Guest lecture by Anne Berner, Chairperson of Oy Vallila Interior Ab. Topic: ”Re-defining Ownership” Venue: Futurum

Ownership as a term is recognized by all of us. We accept the importance of the right to private ownership as one of the main principles that guide the western thinking of a free market and of a democracy. Ownership as a concept has created value, mostly not only to the owner, but in large also to society. Ownership is also about emotions. We care for that what we own. We maintain the value of whatever we own. We feel ownership and we know it is connected with responsibilities. We are used to the idea of owning a car, a home, a piece of land or formerly here in Finland - a share in the phone company.

Finland is for historic reasons poor in capital. The state has had a major role, especially in developing the industries, in postwar Finland. High taxation has slowed down the creation of major capital funds over the centuries since the wars. Even though we can say that the atmosphere towards entrepreneurship has improved tremendously over the past years, the overall acceptance of and understanding for the importance of ownership has declined rapidly. However, there is no entrepreneurship without ownership, but there can be ownership without entrepreneurship.