Aki
Koponen
Links
Areas of expertise
Biography
I serve as Research Director at the Centre for Collaborative Research CCR at Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, and lead the Decision Environments research group. My research focuses on decision environments, organizational renewal, and the behavioral foundations of strategic change.
In my research, I examine why knowledge, capabilities, and new technological opportunities do not always translate into action, and how organizational practices, decision-making structures, participation, and institutional environments shape organizations’ capacity for renewal.
Since 2004, I have led and participated in numerous multidisciplinary research, development, and industry collaboration projects. My work combines academic research with close collaboration with companies, public-sector organizations, cities, and other societal actors. I currently lead the TRANSFORM-AI consortium, funded by the Strategic Research Council, which examines the role of artificial intelligence, leadership, decision-making, skills, and intangible capabilities in organizational renewal and competitiveness. I have also served as an expert member of the Finnish Market Court, and I have experience in entrepreneurship and the commercialization of research-based innovations.
Research
My research focuses on how individuals, organizations, and networks make decisions, respond to change, and develop their capacity for renewal. I am particularly interested in the gap between available knowledge or technological potential and organizational action.
My current research draws on organizational decision-making and behavior, behavioral economics, practice theory, open strategy, and strategic renewal. Key themes include decision environments, artificial intelligence and organizational transformation, participation and agency, business renewal, and the social acceptance of technological change and sustainability transitions.
A recurring theme in my research is how established practices, past choices, incentives, metrics, and institutional structures shape the alternatives that actors perceive as possible and desirable. At the same time, individuals and organizations can actively reinterpret problems, construct new alternatives, and reshape the environments in which future decisions are made.
Methodologically, my work combines quantitative and qualitative approaches, including experiments, surveys, interviews, case studies, co-creation, and foresight and Delphi methods. Much of my research is conducted in multidisciplinary projects in collaboration with companies, public-sector organizations, and international research partners.