Kathrin Komp
Biographic Data
| ID | 4586919 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kathrin Komp |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kathrin |
| FAMILY NAME | Komp |
| SIGNATURE | KOMP K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Helsinki |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9342-2170 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 38 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Integrating social sustainability into research projects: Practical considerations
Concerns about sustainability are growing, but social sustainability remains overshadowed by discussions on ecological and economic sustainability. Scientific discourses on social sustainability stress its imprecise definition and underdetermined character. Due to this lack of clarity, numerous alternative definitions and uses coexist alongside each other. Researchers are trying to rectify this situation through theoretical considerations and thi…
Generative artificial intelligence adoption and employees' perspectives on AI at work: Toward unalienated working life or AI-augmented alienation?
Purpose Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is making its way into our working lives. Previous research has explored topics such as AI-related fears among working people and AI technology adoption in companies, but people's perceptions of AI in the context of AI adoption are still not well understood. This article looks at the intersection of AI technology adoption and AI-related job concerns in one company. Design/methodology/approach A rapi…
What Is Old Age? Differences in Views of Old Age Between Employees and the Self-Employed
Self-employment is a way for older adults to become active, achieve financial security and contribute to the economy. We explore the meaning of old age from the perspectives of employed and self-employed people. To examine the meaning of old age, 16 employed and self-employed Finns aged 50 and older were interviewed. The sample was stratified according to gender, employment relationship and company size. We employ the life course perspective to e…
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants and Digital Hermits in the Labour Market: A European Comparison of Older Adults
Using computers has become increasingly crucial in contemporary European societies. However, the digital divide splits society into those who possess computer skills and those who do not. Although the older generations are less likely to possess computer skills, the differences across countries and cohorts are underexplored. This study explores when older adults first used computers at work, comparing 26 European countries. The perspective on wor…
The moral economy of environmental policies: How welfare and environmental attitudes affect environmental policy support
Purpose As popular concerns about climate change grow, political discussions increasingly centre around environmental issues. Unsurprisingly, governments have a strong interest in better understanding public attitudes toward environmental policies. In this context, the paper draws on moral economy theory to explain more fully how attitudes toward welfare state support can affect attitudes toward environmental policy support. Design/methodology/ap…
The Preferred Retirement Age: Differences Between Employees and the Self-Employed Across Europe
The retirement age receives increasing attention in times of population ageing. Researchers and policymakers argue that working lives have to be extended to balance out the demographic shift. The preferred retirement age highlights the perspective of the individuals regarding this issue, underlining when they themselves would best like to leave the workforce and enter retirement. Previous research established that employees prefer to retire earli…
Gender-differences in retirement from entrepreneurship: The influence of pension policies across Europe
Purpose The interest in older entrepreneurs increases due to population aging. Previous research showed clear gender-differences among older entrepreneurs. This study investigates whether such gender-differences also exist in the retirement transition from entrepreneurship. It explores the influence of pension regulations for entrepreneurs on these gender-differences. Design/methodology/approach Longitudinal micro-level data from the Survey of He…
The master narrative of older employees in changing workplaces
Purpose Interest in older employees increases in times of population ageing. Previous research exploring the situation has underlined older employees' struggle with workplace changes. However, it has not explored their master narrative – the socially shared narrative about older employees that steers behaviour. This study explores this narrative and its differences across changing workplaces. It draws on Lyotard's suggestion that master narrative…
Automation and public support for workfare
Automation has permeated workplaces and threatens labour in the production process. Concurrently, European governments have expanded workfare which imposes stringent conditions and sanctions on unemployed workers after the onset of austerity. We explore how automation risk affects workfare support. Recent research finds that most routine workers ‘survive’ in their routine jobs. Despite avoiding unemployment, routine workers may face the threat of…
What life-course research can contribute to futures studies
Futures studies is a multidisciplinary field that integrates disciplinary information through discussion. This article integrates information from life-course research with futures studies. Life-course research explores how human lives develop over time, focusing on the past and present. Futures studies may use this information to explore possible, probable, and preferable future developments of human lives. Life-course research defines a stable …
Breadwinner Models Revisited: How a Couple’s Combined Work Histories Influence the Retirement Transition
As populations age, policymakers seek to stabilize pensions systems by encouraging late retirement and discouraging early economic inactivity. This study takes a novel approach to exploring an individual’s retirement transition into pension or early economic inactivity, locating individual choices in relation to their breadwinner status. It explores gender and country differences in Dutch, Spanish, and Swedish life-history data, which show that m…
Retirement timing in a future welfare state: A Finnish Delphi study
Purpose European welfare states, including Finland, have recently introduced reforms that aim to delay the average timing of retirement. The degree of success of these reforms will depend on future institutional and societal developments that influence retirement timing. The purpose of this paper is to identify such scenarios in the Finnish context. Design/methodology/approach The study employs the Delphi method by interviewing anonymous experts …
The Case for a Participation Income: Acknowledging and Valuing the Diversity of Social Participation
Anthony Atkinson's idea of a participation income draws attention to the various ways in which people contribute to society. Current discussions on social participation go beyond paid work to include volunteering, education, and caregiving to kin. With the idea of the participation income, various forms of contribution can be highlighted and acknowledged. This article investigates how the idea of a participation income is reflected in Danish, Fin…
Shifts in the realized retirement age: Europe in times of pension reform and economic crisis
Many recent policy reforms aimed to delay retirement. Such a delay seems important because population ageing makes it a necessity for financially sound pension schemes and a sufficiently large workforce. However, pension reforms do not only affect when people retire, they likewise affect what influences the realized retirement age. Moreover, the 2008 economic crisis restructured labour markets, thereby affecting retirement. This article investiga…
The commercialization of sociological research: On the How and Why (Not)
Recent budget cuts in academia and the spread of neoliberal thought has put pressure on sociology. Unlocking new funding sources is a major concern for sociologists and focusing on funding from the market is a prominent suggestion. Such funding can be generated through research commercialization, that is, developing research findings into products and services that can be sold on the market. This study explores how a commercialization of sociolog…
Population ageing in a lifecourse perspective: Developing a conceptual framework
Population ageing is a global trend that affects individual life plans, family arrangements, market structures, care provisions and pension schemes. We combine insights from demography and lifecourse research to understand better the causes of population ageing. Demography explains population ageing by describing changes in fertility, mortality and migration rates. Lifecourse research argues that these rates are interconnected because they are em…
Policies for older volunteers: A study of Germany and Italy, 1990–2008
Ageing societies and the welfare state: Where the inter-generational contract is not breached
The influence of the welfare state on the number of young old persons
Many current discussions of welfare state reforms focus on the ‘young old’, a group now generally perceived as healthy people past retirement age without a legal responsibility for dependent persons in need of care. For the welfare state, they constitute a resource whose activities are hard to steer. This article focuses on the influence of the welfare state on the number of ‘young old’ people. It describes different ways in which the welfare sta…
Automation and public support for workfare
Automation has permeated workplaces and threatens labour in the production process. Concurrently, European governments have expanded workfare which imposes stringent conditions and sanctions on unemployed workers after the onset of austerity. We explore how automation risk affects workfare support. Recent research finds that most routine workers ‘survive’ in their routine jobs. Despite avoiding unemployment, routine workers may face the threat of…
Policies for older volunteers: A study of Germany and Italy, 1990–2008
Shifts in the realized retirement age: Europe in times of pension reform and economic crisis
Many recent policy reforms aimed to delay retirement. Such a delay seems important because population ageing makes it a necessity for financially sound pension schemes and a sufficiently large workforce. However, pension reforms do not only affect when people retire, they likewise affect what influences the realized retirement age. Moreover, the 2008 economic crisis restructured labour markets, thereby affecting retirement. This article investiga…
What life-course research can contribute to futures studies
Futures studies is a multidisciplinary field that integrates disciplinary information through discussion. This article integrates information from life-course research with futures studies. Life-course research explores how human lives develop over time, focusing on the past and present. Futures studies may use this information to explore possible, probable, and preferable future developments of human lives. Life-course research defines a stable …
The Case for a Participation Income: Acknowledging and Valuing the Diversity of Social Participation
Anthony Atkinson's idea of a participation income draws attention to the various ways in which people contribute to society. Current discussions on social participation go beyond paid work to include volunteering, education, and caregiving to kin. With the idea of the participation income, various forms of contribution can be highlighted and acknowledged. This article investigates how the idea of a participation income is reflected in Danish, Fin…
Population ageing in a lifecourse perspective: Developing a conceptual framework
Population ageing is a global trend that affects individual life plans, family arrangements, market structures, care provisions and pension schemes. We combine insights from demography and lifecourse research to understand better the causes of population ageing. Demography explains population ageing by describing changes in fertility, mortality and migration rates. Lifecourse research argues that these rates are interconnected because they are em…
The influence of the welfare state on the number of young old persons
Many current discussions of welfare state reforms focus on the ‘young old’, a group now generally perceived as healthy people past retirement age without a legal responsibility for dependent persons in need of care. For the welfare state, they constitute a resource whose activities are hard to steer. This article focuses on the influence of the welfare state on the number of ‘young old’ people. It describes different ways in which the welfare sta…
Retirement timing in a future welfare state: A Finnish Delphi study
Purpose European welfare states, including Finland, have recently introduced reforms that aim to delay the average timing of retirement. The degree of success of these reforms will depend on future institutional and societal developments that influence retirement timing. The purpose of this paper is to identify such scenarios in the Finnish context. Design/methodology/approach The study employs the Delphi method by interviewing anonymous experts …
The commercialization of sociological research: On the How and Why (Not)
Recent budget cuts in academia and the spread of neoliberal thought has put pressure on sociology. Unlocking new funding sources is a major concern for sociologists and focusing on funding from the market is a prominent suggestion. Such funding can be generated through research commercialization, that is, developing research findings into products and services that can be sold on the market. This study explores how a commercialization of sociolog…
Gender-differences in retirement from entrepreneurship: The influence of pension policies across Europe
Purpose The interest in older entrepreneurs increases due to population aging. Previous research showed clear gender-differences among older entrepreneurs. This study investigates whether such gender-differences also exist in the retirement transition from entrepreneurship. It explores the influence of pension regulations for entrepreneurs on these gender-differences. Design/methodology/approach Longitudinal micro-level data from the Survey of He…
Breadwinner Models Revisited: How a Couple’s Combined Work Histories Influence the Retirement Transition
As populations age, policymakers seek to stabilize pensions systems by encouraging late retirement and discouraging early economic inactivity. This study takes a novel approach to exploring an individual’s retirement transition into pension or early economic inactivity, locating individual choices in relation to their breadwinner status. It explores gender and country differences in Dutch, Spanish, and Swedish life-history data, which show that m…
The influence of the welfare state on the number of young old persons
Many current discussions of welfare state reforms focus on the ‘young old’, a group now generally perceived as healthy people past retirement age without a legal responsibility for dependent persons in need of care. For the welfare state, they constitute a resource whose activities are hard to steer. This article focuses on the influence of the welfare state on the number of ‘young old’ people. It describes different ways in which the welfare sta…
Ageing societies and the welfare state: Where the inter-generational contract is not breached
Policies for older volunteers: A study of Germany and Italy, 1990–2008
Population ageing in a lifecourse perspective: Developing a conceptual framework
Population ageing is a global trend that affects individual life plans, family arrangements, market structures, care provisions and pension schemes. We combine insights from demography and lifecourse research to understand better the causes of population ageing. Demography explains population ageing by describing changes in fertility, mortality and migration rates. Lifecourse research argues that these rates are interconnected because they are em…
Shifts in the realized retirement age: Europe in times of pension reform and economic crisis
Many recent policy reforms aimed to delay retirement. Such a delay seems important because population ageing makes it a necessity for financially sound pension schemes and a sufficiently large workforce. However, pension reforms do not only affect when people retire, they likewise affect what influences the realized retirement age. Moreover, the 2008 economic crisis restructured labour markets, thereby affecting retirement. This article investiga…
The commercialization of sociological research: On the How and Why (Not)
Recent budget cuts in academia and the spread of neoliberal thought has put pressure on sociology. Unlocking new funding sources is a major concern for sociologists and focusing on funding from the market is a prominent suggestion. Such funding can be generated through research commercialization, that is, developing research findings into products and services that can be sold on the market. This study explores how a commercialization of sociolog…
Retirement timing in a future welfare state: A Finnish Delphi study
Purpose European welfare states, including Finland, have recently introduced reforms that aim to delay the average timing of retirement. The degree of success of these reforms will depend on future institutional and societal developments that influence retirement timing. The purpose of this paper is to identify such scenarios in the Finnish context. Design/methodology/approach The study employs the Delphi method by interviewing anonymous experts …
The Case for a Participation Income: Acknowledging and Valuing the Diversity of Social Participation
Anthony Atkinson's idea of a participation income draws attention to the various ways in which people contribute to society. Current discussions on social participation go beyond paid work to include volunteering, education, and caregiving to kin. With the idea of the participation income, various forms of contribution can be highlighted and acknowledged. This article investigates how the idea of a participation income is reflected in Danish, Fin…
Breadwinner Models Revisited: How a Couple’s Combined Work Histories Influence the Retirement Transition
As populations age, policymakers seek to stabilize pensions systems by encouraging late retirement and discouraging early economic inactivity. This study takes a novel approach to exploring an individual’s retirement transition into pension or early economic inactivity, locating individual choices in relation to their breadwinner status. It explores gender and country differences in Dutch, Spanish, and Swedish life-history data, which show that m…
What life-course research can contribute to futures studies
Futures studies is a multidisciplinary field that integrates disciplinary information through discussion. This article integrates information from life-course research with futures studies. Life-course research explores how human lives develop over time, focusing on the past and present. Futures studies may use this information to explore possible, probable, and preferable future developments of human lives. Life-course research defines a stable …
Automation and public support for workfare
Automation has permeated workplaces and threatens labour in the production process. Concurrently, European governments have expanded workfare which imposes stringent conditions and sanctions on unemployed workers after the onset of austerity. We explore how automation risk affects workfare support. Recent research finds that most routine workers ‘survive’ in their routine jobs. Despite avoiding unemployment, routine workers may face the threat of…
The master narrative of older employees in changing workplaces
Purpose Interest in older employees increases in times of population ageing. Previous research exploring the situation has underlined older employees' struggle with workplace changes. However, it has not explored their master narrative – the socially shared narrative about older employees that steers behaviour. This study explores this narrative and its differences across changing workplaces. It draws on Lyotard's suggestion that master narrative…
Gender-differences in retirement from entrepreneurship: The influence of pension policies across Europe
Purpose The interest in older entrepreneurs increases due to population aging. Previous research showed clear gender-differences among older entrepreneurs. This study investigates whether such gender-differences also exist in the retirement transition from entrepreneurship. It explores the influence of pension regulations for entrepreneurs on these gender-differences. Design/methodology/approach Longitudinal micro-level data from the Survey of He…
The Preferred Retirement Age: Differences Between Employees and the Self-Employed Across Europe
The retirement age receives increasing attention in times of population ageing. Researchers and policymakers argue that working lives have to be extended to balance out the demographic shift. The preferred retirement age highlights the perspective of the individuals regarding this issue, underlining when they themselves would best like to leave the workforce and enter retirement. Previous research established that employees prefer to retire earli…
Integrating social sustainability into research projects: Practical considerations
Concerns about sustainability are growing, but social sustainability remains overshadowed by discussions on ecological and economic sustainability. Scientific discourses on social sustainability stress its imprecise definition and underdetermined character. Due to this lack of clarity, numerous alternative definitions and uses coexist alongside each other. Researchers are trying to rectify this situation through theoretical considerations and thi…
Generative artificial intelligence adoption and employees' perspectives on AI at work: Toward unalienated working life or AI-augmented alienation?
Purpose Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is making its way into our working lives. Previous research has explored topics such as AI-related fears among working people and AI technology adoption in companies, but people's perceptions of AI in the context of AI adoption are still not well understood. This article looks at the intersection of AI technology adoption and AI-related job concerns in one company. Design/methodology/approach A rapi…
What Is Old Age? Differences in Views of Old Age Between Employees and the Self-Employed
Self-employment is a way for older adults to become active, achieve financial security and contribute to the economy. We explore the meaning of old age from the perspectives of employed and self-employed people. To examine the meaning of old age, 16 employed and self-employed Finns aged 50 and older were interviewed. The sample was stratified according to gender, employment relationship and company size. We employ the life course perspective to e…
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants and Digital Hermits in the Labour Market: A European Comparison of Older Adults
Using computers has become increasingly crucial in contemporary European societies. However, the digital divide splits society into those who possess computer skills and those who do not. Although the older generations are less likely to possess computer skills, the differences across countries and cohorts are underexplored. This study explores when older adults first used computers at work, comparing 26 European countries. The perspective on wor…
The moral economy of environmental policies: How welfare and environmental attitudes affect environmental policy support
Purpose As popular concerns about climate change grow, political discussions increasingly centre around environmental issues. Unsurprisingly, governments have a strong interest in better understanding public attitudes toward environmental policies. In this context, the paper draws on moral economy theory to explain more fully how attitudes toward welfare state support can affect attitudes toward environmental policy support. Design/methodology/ap…
Economics (11 works) · Political science (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Demographic economics (8 works) · Retirement, Disability, and Employment (8 works) · Employment and Welfare Studies (7 works) · Politics (6 works) · Population (6 works) · Social Policy and Reform Studies (6 works) · Demography (5 works)