The Pan-European Institute (PEI) specialises in international business, investments and socio-economic development in the Baltic Sea region. PEI implements and coordinates research projects related to the economic development of Europe and its neighbouring countries.
The Pan-European Institute's research focuses on the following three topics:
The global development of political relations, tensions and structures has direct effects on trade and the daily operations of various industries and individual enterprises. PEI observes and studies these security concerns, economic sanctions and political risks affecting international business.
Projects:
Social media & societal stability in extraordinary circumstances (2023-2024), funded by the Scientific Advisory Board for Defence (MATINE), investigates how social media could be utilized in foreseeing the developments in Finland’s security environment.
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Global megatrends such as multi-polarisation, digitalisation and the fight against climate change have created synergies and conflicting interests worldwide. There’s a need for economic reform to reshape existing institutions and policies in response to the new reality. Our study focuses on the effects of these wide-ranging changes in institutional development and what role different actors play in this ongoing change.
Projects:
KAPPAS - Trade policy experts and know-how to Finland, 11/2019-12/2023, funded by TT-säätiö
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Due to the rapid and highly complex changes in the global business environment, companies in different industries have developed their skills and processes both at the organizational level and collectively at the industry level. Especially in the maritime transport sector, PEI has coordinated several international projects that have explored ways to increase companies' competitiveness, innovation, digitalization, eco-efficiency and sustainability in different business networks.
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Ongoing research projects
The MANU research project, funded by the Foundation for Economic Education, explores Finnish firms’ sustainability management amidst geopolitical turbulence. The key research questions are:
(1) How is sustainability management characterised and challenged in geopolitical turbulence?
(2) How resilient are firms in different operational time spans in the face of such turbulence?
(3) How can firms advance their sustainability through resilience against possibly increasing geopolitical turbulence?
The empirical research will be conducted through three case studies exploring different time spans towards sustainability in international business. The short-term case focuses on Finnish firms’ resilience to hybrid threats, which may affect different dimensions of sustainability. The medium-term case examines Finnish firms’ de-internationalisation and re-internationalisation activities, illustrating resilience in action as well as complex sustainability trade-offs. The long-term case analyses the resilience and sustainability dynamics associated with intensifying natural resource extraction in Finland.
The Principal Investigator of the project is Research Manager, D.Sc. (Econ) Eini Haaja from the Pan-European Institute. The research group comprises M.Sc. (Econ) Matti Karinen, M.A. Hanna Mäkinen, M.Sc. (Econ) Kari Pylkkönen, and D.Sc. (Econ) Anna Karhu. Haaja’s research group has received 200 000 EUR from the Foundation for Economic Education for conducting the three-year MANU project in 2026–2028.
The MANU project seeks to renew the understanding of sustainability and resilience in business studies by updating existing concepts to fit today’s turbulent international business environment. The project will produce high-level academic articles as well as practical recommendations for business managers and policymakers.
In this two-year research project (2026–2027), funded by the Scientific Advisory Board for Defence (MATINE), we examine changes in relations between Russia and key NATO countries during Donald Trump’s second presidential term, as well as the role of hybrid influence and new influence opportunities within this development.
This phenomenon-driven study combines three complementary perspectives—hybrid influence research, intelligence studies with a special focus on OSINT methods, and societal resilience research. Using various methods (content analysis of media material, expert interviews, and a workshop), the project aims to determine how hybrid influencing affects NATO cohesion, as well as different countries’ willingness and determination to defend one another, particularly in the European context.
The objectives of the research are:
1) To identify changes in perceptions of the opposing side in Russia and NATO countries as they appear in national public discussion.
2) To analyse the role of hybrid influence in shaping these perceptions and, conversely, the new influence channels and manifestations that the changed situation creates in Finland’s key NATO allies.
3) To assess whether hybrid influencing shows recurring patterns and temporal cycles that could be detected through OSINT in the future, thereby enabling automation of influence monitoring.
The research project expands our understanding of how relations between Russia and NATO countries have developed during Trump’s second presidential term, how NATO’s unity has evolved in this situation, and what role hybrid influence may play in these changes. Additionally, the project produces new knowledge about ways to detect and monitor hybrid influence using OSINT methods. In this way, the research strengthens analysis of Finland’s operating environment and provides critical insights for Finland’s preparedness regarding hostile influence efforts aimed at undermining NATO cohesion, as well as Finland’s opportunities to strengthen its security and resilience in a rapidly changing environment.
Contacts: Hanna Mäkinen and Eini Haaja