B2N Research Group in India: International Conference on Management Cases ICMC 2018 (Greater Noida,

From the left : Johanna, Ari, Anna, Riikka and Jere

In November 2018, B2N researchers participated in the International Conference on Management Cases (ICMC2018) conference in Greater Noida near Delhi, India. As we normally attempt to do, we arrived to Delhi a few days before the conference started to visit ecological restoration sites.

First, we visited the Yamuna Biodiversity Park, which is a home for biologically rich wetlands. The park covers over an area of 457 acres near the Yamuna River in New Delhi.

Aravalli Restored area. Saplings and young trees of native species

Our second visit was the Aravalli Biodiversity Park, an endeavor to restore an old mining area just next to the center of New Delhi. The park consists of 380 acres city forest with over 300 species of plants and close to species of birds native to the Northern Aravalli Mountains.

The conference, together with the side events and visits, was an unparalleled opportunity to experience many contrasts: the difference between the level of air pollution in the overcrowded city and in the well-planned green areas; the disparity between the misery and poverty of the underprivileged and the hospitality and kindness deeply entrenched in the culture; and the distinction between the level of general well-being in the society and the high-quality academic conference.

Aravalli Nursery of native plant species used in restoration of old quarries

While the visit to a nearby village made us to understand our privileged position as part of the Finnish society, it also made us to experience the beautiful idiosyncrasies of the country.

Fun fact: during that visit, we ended up on local news as Western visitors in India. (see here)

Aravalli Orchid conservatory at the bottom of restored quarry

On the behalf of the project, we submitted and presented four papers in the

conference. Two of them were rated among the thirteen best papers in the conference, and participated into to Collective Wisdom conference sessions. All papers are published in a book titled Evolving Business Models in Ecosystem of Disruptive Technologies and Social Media co-edited by professors A. K. Dey and Hanna Lehtimäki. The copies of the articles are available in request from the authors. The publications are as follows:

Jokinen, Ari, Kujala, Johanna, Haapaniemi, Lotta & Heikkinen, Anna 2019. Eco-innovation of a power line company to mitigate ecological impacts. In Dey, A. K. & Lehtimäki, Hanna (Eds.). Evolving Business Models in Ecosystem of Disruptive Technologies and Social Media. New Delhi: Bloomsbury, 112–125.
Heikkinen, Anna, Kujala, Johanna, Jokinen, Ari, Nieminen, Jere & Kaukonen, Annina 2019. Case green roofs in Finland: Green roof standard formation as a social process. In Dey, A. K. & Lehtimäki, Hanna (Eds.). Evolving Business Models in Ecosystem of Disruptive Technologies and Social Media. New Delhi: Bloomsbury, 182–192.
Kujala, Johanna, Heikkinen, Anna, Nieminen, Jere, Jokinen, Ari, Lehtonen, Outi, Tapaninaho, Riikka & Mäkelä, Hannele 2019. Stakeholder interests in ecosystem services. Case Vuores stormwater system. In Dey, A. K. & Lehtimäki, Hanna (Eds.). Evolving Business Models in Ecosystem of Disruptive Technologies and Social Media. New Delhi: Bloomsbury, 136–146.
Tapaninaho, Riikka & Lähde, Elina 2019. Multi-stakeholder cooperation for green infrastructure: Creating sustainable value. In Dey, A. K. & Lehtimäki, Hanna (Eds.). Evolving Business Models in Ecosystem of Disruptive Technologies and Social Media. New Delhi: Bloomsbury, 169–181.