Welcome to Martti Puohiniemi's homepage
Take a look at my website and you will see how digitalization has affected the everyday life and values of Finns in 1981-2015. Since the late 1970s I have studied Finnishness from numerous perspectives while working in research institutes, advertising agencies, at the university and in my own company, as well as writing five books about my research. The research period covers my entire working career and has shown digitalization to be the most important social change force of our time. Buy the final part of the trilogy (written in Finnish) that shows how it all happened. The book is written in Finnish
Now the third edition of the book is on sale in paperback and e-book. Initially, it can be purchased from the publisher's Books on Demand online bookstore. In the coming days, it will also be available in other online bookstores.
The materials from years 1991-2015 are archived in the Finnish Social Science Data Archive (FSD). So far the research material including the texts of the data files is available only in Finnish. All the material, will be available in English in near future. However, a lot of descriptive material of the research is available in English already now. For details see Archives -page.
‘The change in the Finnish set of values, globalization and zeitgeist’
The book 'Suomalaisen arvomaailman muutos, globalisaatio ja ajan henki' is written in Finnish. In English the name of the book is: ‘The change in the Finnish set of values, globalization and zeitgeist’ (2024). It is the chief work of my research project called The Four Seasons of Globalization: How Diffusion of New Technology Shapes Human Values. The project was funded by the Academy of Finland, Limor Oy and the Kone Foundation.
The publication analyzes changes in Finnish values and its consequences in both mundane and societal contexts in 1981-2015. The globalization of the market pushed as if unnoticed into everyday life and began to change the values that are usually considered stable. The gradual changes in values are studied in relation to digitalization, environmental problems and the fragmentation of media use. They are also linked to economic cycles, demographic change and rising populism.
The generation-long (1981-2015) time series of values that is based on Schwartz's value theory is the most comprehensive in existence in terms of both length and topics. The time period covers the rise and growth of liberal democracy. Significant social changes attracted or forced people to act in a new way—or to remain a bystander. Value changes are linked to everyday phenomena by using value maps, which helps the reader to understand their own relationship with the changing world.
Martti Puohiniemi, Doctor of Social Sciences
Independent researcher
