Chair professor within Industrial Economics/Industrial Management
Short description
The School of Business, Economics and Law has strategically developed the area of Industrial Economics/Industrial management through the recruitment of a chair professor. Professor Maureen McKelvey was recruited to this position in 2006, and at that time, she had a professorship at Chalmers University of Technology. During these years, the professorship has been financed by Getinge, SKF and Volvo AB.
The strategic recruitment of a professor in this area involves many tasks and positive impacts upon the academic environment. Amongst the many tasks, the most important ones include:
- develop excellent research
- ensure that the research is visible internationally
- stimulate an intellectually vibrant research environment
- train PhD students in the area of 'Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- start a new Masters programme (MSc, 2 year, English) in the area of 'Innovation and Industrial Management'
Their long-term support has played – and continues to play – a vital role in the designing and success of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE), at the Department of Economy and Society. The missions of this Chair professorship are to emphasize intellectual development through education and research training as well as to and to promote excellence in all activities.
These donations make it possible for us to be active and leading in three activities key to universities (called rather appropriately a ‘complete environment’ in Swedish).
- We are very actively engaged in research.
- We design and deliver teaching, specifically PhD programmes within Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management of Intellectual Assets; and two Masters of Science degree programmes, Innovation and Industrial Management (IIM) and Knowledge-Based Entrepreneurship (KBE).
- We interact with local entrepreneurs, with global companies and with national, European and global policy-makers and leaders.
Four current research projects, led by Professor McKelvey include:
Asia and internationalization: Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The changes underway in Asia will help stimulate the creation of new opportunities, by a series of socio- political-economic trends such as an increase in skilled labor, shifting customer demands, upgrading of firm capabilities, and above all, the experimentation and attempts of firms in Asia and in the West to try to innovate in reaction to these trends. The rise of Asia starting with Japan, followed by South Korea and now China and India, challenges us to rethink the role of Asia in driving innovation in a global economy. If they are not just imitating and using Western technology, then what is going on? This project analyzes innovation and entrepreneurship, by linking the Asian context with the rest of the world.
In collaboration with the ‘Radical Innovation’ research programme financed by the Sten A Olsson Foundation for Research and Culture, this project has resulted in the book Innovation Spaces in Asia, published by Edward Elgar Publishers (UK), and co-edited between Maureen McKelvey and Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen. Professor Bagchi-Sen was part of the prestigious Visiting Professors Programme and remains a visiting professor at IIE. This book was published in 2015, preceded by a research workshop in 2013. This book is used in Master level education.
Innovation Spaces in Asia provides insight into how and why Asia is poised to impact global innovation. Asia is undergoing rapid developments in markets, sources of technology and user preferences. Read more.
Find more information about each chapter on Elgaronline.
Collaboration with Zhejiang University, China in area of in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship
Through the professorship IIE works closely with Zhejiang University. For 2015-2016, IIE hosts Associate Professor Jun Jin for one year. Our activities are also in line with the overall strategy of the two Schools. The School of Management, Zhejiang University (SOM-ZJU) has established a strategic partnership with School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg (HGU). We collaborate in both research and teaching.
In April 2016, Professors Jin and McKelvey organized the workshop “Creating Leading Edge Technical Competencies in Chinese Companies – Innovation and Globalization”. Researchers from Europe and China attended, as well as speakers from CEVT. Read more here.
As result of our collaboration, Profs. Jun and McKelvey will edit two books – one in English and one in Chinese on this topic. Contracts are being signed with Edward Elgar Publishing (UK) and Zheijang University Press (China). The books will be launched in 2017-2018.
Renewal of companies through dynamic capabilities for innovation
Large companies need to renew their capabilities, and change in response to both threats and opportunities in the environment. The ability of large companies to change is particularly important in the modern economy. This project is organized as a PhD project, lead by Karin Berg.
Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship
A key issue in the modern economy is how and why advanced knowledge stimulates entrepreneurship. Knowledge intensive entrepreneurial (KIE) ventures are new firms that have significant knowledge intensity in their activities and develop and exploit innovative opportunities in diverse sectors. This synthetic concept includes high, medium and low tech sectors as well as firms relying upon diverse sets of knowledge – from scientific and technological to design and creative. These KIE ventures are particularly important for economic growth and industrial transformation.
In collaboration with the an European Union project called ‘AEGIS’, this line of research has enabled us to publish three books:
