Research Group

Professor Anu Sivunen

Anu Sivunen (PhD, @asivunen) is a professor of communication in the Department of Language and Communication Studies at University of Jyväskylä. Her research focuses on communication processes in remote work and global teams, workspaces, as well as affordances of communication technologies, such as enterprise social media. She is also interested in the role of ICTs in employees’ work-life boundary management and constant connectivity. Currently, she is in charge of a 4-year research project funded by Academy of Finland (PARIS) studying employees’ social media use. She has spent two years as a visiting scholar in the USA, at University of California, Santa Barbara and at Stanford University.

Professor Mikko Villi

Mikko Villi, PhD, @mvilli, is professor of journalism in the Department of Language and Communication Studies at the University of Jyväskylä. He serves as the President of the Finnish Association for Media and Communication Studies. An emphasis in his work is on the contemporary context for journalism, especially new media platforms and social media. Among his interests is also the study of media organizations and media management, thereby joining the study of organizational communication with journalism and media studies. Media management is of increasing relevance for media studies, due mainly to the disruption experienced by legacy media organizations. Currently, Villi is leading two research projects: “Incidental Media Consumption – A comparative study of how consumers access media content in social media”, and “Media Work 2030 – An interdisciplinary approach to media work in the age of digital disruption.” Villi has made several research visits to the University of Tokyo and Fordham University in New York.

Junior Visiting Professor Ward van Zoonen

Ward van Zoonen, Ph.D., is junior visiting professor at the University of Jyväskylä in the Department of Language and Communication Studies, where he works in PARIS project. He is also affiliated with the Erasmus University Rotterdam as associate professor in Organizational Dynamics in the Digital Society. Broadly, his scholarly interests are related to communication technology use in organisations, examining the causes, content, and consequences of technology use. His research focuses on questions about how workers connect, communicate, and how they coordinate their work through different technologies. Ultimately, investigating how new technological realities in contemporary workplaces affect occupation wellbeing of workers. 

Post Doc Researcher Kaisa Laitinen

Kaisa Laitinen, PhD, is a university teacher (communication) and a post doc researcher at the University of Jyväskylä, Department of Language and Communication Studies. Her research interests entail technology-mediated interpersonal and organizational communication, virtual teamwork, as well as socialbots and other communicative intelligent technologies in the workplace. Laitinen has previously worked in a research project called Interpersonal Communication Competence in Virtual Teams funded by the Academy of Finland. She is currently working as a teacher and a researcher in a research project funded by Academy of Finland (PARIS) studying employees’ social media use. She also acts as the Young Scholar Representative of Interpersonal Communication and Social Interaction division of European Communication Research and Education Association, and has spent a semester as a visiting scholar in United States, at University of Texas at Austin.

Doctoral researcher Jonna Leppäkumpu

Jonna Leppäkumpu is a PhD student in the Department of Language and Communication Studies at the University of Jyväskylä. She is currently working in the GloBound research project, where the interest lies in information sharing and the management of work-life boundaries in global work. Previously, she worked in the Somedia research project. Her research focuses on boundary work and the different ways people manage and negotiate work-life boundaries. 

Doctoral researcher Minna Koivula

Minna Koivula is a Doctoral researcher at the Department of Language and Communication Studies at the University of Jyväskylä. She is finalizing her thesis on creativity, innovation, and learning in journalism and is a project member in the SODA and Watchdogs or activists? Meaningfulness of work in Finnish journalism projects. Previously, she has worked in the Somedia and Media Work 2030 projects. Her research examines journalism through the lens of organizational communication research and explores the shifting institutional context of work in the media field.

Doctoral researcher Anniina Huusko

Anniina Huusko is a doctoral student in the Department of Language and Communication Studies at University of Jyväskylä. She is currently working in GloBound project which examines global workers’ information sharing on social media platforms, and boundaries between professional and private life. Her research interests include the changes that communication technologies have brought about communication, and individual experiences of those positive or negative consequences.

Doctoral researcher Camilla Suortti

Camilla Suortti is a PhD student of Communication in the Department of Language and Communication Studies at University of Jyväskylä. She is currently working in FutuRemote project that studies how emerging technologies and digitalization are changing knowledge work, social interaction and organizing. Her doctoral thesis focuses on tensions and paradoxes in digital work, technology-mediated interaction and management of communication technology.

Doctoral researcher Rasa Jämsen

Rasa Jämsen is a Ph.D. student of Communication in the Department of Language and Communication Studies at University of Jyväskylä. She is currently working in FutuRemote project that studies how emerging technologies and digitalization are changing knowledge work, social interaction and organizing. 

Doctoral researcher Pinja Päivänen

Pinja Päivänen will be joining the team in August as a doctoral researcher. Her research interests include combining media work and organisation studies. She will be working in the Watchdogs or activists? Meaningfulness of work in Finnish journalism project.

University Researcher Salla-Maaria Laaksonen, University of Helsinki

Salla-Maaria Laaksonen (D.Soc.Sc. @jahapaula) is a university researcher at the Centre for Consumer Society Research, University of Helsinki. Her research focuses on technology, organizations and new media; including organizational reputation in the hybrid media system, the organization of online social movements, and the use of data and algorithms in organizations. She has also gained expertise in digital and computational research methods.

Ph.D. Marika Paaso

Marika Paaso, @marikapaaso, has a Ph.D. in Communication from the Department of Language and Communication Studies at University of Jyväskylä. She also has extensive experience as a journalist for the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle. In her doctoral thesis she focused on privacy, publicity, professional identity and impression management of journalists on social media.