria-controls=\"content-1403\" aria-expanded=\"false\" id=\"accordion-control-1403\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"accordion__heading\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRelated articles\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion__content\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"accordion-control-1403\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"content-1403\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tammi, T., Saastamoinen, J., &amp; Reijonen, H. (2025). Buyer\u2019s market-oriented culture, strategic procurement capability, and customer performance in the public procurement of innovations. Science and Public Policy, 52(2), 181-192.<\/p>\n<p>Tuominen, S., Reijonen, H., Nagy, G., Buratti, A., &amp; Laukkanen, T. (2023). Customer-centric strategy driving innovativeness and business growth in international markets. International marketing review, 40(3), 479-496.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>APPLY FOR THIS PhD POSITION Application period: 11 June \u2013 10 August, 2026 Research project description The forest-based sector plays a key role in advancing the bioeconomy by reducing reliance on non-renewable resources and supporting sustainable development. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are central actors in this transition but face growing challenges due to digitalisation, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1364,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-224","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Strategic orientations driving bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs - Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/strategic-orientations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Strategic orientations driving bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs - Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"APPLY FOR THIS PhD POSITION Application period: 11 June \u2013 10 August, 2026 Research project description The forest-based sector plays a key role in advancing the bioeconomy by reducing reliance on non-renewable resources and supporting sustainable development. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are central actors in this transition but face growing challenges due to digitalisation, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/strategic-orientations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-10T12:06:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/dp-fobi\\\/strategic-orientations\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/dp-fobi\\\/strategic-orientations\\\/\",\"name\":\"Strategic orientations driving bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs - Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/dp-fobi\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-07T05:28:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-10T12:06:37+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/dp-fobi\\\/strategic-orientations\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/dp-fobi\\\/strategic-orientations\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/dp-fobi\\\/strategic-orientations\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Etusivu\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/dp-fobi\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Strategic orientations driving bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/dp-fobi\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/dp-fobi\\\/\",\"name\":\"Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)\",\"description\":\"DP-FOBI\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/dp-fobi\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Strategic orientations driving bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs - Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/strategic-orientations\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Strategic orientations driving bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs - Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)","og_description":"APPLY FOR THIS PhD POSITION Application period: 11 June \u2013 10 August, 2026 Research project description The forest-based sector plays a key role in advancing the bioeconomy by reducing reliance on non-renewable resources and supporting sustainable development. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are central actors in this transition but face growing challenges due to digitalisation, [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/strategic-orientations\/","og_site_name":"Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)","article_modified_time":"2026-06-10T12:06:37+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/strategic-orientations\/","url":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/strategic-orientations\/","name":"Strategic orientations driving bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs - Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-07T05:28:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-10T12:06:37+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/strategic-orientations\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/strategic-orientations\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/strategic-orientations\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Etusivu","item":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Strategic orientations driving bioeconomy transition in forest-based SMEs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/","name":"Doctoral Programme for Advancing Forest-Based Bioeconomy (DP-FOBI)","description":"DP-FOBI","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1364"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":652,"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/224\/revisions\/652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/dp-fobi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}