| Summary: | In this thesis internationalization strategies in middle-sized municipalities in Finland are studied. Finnish municipalities are experiencing a lot of pressure from their operational environment and at the same time, internationalization is rushing into the municipalities. This research is studying what internationalization strategies of Finnish municipalities contain, and what the municipalities intend to achieve through them. The focus in this study is on the municipality of Vaasa. The municipality of Vaasa intends to advance internationalization, which is why this study outlines the views of the members in the administration of Vaasa concerning strategy as a tool for internationalization. A background study on the internationalization strategies of Jyväskylä, Joensuu and Rovaniemi is used to anchor the research and to deliver a frame to locate, to compare and to evaluate the views of the members of the administration of Vaasa. The research material and the results of the background study are compared and combined to be able to provide coherent study results. This research is qualitative and the subject is researched through semi-structured interviews. Six members in the administration of Vaasa are interviewed. The research material is analyzed by using thematic content analysis. The theoretical framework is based on fundamental elements of strategy in public organizations, since it defines relevance of strategies in the public field. Both the background study, yet also the analysis of the views of the members of the administration of Vaasa show that economic growth and global awareness of municipalities can be seen as the most essential matters that can be achieved through an internationalization strategy. Global interest towards municipalities could increase international investments and improve their economics. By increasing the economics it is possible to aggregate the wellbeing of stakeholders, which would improve the competitive advantage of municipalities. With increasing competitive advantage, the ...
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