Virpi Havila

Virpi Havila is professor emerita. Previously, she was a Chair Professor of Business Studies at the Department of Business Studies at Uppsala University. Her primary research interest concerns business relationship dynamics, in particular ending and restarting of business-to-business relationships. Currently, she studies restarting of business after a break. Her research has been published in international journals, such as Industrial Marketing Management, and Journal of Management Studies.

Virpi Havila is professor emerita. Previously, she was a Chair Professor of Business Studies (especially marketing) at the Department of Business Studies at Uppsala University (2014-2023), a promoted professor (2007-2013), and a senior lecturer (1997-2006) at Uppsala University. Between 2003 and 2007, she was Head of the Department at the Department of Business Studies.

Her primary research interest concerns business relationship dynamics, in particular ending and restarting of business-to-business relationships. She has also conducted studies on business network dynamics during business and project closure, and during mergers and acquisitions. She has published in Industrial Marketing Management, International Journal of Project Management, International Marketing Review, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Nordiske Organisasjonsstudier, Project Management Journal, and Scandinavian Journal of Management. She has also co-authored books on business networks, internationalisation, and mergers and acquisitions.

Currently, she is the project leader for the research project ”Understanding Recurring in the Business Landscape”, project start in 2021. This research project focuses on restarting of business activities after a break caused by events, or actions beyond the control of individual companies. The research project is financed by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.

She has been a guest researcher at the University of Bath (2001 and 2002), Hanken School of Economics (2007), the University of Sydney (2008), and the University of Adelaide (2008). In 2010, she was a visiting professor in marketing at Turku School of Economics. She has also been an external examiner of doctoral thesis in Australia (University of Technology Sydney, and University of Western Sydney), Denmark (Copenhagen Business School), Finland (Hanken School of Economics, University of Vaasa, and Åbo Akademi), Sweden (Chalmers University of Technology, Karlstad University), and the UK (Manchester Business School).

Professor Havila has been the project leader for the research project "Dissolution of Business Relationships in IT-related Business Networks" (financed by The Swedish Research Council during 2003-2005), for the research project "Business Network Dynamics of Mergers and Acquisitions, and Inter-organisational Projects" (financed by Jan Wallanders and Tom Hedelius Foundation, and Tore Browalds Foundation during 2008-2013), and the research project "Resuming Business" (financed by Jan Wallanders and Tom Hedelius Foundation, and Tore Browalds Foundation during 2013-2017).

Articles

Poblete, L., Havila, V., Anderson, H., Gidhagen, M. & Medlin, C. (2022) "Resuming business operations after a Hiatus: The case of reappearing relationships", Industrial Marketing Management, 106, 256-266.

Tähtinen, J. & Havila, V. (2019) “Conceptually confused, but on a field level? A method for conceptual analysis and its application”, Marketing Theory, 19(4), 533-557.

Bengtson, A., Havila, V. & Åberg, S. (2018) "Beyond Project Closure: Why some business relationships recur in subsequent projects", Project Management Journal, 49(2), 89-104.

Vedel, M., Holma, A. & Havila, V. (2016) "Conceptualizing Inter-organizational Triads", Industrial Marketing Management, 57, 139-147.

Havila, V., Medlin, C. & Salmi, A. (2013) ”Project-ending Competence in Premature Project Closures”, International Journal of Project Management, 31(1), 90-99.

Havila, V. & Medlin, C. (2012) “Ending-competence in Business Closure”, Industrial Marketing Management, 41(3), 413-420.

Havila, V., Johanson, J. & Thilenius, P. (2004) ”International Business-Relationship Triads”, International Marketing Review, 21(2), 172-186.

Tähtinen, J. & Havila, V. (2004) ”Enhancing Research in Exchange Relationship Dissolution”, Journal of Marketing Management, 20(9/10), 919-926.

Havila, V. & Wilkinson, I. (2002) ”The Principle of the Conservation of Business Relationship Energy: or many Kinds of New Beginnings”, Industrial Marketing Management, 31(3), 191-203.

Anderson, H., Havila, V. & Salmi, A. (2001) ”Can You Buy a Business Relationship? On the Importance of Customer and Supplier Relationships in Acquisitions”, Industrial Marketing Management, 30(7), 575-586.

Salmi, A., Havila, V. & Anderson, H. (2001) ”Acquisitions and Network Horizons: A Case Study in the Nordic Graphics Industry, Nordiske Organisasjonsstudier, 3(4), 61-83.

Havila, V. & Salmi, A. (2000) ”Spread of Change in Business Networks: An Empirical Study of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Graphic Industry”, Journal of Strategic Marketing, 8(2), 105-119.

Halinen, A, Salmi, A. & Havila, V. (1999) "From Dyadic Change to Changing Business Networks: An Analytical Framework", Journal of Management Studies, 36(6), 779-794.

Håkansson, H., Havila, V. & Pedersen, A.-C. (1999) ”Learning in Networks”, Industrial Marketing Management, 28(5), 443-452.

Anderson, H., Havila, V., Andersen, P. & Halinen, A. (1998) ”Position and Role – Conceptualizing Dynamics in Business Networks”, Scandinavian Journal of Management, 14(3), 167-186.

Books

Thilenius, P., Pahlberg, C. & Havila, V. (eds.) (2016) Extending Business Network Approach - New Territories, New Technologies, New Terms, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Anderson, H., Havila, V. & Nilsson, F. (eds.) (2013) Mergers and Acquisitions – The Critical Role of Stakeholders, New York: Routledge.

Havila, V. & Salmi, A. (2009) Managing Project Ending, London: Routledge.

Havila, V., Forsgren, M. & Håkansson, H. (eds.) (2002) Critical Perspectives on Internationalisation, Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd.

Havila, V. (1996) International Business-Relationship Triads. A Study of the Changing Role of the Intermediating Actor, doctoral dissertation, Uppsala University, Department of Business Studies.

Book chapters

Gidhagen, M. & Havila, V. (2016) "From Business Remains to Reactivated Business Relationships", in Thilenius, P., Pahlberg, C. & Havila, V. (eds.) (2016) Extending Business Network Approach - New Territories, New Technologies, New Terms, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Anderson, H., Havila, V. & Nilsson, F. (2013) “A Stakeholder Approach to Mergers and Acquisitions”, in Anderson, H., Havila, V. & Nilsson, F. (eds.) (2013) Mergers and Acquisitions – The Critical Role of Stakeholders, New York: Routledge, 1-14.

Havila, V. & Salmi, A. (2002) ”Network Perspective on International Mergers and Acquisitions: What more do we see?” in Havila, V., Forsgren, M. & Håkansson, H. (eds.), Critical Perspectives on Internationalisation, Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd, 457-472.

Havila, V. & Sandström, M. (1993) "International Business: Distribution Chains or Triadic Units?" in Cavusgil, S. & Sharma, D. (eds.), Advances in International Marketing, vol. 5, Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI Press Inc., 247-261.