Magnus Forslund

Innovation in soccer clubs : the case of Sweden

This essay gathers what we know about innovation in soccer clubs but also reports from an ongoing study on innovation in Swedish elite soccer clubs. The research could be described as an ethnographic endeavour into the world of Swedish elite soccer. By picking up pieces here and there at meetings, games, interviews and so on, I gradually build knowledge on ‘what is going on’ and ‘what do they think they are up to?’, The empirical material is presented in relation to four innovation options identified in the literature: adding new products/services, changes in the business model, new ways to manage the team and organize the team around the team and rethinking what the business is all about. The study shows that there are many innovations going on in Swedish soccer but also that there are several ways to improve both what is being done and how.

Heavy Metal Managing

At the age of seven, I was given my first record: Strung Up by The Sweet. Shortly thereafter I was given Give Us a Wink and Off the Record also by Sweet. Some say that Sweet were not heavy metal. For me however, these albums were and still are heavy and they were the starting point for my journey in the world of heavy metal. Soon I knew more bands: Motorhead, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Saxon, Iron Maiden, DIO, KISS, WASP, Tank, Motley Crue … My friends and I listened to, read and talked about and watched heavy metal. I did listen to other kinds of music, but it was heavy metal that was my life. I must confess that I never wore black leather trousers or spandex, and it took a long time for me to let my hair grow long (and the hair stayed long only for a couple of years). But I loved the music.