Saturday, September 04, 2004

The New York Times > Technology > Nokia Falters, and the Finns Take Stock

The New York Times > Technology > Nokia Falters, and the Finns Take Stock "In the late 1990's, Finland sprinted ahead of rivals and neighbors, propelled by the runaway success of Nokia in the mobile phone industry and reveling in a newly minted image as the world's leader in Internet and cellphone use. But now, this land on Russia's flank seems to be pondering whether it has lost its competitive inventive edge.
Last May, an authoritative study of global competitiveness bounced Finland down from the top three to No. 8, countering other polls that gave Finland top marks for literacy, lack of corruption and care of the environment. Nokia itself has stumbled this year, losing some of its share of the booming cellphone market to rival manufacturers. And in a survey of 70 Finnish executives that will be published soon, "all of them said Finland is no longer No. 1; we have a great problem toward work and success; we are no longer hungry," said Risto E. J. Penttila, head of a leading business research institute here."

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