Sonja Sarasvuo receives the Waldemar von Frenckell award in business and economics

Sarasvuo is recognised for her research in marketing, with a particular focus on branding. She combines strong academic achievements with active participation in public debate and has been noted as one of the most promising young talents in Finland.

“I truly appreciate this recognition! It is a great honour to receive the award, and it feels especially meaningful since it is not granted in economics every year. The award gives me valuable time and space to dive deeper into my research questions and collaborate more with my colleagues, which I very much look forward to,” says Sarasvuo.

With the support of the award, Sarasvuo will take partial research leave to focus on her research exploring how business leaders interpret, develop, and support brand purpose in practice. The project is based on in-depth interviews with Nordic business executives, combined with quantitative survey studies, to understand the role of leadership in the development and operationalisation of purpose-driven brands.

“Over the past year, we have already started the project by conducting 50 interviews with business leaders. The next step is to develop a measurement tool to be able to track how purpose-driven brands take shape and how they relate to sustainable development goals and related outcomes,” Sarasvuo explains.