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Special Issue - January 2020INNOVATIVEBUSINESSESIN THE ARCTIC:MANY WAYSTO SUCCESSPhoto: Arctic Warriors
Special Issue - January 2020Innovative businesses in the Arctic: Many ways to successCONTRIBUTING AUTHORSAcknowledgementsAlexandra Middleton,Assistant Professor,University of Oulu.alexandra.middleton@oulu.fiWe gratefully acknowledge the basic funding for the BINproject provided by the Norwegian Ministry of ForeignAffairs (through the Arctic 2030 program) and NordlandCounty Council (through the DA Nordland program).We would like to thank our strategic Expert Partners forcontributing to the strategic development of the BIN project:the Arctic Economic Council, the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, MGIMO University, Akvaplan-niva, Maritime ForumNord, Center for High North Logistics.Ossi Pesämaa,Associate Professor,Luleå University of Technology.ossi.pesamaa@ltu.sePeter Dahlin,Assistant Professor,School of Business, Society and Engineering,Mälardalen University.peter.dahlin@mdh.seWe are grateful toAll companies and individuals who kindly provided theirinformation and graphic materialsAndrey Mineev,Researcher,High North Center at Nord University Business School.andrey.mineev@nord.noErlend Bullvåg,Dean,Nord University Business School.erlend.bullvag@nord.noPeter Bakkemo Danilov –for helping with data collection in NorwayNorthern Chamber of Commerce and Industryof Murmansk Region –for helping with data collection in Russia.MANY WAYS TO SUCCESSINTRODUCTION4SUCCESSFUL ARCTIC BUSINESSES:6A MAP OVERVIEWContactsChair of the BIN Project BoardErlend Bullvåg, PhD,Dean at Nord University Business SchoolErlend.Bullvag@nord.no 47 906 49 591BIN project coordinatorAndrey Mineev, PhDResearcher at the High North Center for Business,Nord University Business SchoolAndrey.Mineev@nord.no 47 957 26 128Project partnersFINDINGS9BRANDS FROM THE ARCTIC:WHAT KIND OF VALUES ARE COMMUNICATED?MEET ARCTIC ENTREPRENEURS1114WHAT IS ARCTIC COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?16BUSINESS SCHOOLExpert partners contributing to strategic development of the BIN project:WHAT KIND OF CLUSTERS AREDEVELOPED IN THE ARCTIC? 23SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS26Basic funding provided by:SUCCESSFUL ARCTIC BUSINESSES:ADDITIONAL INFORMATION228Photo: Istock3
Special Issue - January 2020Innovative businesses in the Arctic: Many ways to successINTRODUCTIONPhoto: Valery VasilevskyINTRODUCTIONThe Arctic is often described in terms of its locational properties of extreme climate, unique natural phenomena, snow,ice, permafrost, culture, distances between people, poortransportation system and constraints to on starting, operating, - and maintaining a business. These conditions fostera unique interplay between people, technology, nature,market, and ways of doing business. The most obvious business opportunity in the Arctic is normally associated withextraction industries of resources such as wood, the miningindustry, the oil and gas industry, and the food industry (i.e.,fishing), and also tourism. Yet this project is a first attemptto question the established connotations of business in theArctic in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The projectteam identified companies that are not only successful withregard to traditional profitability metrics but are known tothe public as successful companies with a sustained competitive advantage. These companies have a unique set ofresources, identity, culture, brand name, market, and clustering with other companies. We started with an inventory of alarge set of companies followed by background informationand subsequently visiting and conducting 63 interviewswith leading companies from each country. A revised imageof business in the Arctic in Norway, Sweden, Finland andRussia is starting to appear.The most obvious picture of resource extractive industries is still valid but complemented with an entirely new setof growing companies. Our project shows that the region isattractive in many other ways. Cold climate, (silence), abundance of space in combination create a multi-billion-dollarindustry in which products can be tested (e.g., car andwinter testing) and storage of data in data centers. Thereare high-tech industrial environments and environmentallyfriendly manufacturing industries, as well as unique opportunities for tourism. Furthermore, our inventory shows thatthe Arctic brand and values added in products originatefrom Arctic conditions. Many of the entrepreneurs are awareof it and tend to promote Arctic values in their products andservices. We report explicit examples of how Arctic values,culture, and identity are used in the food, construction, tourism industries, as well in professional services. We also notedthroughout the project that many stakeholders tend to lacka comprehensive overview of the entrepreneurial activitiesin Arctic and ignore the fact that these companies originatefrom this region. This report is therefore an attempt to stimulate more research in this area and to make way for a revisedimage of the region.Based on the firsthand information, at the conceptuallevel we define arctic business as a modern phenomenonwith specific features in four perspectives: motivation,competitive advantage, branding, and clustering. Motivation is about the rationale for starting up and operating abusiness venture with a base in the north. In the competitive advantage perspective we look at how businesses aresustained and how their core capabilities add value. Thebranding perspective shows how Arctic- based businessespresent themselves and communicate their values. Finally,the clustering perspective is about ways of cooperating andbuilding collaborative business environments in the North.It turned out that, despite differences between countriesand industries, the successful companies in the EuropeanArctic have commonalities much in common with these fourperspectives.4Key findings about new generationof Arctic businesses:MOTIVATION to operate from the North is associated with strong identity with place, nature, localculture, and life style, access to unique local naturalresources or settings, as well as the origins of thebusiness owners.COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE is achieved throughlong-term relationships and competence building, organic growth, focus on quality, embeddedness in localnetworks, and paying attention to people.BRANDING often builds upon the values andlifestyle of the North / Arctic in terms of words (brandnames), images, and meanings. There are also bigbrands building upon universally accepted valueconcepts.COOPERATION VIA CLUSTERS builds upon modern concepts of circular economy, technological leadership, integrated supply and value chains, commercialization of knowledge, and capitalizes on uniquenature-geographic-climatic settings. The clusters arebased on local communities of people and businessesclosely related to each other in terms of culture, identity, and geographical proximity.The remainder of this report is structured as follows. Inthe next section we present an overview and map of thebusiness cases studied with a short description of the studymethod. In the four subsequent sections we present in moredetail our findings about the companies’ motivation, brands,competitive advantage, and cooperation through clusters.The section summary and implications concludes the report.In the report we also include a separate spread “meet theArctic entrepreneur” providing several shining examples ofsuccessful businesses and their founders. Certainly, manymore great examples could be presented. These examplesshould be regarded as just an illustration. More detailedinformation on all the business cases studied can be foundin the attachment at the end of the main report.5
Special Issue - January 2020Innovative businesses in the Arctic: Many ways to successSUCCESSFUL ARCTICBUSINESSES:SELECTED CASE COMPANIESVadsøKirkenesSnow HotelFinnmarkArctic raceof NorwayBarelVisit MurmanskMurmanskRegionMurmanskIT alSafety SystemsMurmanSeaFoodMurmanplastKola KraiArcticzymesSami villageSAM-SYYTTundraTromsSalma kServicesNorrbottenArctic FallsPolarbrödMax �RapunzelHybricon69SolutionsBioactive BoneSubstitutes (BBS)CmicroHermanITKipuwexKNL Providers of culture, sport, touristand recreation experiencesHigh-tech, bio-medical orICT solutions and productsManufacturing and servicesProducers of food and drinksKajaaniNorthernOstrobothniaBioactive BoneSubstitutes (BBS)KainuuHermanITIndustrial and professionalservice providersRenewable energy and wastemanagement companies7
Special Issue - January 2020Innovative businesses in the Arctic: Many ways to successFINDINGSPhoto: SALTThe map in pages 6–7 presents only the business caseswe have studied. Of course, this is only one of the first stepsin this direction and more successful Arctic businessescan be identified, studied, and added to the map. A morecomplete map, also its online version may be produced inthe future.Our way of grouping businesses by type is fairly generaland used only for purposes of visual overview.Below in the report, more detailed attention is paid tothe companies as they are grouped by the four perspectives(motivation, branding, competitive advantage, clustering).Within each perspective there are sub-themes or categoriesspecifying the core common features of the companies.Methods summary63 BUSINESS CASES in the North of: Norway (13) Sweden (20) Finland (17) Russia (13)Types of businesses studied High-tech, bio-medical or ICT solutions and products Industrial and professional services Culture, sport, tourist, and recreational experiences Manufacturing and services Producers of food and drinks Renewable energy and waste management Cluster organizationsFINDINGSWHAT IS THE MOTIVATIONTO START AND OPERATE A BUSINESSWITH A BASE IN THE NORTH?We found that the rationale among our companies for starting up and operating business in the north falls into fourmajor categories: Identity, Resource, Location, Origin. Thesecategories emerge from content analyses of interviews.Below we present some illustrative quotes.1 We also presentexamples of Arctic entrepreneurs throughout the section.Many businesses IDENTIFY STRONGLY with place, naturalenvironment, local culture and lifestyle, sense of belonging.These are embedded in the way of doing business:The Arctic perception is in our DNA and reflects the way wecommunicate and build relationships (Vinter, Sweden)Inquiry: Visits and face-to-face interviews Telephone interviews Photos of businesses Collection of visuals (e.g. photos, logotypes)Topics: Motivation to operate from the North Ways to maintain competitive advantage Communicating values through branding Cooperation via clusters8We would like to create a producer center in connection withthe North Character festival for attracting cinema producers, making new films in the North and presenting them toNorthern audiences (Northern Character, Russia)The North is my native land. In addition, it is an industrialregion, which corresponds to our company’s type of activity(Industrial Safety Systems, Russia)We are northerners; it is because we live where we live There was no other alternative for us(Momek Services, Norway)To be here in Northern Norway is really important. The goalof our firm is to spread optimism about the sea, the coastand the people (SALT, Norway)Another reason for establishing and operating businessesis access to unique local natural RESOURCES:We cannot operate from elsewhere, our products, the waywe produce and our entire image originate from here(Jokkmokks korv, Sweden)Our product is based on a local resource (roe of the smallsalmonid fish species vendace), developed into a uniquebrand name (Kalix löjrom), which is processed by a technique handed down from generation to generation(Bröderna Stålarm, Sweden)This is our home; we have no way out just to work hard! unique northern nature attracts tourists, but remotenessmakes services more expensive (Visit Murmansk, Russia)We produce drinks and the natural purity and cleanlinessare very important and the materials we use come from thenorth (Tornio Brewery, Finland)More examples can be found, all cases studied can be grouped under these four categories. Belonging to one category does not excludethe possibility of belonging to others.19
Special Issue - January 2020BRANDS FROM THE ARCTICInnovative businesses in the Arctic: Many ways to successBRANDS FROM THE ARCTIC:WHAT KIND OF VALUES ARE COMMUNICATED?In general, we observed that innovative Arctic businesseshave a strong sense of belonging to their region. It seemsthat such a sense of belonging, together with access tounique resources, is a source of inspiration for the companies. They are proud of being located in the North. This isalso reflected in terms of communicating values throughbranding, as we show in this section.We found quite many brands making a strong referenceto the Arctic and North. The words “Arctic” and “North”, orrelated terms (e.g. “Polar”, “Snow”, “Winter”), appear in thebrand names. Often the brands include local place namesor product types. The owners of all these brands attach a lotof meaning to the brand names. The meaning is associatedwith local values, place, identity and lifestyle. Another typeof brands are those with a universal value concept. Suchbrands are not directly associated with the Arctic/North.They are designed for global markets or general purposesbut developed by local entrepreneurs from the Northernregions. Some examples of the brands follow next.BRANDS WITH STRONG REFERENCE TO THE “ARCTIC”, “NORTH” OR LOCAL PLACESPhoto: OuluHealth/BusinessOuluWhy are we here in the north? Because it all started in thenorth. We depend on the raw materials here(Biotech North, Norway)cases, motivation to start and develop businesses in theNorth is associated with the ORIGIN of the entrepreneur andtheir personal decisions to live in and work from the North:The role of LOCATION is very strong as many businessesoperate in settings where the natural environment, climate,geography and industry are unique:Our concept is general and we can operate from anywherein the world but our mindset originated from this region(Leos Lekland, Sweden)A combination of a unique infrastructure, climate, and ourperipheral location offer a unique set-up for car testing(ArcticFalls, Sweden)The only reason we operate from this region is the growingmarket and the fact that we come from this region(ElTrio, Sweden)Oulu has been a good place to build a high-tech company.The competence of the workforce is very good and it is agood place to hire new talent and to do R&D work(Optomed, Finland)We find no reason to do press releases about our new products from Stockholm. We operate on a global market andLondon is then a better place (TreeHotel, Sweden)Arctic conditions are our biggest attraction. They are relatedto our natural wonders such as winter, snow, icy conditions,northern lights and midnight sun(Tourism / House of Lapland, Finland)The company is the legal successor to the Murmansk FishProcessing Plant and the Medical Cod-liver Oil Plant. Ourlocation has historically influenced specialization of ourbusiness (Biokontur, Russia)Our advantage is snow, red king crab, a location close toFinland, where we recruit many people. Also, many Asiantourists arrive in Scandinavia via Finland(Kirkenes Snow Hotel, Norway)A lot of successful businesses were started in the Arcticbecause their owners (entrepreneurs) have originally livedand worked in the region. They have universal businessconcepts which in principle could work anywhere. In theseSometimes it is difficult to describe some Arctic entrepreneurs in terms of geographical or market conditions peculiarto the region. For example, during an interview with Rapunzel we observed far more general motivations. Rapunzelperceived a global need for hairpieces and hair products.BrandCore businessCommunicated Arctic related valueCountryArctic WarriorsNatural superfoodsmanufacturingUnique natural resources to addvalue to food productsFinlandSKIIOTSkiing performancemeasurement andanalysis deviceProximity to testing facilities, expertknowledge of skiing as core resourceFinlandTornio BreweryAn artisan breweryPure and clean materials thatoriginate in the NorthFinlandArctic race of NorwayAnnual bicycle raceheld in Northern NorwayUnique geographic-climatic areato add value to a sporting activityNorwayArctic zymesRecombinant enzymesfrom cold water marinespeciesUnique nature condition or resource toadd value to zymes productsNorwayKirknes Snow HotelTourist experiences andrecreationUnique natural resource and setting toadd value to tourism activitiesNorwayNordlandMusikkfestukeAnnual music festivalLocal culture, lifestyle, and nature/geographic setting to add value tocultural activitiesNorwayBiokontur fish oilFish oil and OMEGA 3based dietarysupplementsUnique natural resource made intodietary productRussiaNorthern CharacterInternational Film FestivalLocal culture, life style, and nature toadd value to cultural activityRussiaSami village SAM-SYYTTourist experiencesand recreationLocal culture, lifestyle, and nature toadd value to tourist activitiesRussiaJokkmokks korvHigh quality foodmanufacturingLocal values, culture and lifestyle toadd value to food productsSwedenMotivation section SUMMARYReason for starting up and operating a businessbased in the north Strong identity with place, nature, local cultureand lifestyle Access to unique local nature resources Location in the unique natural,climatic-geographic, or industrial setting Origin of business owners1011
Special Issue - January 2020Innovative businesses in the Arctic: Many ways to successBRANDS FROM THE ARCTICBRANDS WITH STRONG REFERENCE TO THE “ARCTIC”, “NORTH” OR LOCAL PLACESBrandCore businessCommunicated Arctic related valueCountryKalix löjromBröderna StålarmFishery and caviarproductionUnique natural resource andlifestyle to add value to food productSwedenVinterIntegrated communications agency andconsultancyUnique values, lifestyle, culturalproperties to add value to consultancyservicesSwedenPolarbrödBread bakeryLocal values, culture and lifestyle to addvalue to food productsSwedenArctic bathTourist and recreationalexperiencesUnique natural resources and culturalhistorical setting to add value totourism activitiesSwedenSkellefteå KraftElectric powerproductionUnique natural resources and setting toadd quality to energySwedenBRANDS FROM THE ARCTIC WITH UNIVERSAL VALUE CONCEPTBrandCore businessCountryLeos LeklandIndoor fun parkSwedenTreeHotelTourist experiences and recreationSwedenMax HamburgerBurger restaurant chainSweden9SolutionsHealth care security and communication systemsFinlandBioactive BoneSubstitutes (BBS)Bioactive bone-graft substituteimplantsFinlandCmicroMeasuring device for the temperature of food or drinkprepared in a microwaveFinlandKipuwexHealth and pain measurement deviceFinlandOptomedEye disease screening deviceFinlandProWellnessIT solutions for the prevention and care of chronic diseasesFinlandRapunzelHair extensions for retail customersSweden12Photo: Lapland Material Bank, Jaana SeveridtAll in all, the brands presented contribute to the positiveimage of the Arctic as a region of innovative and successfulbusinesses. Reference to local places and product types inbrand names certainly adds a new dimension to the Arcticidentity. Thus, the Arctic region can be perceived not only asa unique natural environment and climatic area or as areafor the extraction of natural resources, but as a place full oflocally developed and branded products and services.Branding appears a strong way of communicating valuesand opportunities in the Arctic. Based on the reviewed examples, we can summarize that following values associatedwith the Arctic are communicated through branding:PURITY, QUALITY, UNIQUENESS OF THE NATURALCONDITIONS, TECHNOLOGICAL EXCELLENCE.Section summary - Brands from the Arctic Brands with a strong reference to the Arctic- Arctic, North or other closely related wordsappear in brand names; evocative meaningsassociated with the Arctic or local values, placesand lifestyle are communicated as value added. Brands with a universal value concept brands not directly associated with the Arctic/North and designed for global markets or generalpurposes. Arctic values communicated: Purity, quality,uniqueness of the natural environment, technological excellence13
Special Issue - January 2020Innovative businesses in the Arctic: Many ways to successBRANDS FROM THE ARCTICMEET ARCTIC ENTREPRENEURS2Oleg Terebenin is a Murmansk- basedentrepreneur, founder and director ofseveral travel companies. One of themost successful is “Visit Murmansk”,which provides a wide range of services for tourists coming to Murmanskmostly from Russia and Asia. Oleg Terebenin is the first and only entrepreneurin the region to offer Igloo-houses forNorthern lights viewing; he uses special software for forecasting Northernlights occurrences. He emphasizes theprominent role of origin and locationsaying that “The North is our home,where we have no way out just to workhard”.Kent Lindvall and Britta JonssonLindvall developed the entire brandTreehotel by combining naturalattributes with architecture and arenow about to extend and launch a newconcept also including culture.Treehotel offers a unique hotelexperience: rooms on the trees withcontemporary design in the middle ofunspoiled nature.Kent and Britta have built a lifetogether, a working place, an international metropolis, in the trees, in theirlittle home village. With both feet onthe ground, they have bloomed wherethey were planted, their high flyingtreetop dreams have become a realityand are continuing to expand by theday.Kjersti Eline Tønnessen (Ph.D. inAquaculture) and Kriss RokkanIversen (Ph.D. in marine system ecology) founded SALT - an independentconsultancy and research companywith expertise on and for the coastand sea. Kjersti and Kriss were studentstogether, and agreed that they woulduse their educational backgrounds tocontribute to coastal development –at the place where the resources andvalue creation actually took place.The entrepreneurs claim that to be inNorthern Norway is really important,and the goal of their firm is to spreadoptimism for the sea, the coast and thepeople.Photo: Astrid WallerJonny Stålarm, who represents a smallfishery summarize his entrepreneurialactivity with a unique resource (fishroe) combined with a way to harvestroe and to brand the product with aspecific name - Kalix löjrom or Caviarof Kalix).The fishing starts in the second halfof September and ends five weekslater. The cold brackish waters of theBothnian Bay where the sea meetsgreat rivers makes the water high onminerals.Photo from www.sverigeferie.se:Stålarm brothers fishing in Bothnianbay.Marko Höynälä is an entrepreneurwho has established three firms usingInternet of Things (IoT) at the core ofits main products. Cmicro is a patented IoT device that measures thetemperature of food or drink preparedin a microwave and has global marketappeal. SkIIoT is an IoT device wornon a skier’s ankle that measures skiingperformance and the surrounding conditions. The device, according to Markowas developed based on his personalinterest in skiing, later working withtop athletes and combining high techinnovation. A product called Kipuwex was developed to measure painproviding preventive pain alarms evenwhen the patient is unable to expresshim/herself (e.g. infants, anaesthesiapatients, disabled and elderly).Konstantin Rubanovsky is the ownerand founder of various companies inthe Murmansk Region of Russia, whereone of the most successful is “KolaKrai”. Kola Krai is a dynamically developing company engaged in harvestingnorthern wild and cultivated berrieswith customers within and beyondthe region. Konstantin claims that theberry from the Kola Peninsula is valuedfor its rich vitamins and minerals allover the world. This allows Kola Kraito cooperate with such world-famouscompanies as Valio, Bama and manyother Scandinavian and Europeancompanies.Photo: Juho Karjalainen,Kuume Productions2This presentation material is based on interviews with the entrepreneurs or official information on their web sites.1415
Special Issue - January 2020Innovative businesses in the Arctic: Many ways to successWHAT IS ARCTIC COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?WHAT IS ARCTIC COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?At some stage some companies grow to an extent that theirlikelihood of sustaining substantially change to the better –they become established companies with clear competitiveadvantage. What constitutes their core capabilities to addvalue? How do such companies in the Arctic ensure economic sustainability and stay competitive? Having analyzed ourcase companies, we identified several commonalities aboutthe sources of their competitive advantage. In this sectionwe present these main sources and support our argumentsby examples - self-reported qualities of the companies.ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTISE ANDHIGH-QUALITY MANUFACTURINGHarsh climatic conditions as well as specific natural conditions, industry and the topography of the Arctic serve asan enabler to develop high level technical expertise andhigh-quality manufacturing products. While low-qualitymass production can be a source of competitive advantagefor other places, it is the opposite for the Arctic. What isdeveloped and manufactured here is of high quality and canbe used everywhere in the world. Below are several examples.Industrial Safety Systems LLC is a Murmansk-basedcompany offering professional services in the field ofenvironmental design and oil spill warnings since 2007.The uniqueness of the company is its female personnelwith high-level technical expertise. The company managedto expand its business to other regions (St. Petersburg,cooperation with the Norwegian coastal administration).Due to early market entry the company gained experienceand qualified specialists who are even called on to serveas experts by Rosprirodnadzor (the Russian nature safetyauthority). A team composed of women is an advantage asthey have such properties as competence, patience, a common language in achieving defined aims. These propertiesare highly appreciated by the man-dominated customerindustry (oil).Yet ideas for companies also come to fruition thanks tonatural conditions. Mikael Kyrk and Swevind started measuring wind at the beginning of 2002. They found that coldwind is heavier (i.e., higher density), the wind is relativelystable and there are few conflict zones between differentinterests. These conditions allowed them to plan serviceprovision for wind energy parks. So far they have had threeprojects in the largest wind energy park in Europe. Mikael16Photo: TreehotelKyrk describes the process as extremely long-term orientedincluding numerous challenging administrative tasks . Asmost of the Swedish wind energy parks are expected to beland based and 90-95% are in the Arctic, Mikael sees a promising market to operate from in the Arctic.A North Norway based company, Nofir, was founded in2008 with the purpose of establishing a nationwide systemfor collecting discarded equipment in Norway. A total of15 000 tons of plastic equipment from the fishing and fishfarming industry is discarded each year in Norway alone.In 2012 Nofir was granted support from the EuropeanUnion through the Eco Innovation scheme. Since then thecompany has collected material all over Europe through itsbranches in Norway, Lithuania, Turkey, and Poland. Directorof the company, Øistein Aleksandersen, believes that theircompetitive advantages are strong owners (which givessecure access to capital and raw material resources) and apackage of licenses and permits which are difficult to get inthe waste management industry.Stefan Johansson in Älvsbyhus refers to a critical erawhen they overcame the difficulties in the 90s’. This is alsothe period and the starting point to refine the product andthe segments they targeted. Yet Stefan argues that theirprefabricated houses are affordable to a large proportion ofthe market and their standards based on cold climate promise quality in other (warmer) climatic conditions. However,Stefan claims that the access to raw material and establishedrelationships with relatively few suppliers support theirbusiness idea. Stefan Lindbäck, CEO of Lindbäcks bygg, represents a similar idea but targets the commercial buildingsmarket. Their set-up for manufacturing commercial buildings allows them to cut costs and ensure that quality is met.Stefan Lindbäck also says that human capital is important tomaintain quality and that is achieved in the Arctic at a lowercost.Havator is an established Arctic company, founded inTornio. The company supplies lifting, special transportationand heavy haulage services in over 30 locations in the Nordic countries. It offers specialized services that are essentialfor construction projects in the north. Investing heavily insafety, having a long tradition, Havator is expecting growthin the business due to growing metal, mining and construction industries in the north.17
Special Issue - January 2020Innovative businesses in the Arctic: Many ways to successWHAT IS ARCTIC COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?TECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIPARCTIC EXPERIENCEThere are quite a lot of high technology firms originating inthe Arctic addressing global challenges. The technologicalleadership of these companies is a result of a long-termfocus on R&D and innovation.Population ageing is at the heart of the 9Solutions firmthat provides solutions for personnel security, nurse calls,home access management and locating for both hospitalsand care homes. Originally established in Oulu, 9Solutionsrelies on th
the Arctic brand and values added in products originate from Arctic conditions. Many of the entrepreneurs are aware of it and tend to promote Arctic values in their products and services. We report explicit examples of how Arctic values, culture, and identity are used in the food, construction, tour ism industries, as well in professional services.
