| 1. |
- Bank, Natasha, 1983-
(författare)
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Sustainability-Oriented Business Incubators
- 2020
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis explores the attraction, selection, and support in sustainability-oriented business incubators. Business incubators as hatcheries for start-ups are considered key tools to enhance job creation and strengthen regional economies. While the world population grows and consumption of natural resources increases, the ecosystem services decline. If these issues are not properly addressed, the economic, social, and environmental pressures that are growing in our societies will lead to disasters and threats to humankind. Green incubators can implement sustainability thinking and the related principles in the start-up community right from the beginning, and hence play a significant role in reorienting start-up businesses towards sustainability.This study shows the importance of making business incubators better known to their potential clients in order to increase visibility and attract more green tenants. The sustainability-oriented business incubators (SOBI), to have a better selection of tenants, need to attract more sustainable entrepreneurs in the first place. Moreover, the selection criteria affect the in-house atmosphere of the incubator, which in turn affects the attraction of more like-minded tenants to the incubator. In addition, word of mouth through partners and referrals by successfully graduated tenants, as well as expert management teams including coaches and consultants and their related networks and mediations, exert more influence on the attraction. In other words, the attraction is dependent both on the selection criteria and the support given to the tenants. To attract proper tenants, a rich local environment, regional and inter-regional collaboration, a well-planned, well-structured pre-incubation process, and credibility of incubators with managerial sustainability expertise and well-established networks are also essential.When it comes to the selection processes, different factors affect the selection criteria, including business incubators’ goal and agenda such as job creation, diversification of the local economy, utilization of vacant property, commercialization of research, investment as well as owner and sponsors (including public and private), physical characters such as age, size, and occupancy rates. Furthermore, incubators might have different selection strategies such as rigorous-vs-flexible as well as entrepreneur-vs-idea priorities. The initial ambition of SOBIs is to select business ideas that are primarily geared towards sustainability. However, the empirical data has shown that it is not always achievable to attract a sufficient number of green tenants to meet those criteria. The challenges, for example, could be due to economic cycles, specialization, and high-bar (i.e., eligibility) criteria, location limits, lack of sustainable-minded entrepreneurs, and the like.In recent years, increased awareness about sustainability issues and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as signals from green financiers, business owners, and other stakeholders, have forced many incubators to adjust their selection criteria to match sustainability requirements. However, empirical results show that the support given to tenants in green incubators has not been different from conventional ones. But more recently (especially during the past two-three years), institutional forces and the need for more legitimacy have led more and more incubators (even conventional ones) to change their mindset and provide more support towards sustainable business ideas. The conclusions of this study imply that business incubators need to strive for making sustainable entrepreneurs, not selecting them. In order to provide comprehensive sustainability-oriented support, SOBIs need to recruit sustainability experts and educate management teams as well as their tenants about sustainability issues.
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| 3. |
- Bienkowska, Dzamila, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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New approaches of innovation support to inventors and idea owners
- 2019
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intermediaries play a vital role in many regional and national innovation systems when it comes to e.g. connecting different actors as well as guiding and supporting inventors, idea owners and entrepreneurs. Since innovation can arise in a wide variety of contexts and industries it is of great importance to take a broad approach when support activities are created and implemented. In this study we focus on how different types of regional intermediaries approach and work together with new, or partially new, target groups that potentially face higher barriers to developing their ideas than those traditionally viewed as being entrepreneurial or innovative. Our results address ways of attracting broader target groups to innovation support activities; as well as of designing guidance and support suitable for these target groups. This study relates to the overall theme of societal outreach within the innovation challenge, in particular through dealing with the issues of how innovation support can contribute to more inclusive innovation.
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| 4. |
- Engzell, Jeanette, 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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PODCASTS AS A LEARNING METHOD IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
- 2023
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Ingår i: SEFI 2023 - 51st Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education: Engineering Education for Sustainability, Proceedings. - : European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI). - 9782873520267 ; , s. 398-405
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Multimedia has been integrated in education the last 40 years but podcasts have more recently become popular. Since 2006 podcasts have become increasingly popular in Sweden and nowadays podcasts are used in all types of contexts but are yet to find a place in engineering education. Students do not acquire knowledge or solve problems in the same way. Using a mix of methods in teaching is therefore important if one has the ambition to democratize the learning processes and give students the same opportunity to learn. Traditionally, much of the university education has been based on lectures in classrooms and reading literature. During the pandemic, teachers switched to video lectures and online lectures. Even though all types of multimedia are involved in teaching today, podcasts have not become established as a learning method. This paper explores in what ways podcasts can be beneficial in engineering education. Specifically, the paper investigates what preferences students have on how podcasts for engineering education and how teachers effectively can design and develop podcasts in courses as a learning method. By addressing the gap of evidence on podcasts in engineering education, the findings contribute with effective solutions on how podcasts can be developed and implemented that will help students in their learning processes. © 2023 SEFI 2023 - 51st Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education: Engineering Education for Sustainability, Proceedings. All Rights Reserved.
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| 5. |
- Frankelius, Per, 1966-, et al.
(författare)
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Agricultural Innovation and the Role of Institutions : Lessons from the Game of Drones
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. - : Springer. - 1187-7863 .- 1573-322X. ; 32:5-6, s. 681-707
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2015, observers argued that the fourth agricultural revolution had been initiated. This article focuses on one part of this high-tech revolution: the origin, development, applications, and user value of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Institutional changes connected to the UAS innovation are analyzed, based on a Swedish case study. The methods included autoethnography. The theoretical frame was composed by four perspectives: innovation, institutions, sustainability, and ethics. UAS can help farmers cut costs and produce higher quantity with better quality, and also has environmental benefits. However, this promising innovation was exposed to institutional forces and suddenly became subordinated the Act of Camera Surveillance. This study illuminates how legislative institutions can inhibit responsible innovation. The study shows that different ethical perspectives can collide with each other.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Johansson, Christer, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Entreprenörskap och Företagande – Förutsättningar i projekt : En förstudie av socialfondsprojekt 2010
- 2011
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Syftet med denna studie har varit att utreda i vilken utsträckning projekt med stöd från europeiska socialfonden (ESF-projekt) kan leda till entreprenörskap och företagande och i så fall hur. Detta har gjorts utifrån ett urval av 14 ESF-projekt från en mindre lista som Tillväxtverket anvisat. De utvalda projekten har studerats beträffande entreprenörskap och företagande, om detta kan bidra till att förhindra utslagning och underlätta återgång till arbetslivet. De utvalda projektens projektlogik har analyserats – hur de arbetat med entreprenörskap och företagande, de studerade projektens arbetsprocess och uppbyggnad – hur man praktiskt arbetat. Datainsamlingen har gjorts genom besök och telefonintervjuer samt via enkät. Studien fokuserar på att visa på lärorika exempel som illustrerar framgångsfaktorer och hinder i arbetet för att förändra, förbättra och förstärka sysselsättningspolitiken, vilken inbegriper arbetsmarknads och näringspolitik samt kopplingar till social- och socialförsäkringspolitiken. Studien har kompletterats, för ett urval av projekten, med en undersökning av målgruppen – individerna som deltar i projekten. Det är dessutom viktigt att både projektarrangörernas och deltagarnas erfarenheter speglas i slutsatserna då detta är avgörande för att kunna uppfylla studiens syfte. De huvudsakliga resultaten från vår studie är följande: Entreprenörskap och företagande i olika former kan vara en typ av lösningar för att häva individers utanförskap. Det måste finnas en koppling mellan projektens mål, interventionen och resultaten, dvs. programlogiken måste vara tydlig. För detta krävs bland annat att projekten är väl förankrade i den kontext de verkar i. Det krävs även samverkan mellan inblandade aktörer, inte minst vid rekrytering/anvisning av deltagare till projekten. Projektledningen är en nyckelfaktor för projektets framgång. Vilken typ och grad av utanförskap som representeras hos de individer som deltar i projekten är styrande för projektens inriktning och aktiviteter.
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| 8. |
- Klofsten, Magnus, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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Stöd och utveckling av små och nya företag i landsbygdsregioner
- 2019
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Ingår i: Entreprenörskap för en levande landsbygd. - Växjö : Familjen Kamprads stiftelse. - 9789151919775 ; , s. 261-277
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- När man ska stödja företagande på landsbygden är det viktigt att skapa en kritisk massa av entreprenörer, företag och stödaktörer i den aktuella regionen. Mångfalden är viktig och samordning mellan aktörerna är A och O för att önskade åtgärder ska kunna genomföras effektivt. Det är viktigt att ha realistiska förväntningar avseende företagens tillväxtmöjligheter och inriktning. Att stödja brett är många gånger viktigare än att satsa på spets. Ett prestigelöst och gränsöverskridande arbetssätt är att föredra i alla företagsstödjande sammanhang och man bör undvika både tanke- och verksamhetsmässiga silos.
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| 9. |
- Klofsten, Magnus, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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Support and development of small and new firms in rural areas
- 2019
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper focuses on small business entrepreneurialism in rural areas and its special conditions and needs. Our aim is to present examples of and suggestions for how to encourage firm start-ups and the continuation possibly also the development and growth of existing firms. The paper is based on three cases that illustrate (1) challenges in the support system in rural areas, (2) various forms of support that could be used in rural areas, and (3) expectations that are eligible to put upon support activities designed for rural areas. The following main conclusions were drawn: Firstly, we found that successful support of rural businesses requires a critical mass of regional entrepreneurs, firms, and support actors. Diversity is critical, and the various actors must be coordinated to carry out the desired measures effectively. We also found that expectations for growth and orientation of the firms must be realistic. Many times, broad support is more important than targeted support. Finally, we were able to show that a cross-boundary collaborative work culture that avoids both thought silos and business silos and places no value on prestige should pervade all areas of business support.
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| 10. |
- Klofsten, Magnus, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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Support and development of small and new firms in rural areas : a case study of three regional initiatives
- 2020
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Ingår i: SN Applied Sciences. - : Springer. - 2523-3963 .- 2523-3971. ; 2:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper is based on qualitative analysis and addresses the important topic of small business entrepreneurialism in rural areas and its special conditions and needs. Our aim is to present examples of and suggestions for how to encourage firm start-ups and the continuation possibly also the development and growth of existing firms. The paper is based on three cases that illustrate (1) challenges in the support system in rural areas, (2) various forms of support that could be used in rural areas, and (3) expectations that are eligible to put upon support activities designed for rural areas. The main findings are that (1) that successful support of rural businesses requires a critical mass of regional entrepreneurs, firms, and support actors, (2) diversity is critical, and the various actors must be coordinated to carry out the desired measures effectively, (3) expectations for growth and orientation of the firms must be realistic because broad support is more important than targeted support, and (4) we were able to show that a cross-boundary collaborative work culture that avoids both thought silos and business silos and places no value on prestige should pervade all areas of business support.
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