Samuli Knüpfer has been appointed professor of ownership at the Aalto University School of Business, thus becoming the world’s first long-term professor in the field. As one of the founding donors for the professorship, TT Gaskets is proud to be a part of making pioneering research possible in Finland.
“Professor Knüpfer and his team are doing groundbreaking research. Together with my father Matti Arpiainen, we believe that a deeper understanding of ownership structure and models are vital in highlighting ownership culture as an important aspect of our society,” TT Gaskets CEO Aleksi Arpiainen says.
Established with donated funds, the aim of the professorship is to make ownership an integral part of academic research and to produce high-quality data to support societal discussion and decisions.
“As a family-owned business, we consider the strengthening of Finnish ownership culture and expertise an especially important goal. Us patient family entrepreneurs have no quarterly targets. Instead, we aim to produce long-term solutions that contribute to wellbeing. I believe the professorship can deepen and generate new forms of prosperity, and this is something we really want to be a part of,” Aleksi Arpiainen says.
With the professorship, Finland will now be in the forefront of producing scientific research on ownership for current and coming generations of entrepreneurs.
“There really hasn’t been a lot of academic research in this field so far. We need information on all forms of ownership to enable fact-based societal discussions and conversations, and also to help companies grow and remodel themselves in a sustainable way.”
The Finnish Family Business Network (Perheyritysten liitto) is one of the world’s most active family business organizations and has been an integral part in establishing the professorship.
“Combining the Family Business Network’s empirical experience with unbiased scientific data will surely result in a more comprehensive understanding of ownership. I hope that we can participate and contribute our own experience to the discussions that professor Knüpfer’s research will generate,” Aleksi Arpiainen says.