MICROFINANCING | More than money is needed for women to succeed as entrepreneurs
Supporting women with microfinance and entrepreneurship training has long been seen as a fast track to gender equality and poverty reduction. But the results have often been disappointing. A new study has identified the types of support that give women greater freedom and empowerment
STUDY | Communities as entrepreneurs – from local initiatives to global movement
How can local communities create and spread opportunities for sustainable small businesses? That’s the question at the heart of a new study examining the Finnish initiative REKO – Real Consumption. Through an 11-year case study, the researchers show how ordinary people, rather than individual entrepreneurs, can drive sustainable change through self-organization and shared responsibility.
BOOK TIPS | Diversity for economic development
Diversity is about a variety of ideas, skills, education, ethnicity, professions, gender, language, culture, technologies and industry structures. In the anthology The Oxford Handbook of Spatial Diversity and Business Economics, several Nordic and international researchers explore how diversity affects the economy, innovation and growth.
NEW BOOK | On the paradox society: “Companies need compass rather than map”
We live in a paradox society. This is the opinion of Björn Wikhamn, School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg, who has just published a new book on how companies and leaders can navigate in a time of conflicting demands.
NEW RESEARCH | Digitalization as a tool for sustainability – the role of management in the “twin transition”
Digitalization and sustainability are often treated as two separate issues. But for smaller manufacturing companies, it is important that they are seen together if technology is to be an engine for making businesses more sustainable.
4 TIPS: How to succeed with innovation around new technologies
How do new and immature technologies affect innovation processes in the public sector? This has been studied in a new thesis at the University of Gothenburg, with blockchain technology and other emerging technologies at the center.
BOOK TIP | 12 principles to succeed with your business
Entrepreneurship is often described as chaotic, uncertain and difficult to predict. In his book The Principles of Entrepreneurial Progress, entrepreneurship professor Greg Fisher shows that there are still ways to navigate. He boils down decades of research and practical experience into 12 fundamental principles.
Hello there! Henrik Dellestrand – new professor at SLU
Throughout his research career, he has studied innovation processes in multinational companies. From October 1, Henrik Dellestrand will instead focus on small businesses in rural areas. At the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), a professorship in business administration with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation attracted him.
Innovation researcher: Idea development is more than finding the best idea
What actually happens between the time an idea is born and before it possibly becomes an innovation? Karlstad researchers have studied this question in depth.
NEW RESEARCH | “Daughter effect” increases women-CEO appointments
Despite decades of gender equality policies, only one in ten CEOs of Swedish listed companies are still women. But new research shows that personal experiences can play an unexpected role in increasing gender equality in small and medium-sized enterprises.