Study title

Interviews of Business Managers and Executive Search Professionals 2014-2015

Dataset ID Number

FSD3019

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3019
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3019

Data Type

Qualitative

Authors

• Koivunen, Tuija (University of Tampere. School of Social Sciences and Humanities)

Abstract

The study investigated the recruitment of top management in listed and state-owned companies in Finland, particularly from the viewpoint of gender equality. The data consist of 19 interview transcripts. The interviewees included executive search professionals working in recruitment companies as well as high management of companies, for instance, members of the Board of Directors or human resources managers. One expert on state ownership steering was also interviewed. Data collection was part of the Gender Equality in Top Management - Changing Practices in Economic Decision-Making programme (TASURI) of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, connected to the Finnish Government's Action Plan for Gender Equality 2012-2015.

High management interviewees were asked who in the company participated in the choice of high executives and board of directors members, how competence criteria were drawn, whether the company had processes for internal recruitment such as talent management, whether gender equality was taken into account in recruitment, and what were good and bad recruitment practices for top management. Executive search professionals, that is, recruitment consultants, were asked about recruiting processes, practices and channels, who participated in the choice, how competence criteria were drawn, preferences set by companies for candidate gender, obstacles or glass ceilings for top management posts, own possibilities to promote gender equality, and good and bad recruitment practices.

Background information included the interviewee's gender and role in the company.

The dataset is only available in Finnish.

Keywords

companies; equal opportunity; equality between the sexes; gender; gender role; human resources; managers; recruitment; top management

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Equality, inequality and social exclusion (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Gender and gender roles (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Elites and leadership (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (C) available only for research including master's theses.

Data Collector

• Koivunen, Tuija (University of Tampere. School of Social Sciences and Humanities)

Data Producers

• Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

Time Period Covered

2014 – 2015

Collection Dates

2014-11-25 – 2015-02-24

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Organization/Institution

Event/Process/Activity

Universe

Individuals who worked with recruitment of corporate management for listed or state-owned companies

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Purposive

Executive search professionals were selected from key recruitment companies that recruit top management for companies. Participants from the top management of listed companies were sought both from companies where gender equality among the top management was apparent and companies where women were not represented equally. In the end, two listed companies and five state-owned companies participated in the study. Eight companies refused to participate because they did not have the time or because there had recently been little changes in the top management. Two companies out of the eight did not respond to the interview request at all.

Collection Mode

Telephone interview

Interview

Research Instrument

Interview scheme and/or themes

Data Files

19 interview transcripts in RTF and HTML file formats.

Data File Language

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

Qualitative data are available in their original language only and are not translated.

Data Version

2.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Names of persons and companies were removed from the data. Pseudonyms were used to replace recurring names. Changes made to the data at FSD are marked with [[double square brackets]].

The archived data are missing the interviews of five interviewees who did not give permission for archiving.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Koivunen, Tuija (University of Tampere): Interviews of Business Managers and Executive Search Professionals 2014-2015 [dataset]. Version 2.0 (2021-08-04). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3019

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Special Terms and Conditions for Access

Direct quotations from the data used in publications or presentations must not contain indirect identifiers (for example, detailed work history, unique life events) that might allow identification of an interviewee or a third party mentioned in the interview. Moreover, quotations used must not allow any enterprise mentioned in an interview to be identified.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Koivunen, Tuija (2015). Sukupuolten tasa-arvo yritysten ylimmän johdon rekrytoinneissa. Julkaisuja 2015:5. Helsinki: Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-00-3724-6

Koivunen, Tuija (2015). Sukupuolten tasa-arvo yritysten ylimmän johdon rekrytoinneissa. Tiivistelmä. Julkaisuja 2015:9. Helsinki: Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö. http://urn.fi/URN:978-952-00-3728-4

Ollitervo, Heidi (2022) Ideaalin johtajan rakentuminen suorahakukonsulttien haastattelupuheessa. Maisterintutkielma. Helsingin yliopisto, Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta.

Pelkonen, Janika (2017) Johtoaseman esteenä lasikatto : rekrytoinnin ammattilaisten näkemyksiä naisten kohtaamista urakehityksen esteistä. Jyväskylän yliopisto: Sosiologian Pro gradu -tutkielma. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-201705152349

Ollitervo, H. (2024). Whose Agents Executive Search Consultants Are?: A Qualitative Study of How Executive Search Consultants Position Themselves and Whom They Construct Themselves to Serve from These Positions. Master's Thesis. Espoo: Aalto University. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202404143115

Rinta-Panttila, Eva (2024). Me ollaan kuitenki käytännön toimijoita vaan. Ja suutari pysyköön lestissään: Suorahakukonsulttien toimijuuden rakentuminen sukupuolten välisen tasa-arvon edistämisen kontekstissa. Sosiaalipsykologian maisterintutkielma. Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto. https://ethesis.helsinki.fi/repository/handle/123456789/53394