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The purpose of this paper is to examine whether economic growth enhances life satisfaction. It provides a conceptual solution to the heavily debated Easterlin paradox which states that aggregate income positively relates to life satisfaction in one‐time international comparisons but not in longitudinal analyses. First empirical results are presented for Germany.

The present study uses path analysis to capture not only direct but also mediated effects of economic growth on life satisfaction. Findings – The paper finds that economic growth does enhance life satisfaction over time. The effect is not direct but mediated via consumer confidence, customer satisfaction, income satisfaction, health satisfaction and job satisfaction. Modeled by consumer confidence, adaptive expectations reduce this effect but cannot entirely compensate for it, as suggested by literature. In addition to this negative compensatory effect which is mediated by customer satisfaction, consumer confidence has a positive direct influence on life satisfaction.

Since the history of aggregate customer satisfaction measurement is still young, this empirical analysis should be seen as pioneer work. Future research on the Easterlin paradox should utilize future data, model mediated relationships and time lags, and integrate customer satisfaction and consumer confidence.

Economic growth strategies are successful in raising life satisfaction. Governments should not only pay attention to quantitative but also to qualitative growth. Collective optimism can improve life satisfaction.

This study contributes to solving the Easterlin paradox. Unlike the extant literature on the Easterlin paradox, this paper integrates national customer satisfaction and consumer confidence into a sociologic model and explicitly accounts for mediated effects. National customer satisfaction is used to model qualitative aspects of economic growth.

Sociologists are discussing whether or not economic growth enhances subjective well‐being. To complement their research from a housing perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether aggregate income enhances dwelling satisfaction over time. While cross‐sectional studies have only examined the direct influence of income on dwelling satisfaction, this paper suggests that there are additional influences mediated by other social indicators.

Based on data from Germany, correlation and regression analyses examine the impacts of aggregate income and other social indicators on dwelling satisfaction. Path analysis is used to test for the existence of mediated relationships.

The paper finds that aggregate income positively influences dwelling satisfaction. Environmental satisfaction, customer satisfaction and satisfaction with family relations also positively impact dwelling satisfaction and mediate influences of aggregate income. The mediated effects are stronger than the direct effect of aggregate income on dwelling satisfaction.

The longitudinal availability of aggregate customer satisfaction data is still limited. Future research on dwelling satisfaction is encouraged to account for customer satisfaction and to reexamine the analyses of this study with future data.

Stimulating economic growth is a good strategy to improve dwelling satisfaction. Policies improving the environment, family support and shopping opportunities are also effective.

This paper is original in that it examines the impacts of economic growth and customer satisfaction on dwelling satisfaction. While the extant literature has only analysed direct effects of income on dwelling satisfaction, this study also accounts for mediated effects.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences between Finnish and Russian, namely Karelian, food industry supply chains. The main objective is to find out the reasons for low productivity in Russian food industry from supply chain management (SCM) point of view.

Case study method is used to compare the Russian and Finnish food industry supply chains. The comparison is carried out by using SCM scorecard. Furthermore, the comparison is supplemented with the data from non‐structured interviews with Russian food industry company managers. Altogether data from eight food industry companies in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, are gathered and four managers are interviewed. The results of the companies' SCM scorecard analysis are compared to the results of almost 100 Finnish food industry companies.

The research suggests that based on the SCM scorecard the differences between Finnish and Russian food industry companies' operational methods are modest. The difference in productivity can be rather explained by the differences in operating environment and the level of technology in use. Logistics costs for companies in Russia are estimated to be double compared to Finnish companies. Poor road conditions and underdeveloped 3PL are considered as main reasons of high‐logistics costs.

Considering the relatively low number and small size of the companies interviewed and taken part in the scorecard evaluations, more systematic research in the field is required. In addition, it should be mentioned that all interviewees seemed to be suspicious about intentions of the Finnish interviewer. Two interviewees openly asked if the research was aimed at commercial spying.

Considering the state, size and growth potential of Russian food market, the lack of research in the field is remarkable. This paper aims to bring new valuable information for both practitioners and academics while creating ground for future research in the field.

A sample of 63 Danish companies is divided into four strategic groups. Each group represents a distinct manufacturing strategy. These strategic groups are then used to investigate relationships with the implementation of bundles of manufacturing practices such as JIT and TQM, and with operational performance. The results suggest that using strategic groups as a representation of companies' manufacturing strategy can improve the understanding of companies' implementation of bundles of manufacturing practices and of their operational performance. The results indicate that the degree of environmental fit differs amongst the groups and that companies do not necessarily have to conduct an extensive implementation of all bundles of manufacturing practices in order to perform well on important performance dimensions according to their manufacturing strategy. Finally, the study adds to the scarce literature on small country studies.