| 41. |
- Zillinger, Malin, 1975-
(författare)
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Guided tourism : the role of guidebooks in German tourist behaviour in Sweden
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Tourism is a spatial phenomenon. Tourist behaviour on-site is not only dependent on the destination itself, but also on the situation in other places, tourists’ spatial mobility and access to information. On the basis of this argument, the whole tourism system is taken into account in this thesis. The aim is to analyse the interplay between mobility, tourist behaviour and guidebooks. The focus lies on German tourists in Sweden. Due to the importance of guidebooks to this visitor group, the thesis concentrates particularly on guidebooks as source of information.In the first article, power relations that steer the selection of Swedish tourist sites in German guidebooks are analysed. The results show that the selection of tourist sites is dependent on personal, editorial, geographical, economic and tourism-sociological factors. The production of information is dependent on a complex web of power relations, the core of which is constituted by authors, publishers and readers.In the second article, the content in German guidebooks on Sweden is analysed. Besides Stockholm and Northern Lapland, the regions presented most frequently are usually located in the south of the country. It is found that guidebooks influence German tourists’ choices of tourist sites in Sweden, and that this influence increases with the distance from Germany. The study also shows that guidebooks contribute to constructing tourism space and providing places with meaning.In the third article, it is shown that information and time availability influence tourist mobility. The existence of an individual travel rhythm is confirmed, which is defined as a travel pattern that is independent of the tourist sites that are visited. It includes, among other things, long travel distances the first and last days of the holiday, a short first stay-over, the longest stay in the region with the greatest distance from home, and a relation between the length of stay at one place and the distance covered when departing.In the last article, tourist behaviour is analysed. The results dispel the predominant impression in current tourism discourse that states that tourists are continually active during their holidays. It is found that the major difference between home and tourist behaviour is not constituted by the activities themselves, but by a difference in place, followed by a slower pace in which activities are performed and a limited time period. Spatial mobility, the characteristics of place and access to information all influence tourist behaviour on-site.In conclusion, it is found that tourist information, mobility and behaviour on the spot are closely connected. Tourists consume the tourism space created in guidebooks, and recreate this space when travelling, as they choose individually how to respond to the information provided. Actors, places and tourist structures all exist in relation to each other. For the resulting behaviour in place, this means that it is not only the supply at the destination that is important, but also the situation in tourists’ home regions and along their travel routes.
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| 42. |
- Åberg, Kajsa G., 1974-
(författare)
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"Anyone could do that" : Nordic perspectives on competence in tourism
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In academic reasoning, as well as policy rhethoric, much attention has been drawn to the low thresholds to employment and entrepreneurship in tourism. The purpose of this thesis is to go beyond the simplified images and examine the educational characteristics of the tourism workforce in a way that includes both a geographical and work task related aspect. By employing a sequential mix of methods, two perspectives on competence in tourism are presented. First, the actual presence of formal education within the workforce is mapped and discussed based on descriptive analyses of register data. Thereafter, thematic analyses of interviews are used to allow for a discussion on underlying reasoning of recruitment. The theoretical point of departure is that the workforce is a crucial input factor of the production process in labour intense service sectors such as tourism. However, the access to a suitable workforce differs between destinations. It is therefore imperative to scrutinize its characteristics in order to set relevant strategies for development, as well as education.The thesis contains four individual papers and an introductory section. The first two papers are based on register data on the Swedish national workforce in the years 2000, 2005 and 2010. The results show that the general level of formal education is not exceptionally low in tourism and that it is rather linked to geography than occupational sector. There was also confirmed to be a mismatch between tourism-specific education and work in tourism. In the second part of the thesis, focus is turned to the managerial segment within destination development. The geographical scope includes the northern region of Sweden and one case study area each in Norway and Finland. The empirical material shows that tourism-specific education was not prioritized when recruiting for destination management.The empirical findings are brought together in the concluding discussion of the thesis. It is there suggested that reasoning on the educational characteristics of the tourism workforce needs to include the diversity of local preconditions and needs relating to geography and work tasks.
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| 43. |
- Åkerlund, Ulrika
(författare)
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The Best of Both Worlds : Aspirations, Drivers and Practices of Swedish Lifestyle Movers in Malta
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- It has often been claimed that contemporary societies are shaped by globalization; the rapid interconnections of societies, economies, markets, flows and information potentially linking all places in the world to each other. In search for experiences, variation, escape or comfort, individuals are travelling, circulating, and migrating between places, challenging the notions of ‘home’ and ‘away’, ‘everyday’ and ‘extraordinary’. This thesis addresses the ways lifestyle-led mobilities are produced and performed, by studying the mobility trajectories and experiences of Swedes dividing their time seasonally between Sweden and Malta. It explores how movers are faced with a structural framework that both facilitates and directs their choices concerning mobility, and how they interpret and respond to these structures. It also explores the imaginaries, meanings, and feelings for place, identity, and lifestyle that the movers negotiate through their mobility practices and through the links they create and sustain in places. Thus, this thesis is situated in an evolving field of research on lifestyle mobilities. Lifestyle mobilities are here defined as those mobility practices undertaken by individuals based on their freedom of choice, of a temporal or more permanent duration, with or without any significant ‘home base(s)’, that are primarily driven by aspirations to increase ‘quality of life’, and that are primarily related to the individuals’ lifestyle values. The thesis is based on four individual papers exploring different aspects lifestyle mobility. The aim is to understand how production and performance aspects of lifestyle mobilities are related, and how notions of identity and belonging are negotiated in relation to lifestyle mobility practices. The production aspect relates to those structures and frameworks that create, facilitate, or sometimes delimit opportunities for lifestyle mobility while the performance aspect focuses on individual agency and meaning of lifestyle mobility practices. The studies are based on in-depth interviews with Swedish movers in Malta, and focus on how structural frameworks and mediations influence the ways that movers manoeuvre, manipulate or adapt to structures and influences in order to arrange their life context to achieve ‘quality of life’. A second aim focuses on the ways that movers reflect upon their identities and belongings as they travel routinely between two (or more) significant places, and how this may influence mobility practices. It is concluded that structures and mediations are both facilitating and delimiting movers’ space of choice regarding mobility decisions. Through their agency, movers negotiate their space of choice by allocating resources and experience, accessing supportive networks and tailoring their access to entitlements. The production and performance aspects of lifestyle mobility practices are interlinked in complex ways.
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| 44. |
- Östbring, Lisa, 1980-
(författare)
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Relatedness put in place : on the effects of proximity on firm performance
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis contributes to recent theorizations in economic geography on the effects of proximity on firm competitiveness. One of the great challenge in the contemporary economy is for firms to remain competitive. Their innovative ability is highly dependent on the knowledge they possess and their ability to acquire new knowledge. It is argued that a relational proximity between individuals reduces uncertainty and offers a joint platform for communication and learning. Therefore, does this thesis apply a micro-perspective in which the labor force and the knowledge composition within plants is examined. The aim is pursued by exploring the interrelationship between different types of proximity in the labor force and plant performance. The proximity dimensions under scrutiny are; the cognitive-, the organizational-, and the geographical proximity dimension.The three empirical papers in the thesis are based on longitudinal micro-data from the database ASTRID. The database connects detailed socio-economic data of individuals to features of plants and firms in the entire Swedish economy. The empirical findings suggest that the different types of proximities are interdependent with regard to learning in firms. The interdependence is manifested through the variable impact on plant performance that a given distance in one dimension has, depending on what other type of proximity is accounted for at the plant. It is further found that the proximity dimensions have conditional effects on learning and innovation in firms. The empirical findings also indicate that the circumstances under which learning and knowledge application take place, vary between capital-intensive and labor-intensive sectors. Moreover, it is found that relatedness in the cognitive dimension is not unambiguously positive for interactive learning and innovativeness. Similarity in one dimension and unrelatedness in the cognitive dimension, has a significantly stronger impact on interactive learning than simply having relatedness in the cognitive dimension. It therefore seems as if the combined distance of several proximity dimensions should be taken into account when estimating the innovative power of a firm or industry.When the empirical findings are considered together it is evident that the local environment generates relational proximity between agents through formal- and informal networks. This proximity reproduces and rejuvenates the localized capabilities by allowing for the combination of heterogeneous pieces of knowledge in firms through local unrelated labor inflow. In conclusion, time and place are the paramount dimensions that shape the micro-dynamics of knowledge generation and innovation in firms.
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| 45. |
- Abramsson, Marianne
(författare)
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Housing Careers in a Changing Welfare State
- 2003
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The departure point of this thesis was changes to the welfare state. These changes began during the recession in the 1970s and were emphasised in the beginning of the 1990s. The housing market was particularly affected, as the state almost completely withdrew its engagement. Questions were raised as to how the development of the welfare state and the subsequent changes have affected different sectors of the housing market (social housing) and the housing careers of different groups.Besides the introduction the thesis consists of five papers, beginning with a review article on the effect of welfare state changes on the social housing stock in some western countries. The social housing sector (housing the lowest income groups) became more residualised as the concentration of low-income households in this sector increased in most countries. At the same time, government interest in this sector decreased.The second, third and fourth papers follow the housing careers of different groups in three Swedish municipalities during the period 1985–1995. Nest-leaving and choice of tenure of the young population, aged 16–24, in the Gävle municipality were studied. A study of two cohorts showed that nest-leaving was postponed during the recession of the early 1990s when unemployment rates were high among young people. A slight increase in moves to co-operative housing was seen during this period. Immigrants in Jönköping, Gävle and Västerås were studied. Results show that the structure of the local housing market as well as time spent in Sweden are important factors in the housing careers of immigrants. In areas with a large share of owner-occupation, immigrants live in this type of housing to a larger extent. A housing career similar to that of the Swedish population is more common among immigrants who have spent a longer time in Sweden. Residential mobility of seniors towards the city centres in the same municipalities showed only a marginal increase in this type of move. However, the characteristics of those moving were those that, to a large extent, characterise the baby boom generation born in the 1940s. As a result, this type of move can be expected to increase as this group retires.Finally, the fifth paper follows the housing career of four cohorts during the development of the welfare state after 1945. The cohorts were born in 1925, 1942, 1955 and 1970, respectively. They were interviewed about the meaning attached to the terms size, tenure and location, important factors in the development of Swedish housing policy. Despite differences in the housing market at the start of their housing careers, with time the cohorts developed similar demands on size, standard and location. Tenure was not cohort-specific but was instead discussed as degrees of freedom found in owner occupation or rental tenure.
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| 46. |
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| 47. |
- Müller, Dieter K., 1968-
(författare)
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German second home owners in the Swedish countryside : on the internationalization of the leisure space
- 1999
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Between 1991 and 1996 the number of German second home owners in Sweden increased from about 1,500 to more than 5,500. The purpose of this thesis is to give a comprehensive description and analysis of the German cottage purchases in Sweden, 1991-96. In detail, the motives of the cottage buyers, the circumstances, the geographical patterns of cottage ownership, its diffusion, the integration of the cottage owners, and their expenses in the receiving areas are investigated. The analysis is based on two main sources; (a) an unique database UMCOBASE covering all second homes in Sweden; (b) a survey among 91 German second home owners.Second home ownership is considered as touriste product and as semi-permanent migration to the countryside. These perspectives have in common the importance of the role of the positive image of the countryside. Differences in property prices and climate may also attract second home owners to a specific area. It is argued that changes in the German society form a considerable driving force. Stress and life in the large metropolitan areas as well as the political situation after German reunification contribute not only to this interest for second home living, for the countryside, but also for Sweden, often seen as a shining example. Many German images of Sweden are based on popular writings and movies of the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren. Sweden provides the German cottagers with the requested environments and the availability of housing, cheap property prices, and rather short distances make the interior parts of southern Sweden an ideal destination for the mixture of households with different individual motivations and preferences mainly from Hamburg and Berlin.The internationalization of the economy and the globalization of culture make it easier to purchase a second home abroad. In this case, the growth of German second home ownership in Sweden can be considered as a colonization of the Swedish countryside. The diffusion of cottage ownership is enhanced and directed by the innovators who due to their social networks attract new cottagers to the same area. A very important precondition for the increased German interest in Swedish cottages was the decline of the Swedish currency in 1992 allowing purchases at a cheaper price. The fact that the real estate agencies focused on the German market may be another reason for the increase, and also for the distribution of German cottage ownership within Sweden. The German second home patterns are also analyzed employing multiple regression analysis. It is shown that the distance between ferry harbors and second homes is a major restriction for the distribution of German cottage ownership in Sweden. Even future growth will take place in areas where German cottage owners are present today.The multi-functionality of the countryside caused competition regarding land-use and decision-making power between rural residents, tourists, and agents of other interests. Even if second home tourists and the permanent residents share a lot of interests, integration into the local community can be difficult. It is argued that the German cottagers are leisure gentrifiers consuming the countryside as a leisure resource only. Second home owners are faithful tourists who visit the second home area frequently and stay for a long time. This entails that they also spend a considerable amount of money in the host community. Hence, some jobs in the research area are more or less dependent on the expenditures of the German cottage owners. Despite being motivated, most German cottagers have problems integrating into the host community. The German cottagers seem to adapt to this situation by meeting with each other and by applying a conservative eco-strategy, thus converting their surroundings into their imaginary Swedish countryside.The post-war societies in the western world are characterized by rapid changes. The recent interest in second homes can be read as a rejection of modern life, because the cottage might be the continuous place in life. It is argued, however, that the second home is attractive because it blurs the strict separation of everyday life and tourism.
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