By Paul Savage & Janne Tienari
In a world full of tensions and grief, managing with generosity is as timely as it ever was. This article offers insights from the Moomin business where generosity is turned into a management principle and practice. The Moomin way champions caring for people as vital for a thriving organization and successful business. Generosity is not a trait of heroic individuals but something that is shared and cherished.
Generosity can be understood in different ways. In everyday language, we talk about generous people who are ready to give more to others than would be expected or necessary. While kindness is associated with helpfulness and empathy, generosity is about giving something that is thought to be of specific value.
Generosity is good for us. It is connected to happiness, and being generous tends to bring us joy and make us happier. Something happens in our brains when we pledge to be generous. Generosity increases our happiness when we perform selfless acts.
However, corporate generosity tends to be purposeful, measured, and oriented towards results. Perhaps paradoxically, it is also connected to positivity and associated with leadership that develops humility and integrity to instill hope and confidence in others. Generosity may relate to servant leadership that prioritizes the greater good over personal gain – and to authenticity or being true to oneself as a leader.
Our research suggests that it is problematic to treat generosity as something that resides in individuals. We conducted an ethnographic study of the Moomin business and discovered something very different. We found that the Moomin business is not dominated by individual heroes but managed through shared practices that enable generosity to blossom.
Building on a Generous Legacy
Moomins are troll creatures with pear-shaped faces who live with their friends in the Moominvalley. Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson created the first Moomin images and stories in the 1940s and soon expanded into comic strips and animation films. She developed the Moomin philosophy rooted in respect for differences. Moomin books, comics, and films based on Jansson’s art soon attracted interest across the world.
Moomins and their friends endure hardships and overcome challenges. They stay true to their vision of life, which is about equality, respect, friendship, and positive rebellion. No-one is perfect but everyone is accepted, and disputes can always be resolved. The Moomin philosophy found in Tove Jansson’s work is rooted in love, tolerance, and adventure. And, yes, she was always suspicious of heroes.
We found that Jansson’s spirit is reflected in how the Moomin business is managed. It is based on a shared purpose and vision: to do good by bringing people comfort and joy. At its core, the business is about trading in Moomin copyright: nurturing an art-based brand and selling licenses for using its registered trademarks. Doing good is a growing and profitable business with over 700 licensees and a global annual retail value of close to a billion euros.
Over the years, a particular way of managing people and business seems to have developed at Moomin. It is about managing with generosity: caring for people and showing respect and deference, albeit sometimes with prickly humor. The Moomin business is committed to bringing people comfort and joy. For this, individualistic understandings of generosity do not suffice.
Generosity as Shared Practice
Viewing generosity as something that resides in individuals runs the risk of slipping into self-management techniques and mindfulness exercises. It loses sight of the context that enables and gives meaning to generosity. Individualistic understandings can also lead to a naïve quest for heroic traits and essential authenticity of supposedly generous leaders.
If generosity is expected to reside in individuals it becomes subject to planning and measuring. Such rigid and formulaic approaches fail to appreciate how quixotic it is to try to quantify and measure something that, we argue, lies between rather than in individuals.
This is because generosity never takes place in a vacuum. It emerges and finds meaning in given circumstances and conditions, and it is impossible to carve out and measure on its own. Sometimes it leads to great things, but it can also fail and disappoint, as we see happening at times in the Moomin business. You cannot put a straitjacket of numbers and control around generosity.
Rather than generosity of individuals, we understand generosity as shared management practice. It is a relational notion that builds on transparency and inclusion. Getting (or not) the benefit of being recognized as generous is related to how others view generous acts.
Generosity emerges in relations and interaction between people – and between people, spaces, and technologies. Inevitably it involves frictions and disputes, and it is about being able to make up. Managing with generosity, then, is about creating conditions that enable and give rise to acts of generosity.
Generous Strategy Making
An example of how generosity plays out in practice is how strategy making at Moomin is kept open. This helps steer the business based on the shared purpose derived from Tove Jansson’s legacy. Corporate values of love, equality, and courage are based on this legacy, and when routinely scrutinized among organizational members, values act as a compass that keeps the organization on the right course.
We noticed that complicated strategy jargon and rituals are missing at Moomin. People are not bothered with meaningless control and measurement exercises but trusted as professionals who know what they are doing. A shared sense of purpose allows for quick decision-making and execution.
At Moomin, the open, transparent, and inclusive approach to strategy helps to reap opportunities offered by new technologies. When Jansson’s two-dimensional creations are taken to three-dimensional spaces and when they come alive in mobile games and the like, ideas and insights from organizational members are crucial in steering the development in line with the purpose and vision. This could not be dictated from the top down.
Tove Jansson’s legacy also involves a deep concern for the environment. The Moomin business of doing good runs the risk of assuming that sustainability is built into all operations. Based on continuous organization-wide discussions, however, sustainability has been elevated into a key strategic issue at Moomin, and it is discussed and acted upon. Ensuring sustainable and responsible practices of licensees, those who sell stuff in the name of Moomin, remains one of the top priorities here.
Management Insights from the Moomin Business
How the Moomin business is managed highlights the value of generosity as a shared and evolving practice. We offer some key insights based on our study:
Generosity can be turned into a core management principle. Moomin management shows how emphasizing love, courage, and equality, businesses can create innovative solutions and resilient cultures by caring for people. Recognizing human fallibility, this is reflected in engaging practices and sometimes going beyond what happens at work to support staff in the difficult directions that their lives can go.
Generous branding can be constantly developed while staying true to its roots. Moomin management displays how embracing and showcasing the original values and artistic roots not only strengthens stakeholder engagement but builds a loyal customer base that appreciates the brand's genuine story. This is evident in how modern animation technologies are used while retaining Moomin control over their copyright and brand.
Generous strategic partnerships and community building can act as levers in meaningful business. Moomin management demonstrates the power of community engagement, leading to expanded reach and mutual benefits. This means careful consideration of potential licensees and supporting and investing in individuals and organizations that share similar values despite being outside the core business.
Generosity can be extended to embracing new technologies and the virtual world. Moomin management elucidates how adaptation to technological advancements with a people-first approach is crucial for creativity and customer engagement. It asks, “Could this happen in Moominvalley?” and allows immersive 3D experiences of originally two-dimensional characters and stories, and a range of digital and physical products that are both new and nostalgic.
Generosity can enable responsible practices that lead to long-term success. Moomin management illustrates how committing to responsibility and sustainability over time ensures a positive impact on the world and business longevity. This takes many forms: while the #OurSea Campaign in cooperation with stakeholders helps raise funds to protect the Baltic Sea in Northeastern Europe, renegotiating with agents and licensees strives to ensure responsible practices beyond the Moomin organization.
The environment and humankind are facing unprecedented challenges and people are surrounded by sadness and grief. We suggest that the Moomin business and management offers an important message of hope for a better world. It is based on managing with generosity.
Recommended Resources
Savage, Paul (2024) Moomin Management - YouTube.
Savage, Paul & Tienari, Janne (2024) Moomin Management: Redefining Generosity. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press. https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/moomin-management
Savage, Paul & Tienari, Janne (2024) Moomin generosity and doing good business. Blog text available at: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2024/09/03/moomin-generosity-and-doing-good-business/
Tienari, Janne (2024) Why does it make sense to open strategy? Blog text available at: https://blog.hankensse.fi/why-does-it-make-sense-to-open-strategy
Background: This article is based on the book “Moomin Management: Redefining Generosity,” published by Bristol University Press on September 4, 2024. The book draws on a two-year ethnographic study of the Moomin business ecosystem, i.e., focusing on coevolving capabilities, roles, and support of various companies and individuals. With Moomin Characters Ltd as his home base, Paul Savage observed the ecosystem for more than two years, interviewed dozens of people in different organizational positions, and had numerous informal conversations with them. Paul developed close ties with key decision-makers at Moomin and took part in social functions and parties they organized. He accessed a variety of documents, visual images, and videos, including works by Tove Jansson, to complement the materials he generated at Moomin. We also accessed publicly available online materials on the Moomin business.
Paul Savage, Dr.Sc.(Econ.), is Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship at United Arab Emirates University. Paul has trained business professionals in embodied communications and leadership. He conducts research on entrepreneurship and start-ups with a focus on the business, financial, and personal flows of information, service, and relationships.
Janne Tienari, Dr.Sc.(Econ.), is Professor of Management and Organization at Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland. Janne is actively involved in research, teaching, and executive education. His interests include strategy work, managing differences, people and AI as well as branding, media, and social media.
