News

‘When hard data is not enough – expert-driven models in strategy work’

The coronavirus crisis has highlighted the importance of strategic foresight and resilience to change in companies. New methods and approaches are being sought to continuously monitor uncertainties and update strategy.
Vihreällä kuvitustaustalla kuva Eeva Vilkkumaasta ja seminaarin otsikko

‘Data and artificial intelligence are everywhere, but their benefits for long-term strategy work are limited. Imagining unprecedented events and ideating strategic choices requires creative and critical thinking by human experts,’ says Assistant Professor Eeva Vilkkumaa from Aalto University School of Business.‘But could mathematical foresight and strategy models be more than just hard data and optimisation – for example, a way to harness the creativity of a diverse group of experts to support participatory and systematic strategy work?

Eeva Vilkkumaa and her guests at the Better Business – Better Society seminar on Thursday 3 December discuss (in Finnish) how they perceive the role of qualitative analyses, creative methods, mathematical modelling and data analytics to develop in the strategy work of the future.

‘At best, different approaches support each other. Information produced using qualitative and creative methods can be refined into justified recommendations for decisions by means of mathematical modelling. Artificial intelligence and data analytics, on the other hand, make it possible to continuously monitor the operating environment, which enables rapid responses to significant changes.’

Eeva Vilkkumaa works as an assistant professor at the Department of Information and Service Management at the Aalto University School of Business. She leads the Prescriptive analytics for data-informed decision-making project, funded by the Foundation for Economic Education for four years (2019–2022), which develops mathematical decision support models to support scenario-based strategy work and cost-effective allocation of health care resources. Three professors and five doctoral students from the Department of Information and Service Management work in the project.

Better Business — Better Society Seminar Series

The Seminar Series discusses the current and societally important topics at the School of Business. The seminars will be arranged monthly, generally on the first Thursday of the month, excluding holiday seasons.

Lue lisää
Kuva seminaarisarjasta, jossa ilmiset verkostoituvat esityksen jälkeen
  • Published:
  • Updated:

Read more news

image of a wooden pillar from little finlandia and the text time out
Research & Art Published:

Aalto University shakes up construction practices at the New European Bauhaus Festival in Brussels

The exhibition Time Out! will be on show in Brussels from 9 to 13 April 2024 as part of the NEB Festival.
Two of the awardees and their robotic arm all holding colorful mugs. Aalto Open Science Award, Honorary mention.
Awards and Recognition, Research & Art Published:

Aalto Open Science Award third place awardee 2023 – Intelligent Robotics Research Group with the Robotic Manipulation of Deformable Objects project

We interviewed the Intelligent Robotics Research Group with the Robotic Manipulation of Deformable Objects project, 3rd place awardees of the first Aalto Open Science Award.
Five Aalto University students around a table
Research & Art Published:

Read the Qual+ Newsletter

We are excited to welcome you to the second Qual+ Newsletter and continue bringing you new ways of looking at methods within management studies.
Young architects sitting on the outdoor staircase and smiling
Cooperation Published:

Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä to curate the Pavilion of Finland at the 2025 Biennale Architettura

The theme of the chosen exhibition concept by the architect duo is the preservation of modern architecture.