Soili Nysten-Haarala

Flexibility in contract terms and contracting processes

Purpose – New business models, such as life‐cycle contracting, challenge the narrow and static understanding of contracts with hard and precise terms. The aim of this paper is to examine how flexibility could be incorporated into contracting processes.Design/methodology/approach – The data of the paper have been gathered applying the triangular method; first, by interviewing key personnel participating in contracting at eight Finnish firms; second, examining contract and other documents of those companies; and third, studying earlier research on contracting practices. Theoretically, the paper is based on relational contract and proactive approaches to law on the one hand and on organizational studies based on new institutional economics on the other.Findings – Flexibility is often introduced to contracts with relational methods, relying on good personal relationships between business partners or negotiation power and negotiation skills. Contract documents often do not contain mechanisms for dealing with c...

Corporate Social Responsibility and the Oil Industry in the Russian Arctic: Global Norms and Neo-Paternalism

Abstract Examining the oil and gas industry in the Russian Arctic, this article investigates the gap between corporate social responsibility (CSR) as articulated in corporate offices and implemented at the local level. In Russia, global CSR norms interact with weak formal institutions and the strong informal expectations of state officials and local communities that companies bear responsibility for welfare and infrastructure. As a result, the concept of citizens as ‘stakeholders’ is underdeveloped. Instead, local residents remain subjects within a neo-paternalist system of governance that mimics some elements of the Soviet past. Compensation for damages to indigenous peoples has blurred legal obligations and the voluntary nature of CSR. However, the CSR in the region is constantly developing and formal methods of compensation may assist in clarifying the scope and practice of CSR.

Flexible contracting in project business

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to increase our understanding of the main challenges of the contracting process and project contracts in the context of project business characterized by a hig ...

Bazaar of Opportunities for New Business Development:Bridging Networked Innovation, Intellectual Property and Business

Bazaar of Opportunities for New Business Development goes beyond the paradigm of open innovation and underlines the variety of opportunities that firms may have in innovation and new business development with external actors. This book shows readers that firms can interact, innovate, and do business with different known and unknown actors, both formally and informally, and use different levels of openness within interorganizational innovation processes. External actors, however, also mean additional risks for the firm that they should manage. The subtitle of book, Bridging Networked Innovation, Intellectual Property and Business , addresses the guidance and perspectives that the book will provide in order to better prepare the reader for innovation with external actors. Bazaar of Opportunities has a multidisciplinary approach to the subject, bringing innovation, business, legal and network management perspectives together. The findings are based on state-of-the-art practices of innovative firms in Europe, empirical data collected through interviews and case studies. Through this multidisciplinary approach and the empirical findings, the reader may gain insight on how to be successful in open and networked innovation. Contents: Introduction Open and Networked Innovation Collaboration Models and Knowledge Management IP in Networks Contract and IP Management in Networked Innovation IP Strategy and Collaboration Bridging Networked Innovation, Intellectual Property, and Business When is Dealing in the Bazaar of Opportunities Beneficial? Readership: Business and R&D managers, IP managers, legal counsels, and business and innovation management researchers. Key Features: This book expands the concepts of open innovation from idea and intellectual property markets and open source communities to novel innovation and business practices in more traditional industries In this book, we discuss why some actors succeed better in open and networked innovation than others This book combines innovation, business, legal and network management perspectives in a manner practical for business in real life

Proactive Contracting : Emerging Changes in attitudes towards project contracts and lawyers' contribution

Proactive contracting is a practice-oriented research stream, and scholars focused on proactive contracting have suggested fundamental changes for corporate contracting. Researchers have proposed that companies should improve their contracting capabilities and corporate lawyers should serve business objectives instead of preparing for possible litigation. The research reported in this paper focuses on two key areas of proactive contracting: the purpose of the project contracts; and the role of lawyers contributing to project contracts. The research goal was to find out whether business managers and corporate lawyers recognize a need for evolution in project contracting as suggested by the proactive contracting literature. The research data were collected using a survey of commercial contracting professionals, and the research results indicate that managers and lawyers share the same view – that contracts are made for business objectives and benefits. However, it was found that the perspectives of managers and lawyers differ with regard to the role of lawyers in preventing and resolving disputes.