Pia Hautamäki studies the transformation of industrial sales: commercial expertise is the key to success

Everyone sells. Pia Hautamäki arrived at this realisation while working in the private sector, and it stayed with her when she moved into higher education to develop sales education. Hautamäki has been working in this field for 15 years. In August 2026, she took up her new role as Associate Professor of Industrial Sales at Tampere University. 

The initiative to establish teaching and research in industrial sales was launched in collaboration between Tampere University and industry partners, supported by donated funding. 

Approximately 160 engineering students enrolled in the Industrial Sales course that is currently being delivered for the second time. The Sales Management course, aimed at students at the master’s thesis stage, is likewise being offered for the second time. In addition, Hautamäki will soon teach a new course that examines how geopolitical uncertainty, regulation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and other ongoing transformative forces are reshaping industrial sales and sales management.

“Finland’s competitiveness has long been built on industrial expertise, but now we must also set our sights on developing commercial expertise. Industrial success largely depends on the ability to effectively sell technologies and innovations,” says Hautamäki.

Sales is taught within business disciplines, but Hautamäki believes it should also be routinely integrated into engineering education. She lays out an ambitious vision for the future:

“What if all engineering graduates in Finland possessed not only advanced technological expertise but also a strong understanding of industrial sales and sales management? When developing a marketplace or data platform, it is also important to understand how technology can be scaled up, how profit margins are calculated, and how commercial value is created for both the company and its customers. This combination would provide a tremendous competitive advantage.”

The development of industrial sales expertise also requires world-class research. Research and teaching in industrial sales currently involve Associate Professor Pia Hautamäki, Professor of Practice Tuukka Ahoniemi and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Matin Taheriruh at Tampere University. The Center for Industrial Sales Excellence (CISE), which operates within the Industrial Engineering and Management Unit, recently recruited two new doctoral researchers specialising in industrial sales. 

Sales is about interaction and value creation

Hautamäki studies how industrial sales is evolving in response to the range of transformative forces that are reshaping the business environment.  

“In a recently published research article co-authored with Professor Leena Aarikka-Stenroos, we demonstrated that the demands for environmental sustainability have a considerable impact on sales management. Digital platforms and the opportunities they create are also transforming international sales. The data they generate, supported by artificial intelligence, helps companies gain detailed insights into customers operating in specific markets,” says Hautamäki.

The digitalisation of sales is one of Hautamäki’s research themes. 

She identifies a sales-oriented mindset as an important employability skill. Although sales activities are increasingly moving into digital environments, human interaction remains as important as ever. The sale of complex technological solutions requires collaboration between the teams of both the seller and the customer. Extensive dialogue is still required to close a deal.  
 

Photo: Jonne Renvall/Tampere University

“We need to know how value is sold and focus sales efforts on what is already known about customers’ needs. Customers often already know a great deal about what they need and expect sales professionals to answer the questions they have not been able to resolve themselves,” notes Hautamäki.

Network-based collaboration advances environmental sustainability 

Environmental sustainability and digitalisation are interconnected. One factor that is driving companies towards network-based collaboration is the need to address Scope 3 emissions, meaning indirect emissions generated across a company’s value chain but outside its own operations. Hautamäki emphasises that organisations must be able to demonstrate the sustainability of their entire value chain, including procurement, logistics and product life cycles. Advancing sustainability requires collaboration across the wider value network and cannot be achieved through individual efforts alone. 

Through her latest research, Hautamäki has found that sales professionals still lack practical tools for communicating the environmental impacts of products and services to customers. 

Photo: Jonne Renvall/Tampere University

It is no longer simply a matter of selling technological solutions, as buyers are also developing new services around these technologies that support sustainability. 

Hautamäki’s research interests also include the impact of geopolitics on global business.

“Disruptions to trade, including those that affect transport and logistics, will continue to be a significant concern for both sales professionals and business leaders,” says Hautamäki. 

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Pia Hautamäki carries out research that deepens our understanding of how industrial sales and sales management are evolving. The latest research findings are integrated into teaching, and companies must also have access to research-based knowledge. The industrial sales team at Tampere University is supported by an extensive network of donors that fosters dialogue between industry and academia through donor events and other activities. 

“Industrial sales is based on long-term partnerships. We need to build the future of business together. This requires a sustainable approach and a willingness to share financial risk,” says Hautamäki.

Photo: Jonne Renvall/Tampereen yliopisto

Text: Mikko Korhonen
Photos: Jonne Renvall