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Department of Management Studies Aalto-DD Mantua-Kommonen Kirsi Kirsi Mantua-Kommonen In different cultures, colours are sometimes given different meanings. Understanding 157 Provenance of Cultural the origins of these cultural colour meanings / has gained importance due to the recent 2016 advances towards digitalization of business Colour Meanings and communication, and the current phase of globalization. The purpose of this The Green Hat and other narratives from Sino-Finnish business dissertation is to increase our encounters understanding of the dynamics of cross- cultural meaning-making for colours by Meanings Colour Cultural of Provenance examining the provenance of cultural colour meanings. Engaging in the debate within management Mantua-Kommonen Kirsi and communication studies this research suggests a potential synthesis between the systemic and the process views to Culture. It finds that the significance of some cultural forces is inherited and more persistent (systemic view), while that of other cultural forces is more dynamic and transforming in nature (process view). By framing Culture as dynamic heritage, this research proposes a conceptualization for Provenance of cultural colour meanings, contributing to the Multimodal theory of colour. 9HSTFMG*agjfff+ 9HSTFMG*agjfff+ ISBN 978-952-60-6955-5 (printed) BUSINESS + ISBN 978-952-60-6954-8 (pdf) ECONOMY ISSN-L 1799-4934 ISSN 1799-4934 (printed) ART + ISSN 1799-4942 (pdf) DESIGN + ARCHITECTURE University Aalto Aalto University School of Business SCIENCE + Department of Management Studies TECHNOLOGY www.aalto.fi CROSSOVER DOCTORAL DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS DISSERTATIONS 2016 Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 157/2016 Provenance of Cultural Colour Meanings The Green Hat and other narratives from Sino- Finnish business encounters Mantua-Kommonen Kirsi Aalto University School of Business Department of Management Studies Main dissertation advisor Professor Eija Ventola, Aalto University School of Business, Finland Co-dissertation advisors Professor Emerita Mirjaliisa Charles, Aalto University School of Business, Finland Docent Päivi Hovi-Wasastjerna, Aalto University School of Arts, Finland Opponent Professor Theo van Leeuwen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark, and University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 157/2016 © Mantua-Kommonen Kirsi ISBN 978-952-60-6955-5 (printed) ISBN 978-952-60-6954-8 (pdf) ISSN-L 1799-4934 ISSN 1799-4934 (printed) ISSN 1799-4942 (pdf) http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-6954-8 Graphic design: Cover photo collage: Wensi Zhai Images: Photos by Kirsi Mantua-Kommonen and Janne Kommonen. For other photos, the sources are sited on each page. Unigrafia Oy Helsinki 2016 Finland Publication orders (printed book): Purchase orders for copies of the printed publication may be sent to books(at)compassion.fi. The connecting 4-colour exhibition catalogue "Colour travels in China" (Museum of Cultures, Helsinki, 2011) may be ordered via the same address. This dissertation research has received funding from the Finnish Foundation for Economic Education, the Foundation of the Helsinki School of Economics, the Paulo Foundation, and the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation. This research has also been part of a project "Globalization and International Management: Successful Governance of Intercultural Communication in Finnish-Chinese Business Operations" led by Professor Riitta Kosonen and funded by the Academy of Finland (project number 119617). Abstract Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto.fi Author Mantua-Kommonen Kirsi Name of the doctoral dissertation Provenance of Cultural Colour Meanings Publisher School of Business Unit Department of Management Studies Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 157/2016 Field of research International Business Communication Date of the defence 16 September 2016 Language English Monograph Article dissertation Essay dissertation Abstract In different cultures, colours are sometimes assigned different meanings. Understanding the origins of these cultural colour meanings has become increasingly important with the ongoing advances towards digitalization of business and communication, and the most recent phase of globalization. However, academic research has largely neglected this phenomenon. The purpose of this dissertation is to increase our understanding of the dynamics of cross- cultural meaning-making for colours by examining the provenance of cultural colour meanings. This is achieved by employing empirical studies set in Chinese-Finnish business contexts, taking into account particular perspectives induced by globalization and online media, and their implications on the developments within the intersections of the research domains of business communication, culture, and colour. Methodologically, this research applies an emic-etic cross-cultural approach, using within- method triangulation of qualitative methods to explore the phenomenon. The empirical materials consist of narrative, visual, and observation materials generated within studies conducted in China and in Finland between January 2007 and July 2009. The two countries were chosen due to the shift of interest of many Finland-based MNCs from China-as-a-factory to include China-as-a-market, and ensuing perception of previously unexplored cultural differences in visual conventions, colour meanings in particular. Engaging in the debate within management and communication studies this research suggests a potential synthesis between the systemic and the process views to Culture. It finds that the significance of some cultural forces is inherited and thus more persistent (systemic view), while that of other cultural forces is more dynamic and transforming in nature (process view). Consequently, by framing Culture as dynamic heritage, this research proposes a conceptualization for Provenance of cultural colour meanings, contributing to the Multimodal theory of colour. Likewise, this research propositions the significance of the expressive function of the mode of colour borrowing from the former art historical and psychoanalytic approaches as well as based on the present empirical studies. Consequently, engaging with the Interactionist theory of communication, this research suggests that Meaning-making for colour can be conceived as an expression of cultural experience whereby the communicators become expressors of their respective cultural background and experience. Finally, this dissertation advances our understanding of meaning-making for colour in a multimodal context by adding the cross-cultural dimension to previous models, and shows that different modes can elaborate, extend, enhance, and contradict each other. Keywords business communication, China, colour, culture, Finland, globalization, meaning- making, multimodality, narrative inquiry, observation, online media, visual inquiry ISBN (printed) 978-952-60-6955-5 ISBN (pdf) 978-952-60-6954-8 ISSN-L 1799-4934 ISSN (printed) 1799-4934 ISSN (pdf) 1799-4942 Location of publisher Helsinki Location of printing Helsinki Year 2016 Pages 282 urn http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-6954-8 Acknowledgements First and foremost I want to thank my three supervisors. First, my initial su- pervisor Professor Emerita Mirjaliisa Charles, thank you for having the faith in both my multidisciplinary topic and in me, “damaged goods” from the busi- ness world, looking to find a path into the world of academia. Without you I would never have started this dissertation journey. I am so happy to share this moment with you. Also, I want to thank my secondary supervisor, Docent Päivi Hovi-Wasastjerna from the Aalto University school of Arts and Design (former UIAH), for giving me perspective and confidence through the turbulent times in early Aalto and for supporting my unconventional approach. And last, but by no means least, my esteemed Custos and supervisor, Professor Eija Ventola, who pushed me further and further, and would not let me take the path of least resistance during the final phases of focusing and editing my manuscript. You know I might not have finalized without you. Warmest thanks go to my two pre-examiners, who had the patience during the long process. Thank you, Professor Emerita Linda Beamer, for the compas- sionate and detailed feedback and deeply engaged discussion, which led to countless improvements on all levels of my dissertation writing. And of course, thank you my honoured opponent Professor Theo van Leeuwen for enduring my passionate and unfocused journey, which finally paid off. I hope we can, in the future, collaborate along some of the research avenues identified in this dissertation. On top of my distinguished supervisors and pre-examiners, there are many other professors whom I have had privilege to discuss my work with, and whom I wish to extend my thanks to. In a chronological order, I want to thank Professor Catherine Kohler Riessman, who straightforward questioned my approach of using narrative analysis, being the first in the long line to force me defend my case for using an unconventional methodological combination. Fur- thermore, I want to thank Professor Gillian Rose for her supportive and in- sightful guidance into the world of visual inquiry. Professor Pia Polsa, thank you for providing me with irreplaceable guidance to researching Chinese cul- ture combining emic and etic approaches. Professor Riitta Kosonen, thank you for accepting my application to the project "Globalization

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