Karl Johan Bonnedahl

Conceptualizing strong sustainable entrepreneurship

This conceptual article focuses on the environmental dimensions of sustainable development which are essential for satisfying current and future human needs. It assesses ecological economics (EE) as an alternative base for a “strong” version of sustainable entrepreneurship (SE). EE recognizes the biophysical base of economic activity, critical natural capital (non-substitutability) and limits to market valuation and exchange. Contemporary entrepreneurial definitions, however, as well as recent SE framings, pre-suppose that functioning markets will achieve sustainable development. As discussed in this paper, natural processes are non-linear and critical, and as thresholds are impossible to anticipate, markets are unreliable and principally at odds with the objectives of sustainable development. Our proposed alternative constitutes a way forward.

Sustainable economic organisation: simply a matter of reconceptualisation or a need for a new ethics?

Todays increasing environmental problems are closely related to how we organise economic activities. This paper departs from the assumption that in order to reach sustainable economic organisation, we must address the dominating Market Discourse (MD), guiding mainstream organising. To understand whether reconceptualisations are sufficient or if changes in underlying ethics are needed, we compare the MD with strong and weak sustainability discourses. The analysis suggests that there is a need for changes in underlying assumptions as well as reconceptualisation of economic organisation that coheres with these assumptions. We also discuss how the related concepts of allocative, governance and throughput efficiency permeates MD, and, as principles for organisation, contribute to the inertia in working towards sustainable economic organisation.

Internationalization of the organizational field: Swedish grocery retailers in the European integration process

Abstract This article describes how import of ideas and practices influence an industry that is in an early stage of internationalization, as well as part of European integration. By using institutional theory, such a situation is depicted as an expansion of the organizational field, in which international isomorphism between organizations has commenced. Studying Swedish grocery retailing, a new set of ideas was found regarding what constitutes an efficient organization. This included centralization, vertical integration and brand management, and it was strongly influenced by foreign actors and markets. We conclude that isomorphism occurs in a decreasingly national field, although not entirely pan-European in character, and that international diffusion of ideas and practices reshape markets, partly independent of goods and capital flows.

The impact of internationalisation on the Swedish food industry : Competition and countervailing power

Abstract The European integration process has changed the competitive landscape in many industries. The questions raised in this paper concern the reactions of national firms that are subjected to this process of internationalisation of competition. This study highlights the vertical inter-dependence within a system of production and distribution. In internationalisation theory, most studies have focused on how firms become international or global players, where entrance into new markets is seen as a result of strategic decisions. To illustrate this process, three industries in food production, that is the baking, the brewing and the confectionery industries, were chosen. The results indicate that a supra-industrial strategic recipe exists, with a core content of specialised volume production. The discussion on company strategies focussed on the retail sector. The findings might be interpreted in the light of Galbraiths theory of countervailing power.

Strategic implications of European economic integration : The relative importance of barrier categories

Investigating strategic implications of economic integration for firms, this paper presents and discusses a framework for assessment of barriers to intra-community competition. The case is the European internal market, from the perspective of Swedish SMEs. The dismantling of certain barriers as well as remaining barriers to intra-community transactions is acknowledged. Both circumstances influence competitive advantages on the domestic market and the need for resources and experience abroad. Opportunities and threats are related to the initial exposure to barriers of different categories: whether barriers build on political measures, market behaviour, culture or nature. Data from Swedish SMEs, including perceived distance to other markets, underline limitations in policymakings reach as well as the importance of geographic and lingua-cultural distance.

Unsustainable societies – sustainable businesses? Introduction to special issue of small enterprise research on transitional Ecopreneurs

Unsustainable societies – sustainable businesses? : Introduction to special issue of small enterpriseresearch on transitional Ecopreneurs

The European Internal Market: An Assessment of its Strategic Importance for Swedish Manufacturing SMEs

As progress in regional economic integration brings new conditions for marketing strategy, one implication is a change in relative importance of factors impeding international competition. In this paper, an extended categorisation of such impediments is given in company strategic terminology. Empirically, data comparing earlier and later stages in the European Internal Market process are presented, indicating relatively low impact and giving support to the view behind the differentiation of obstacles.