years of partnership 20

Annelie Dagerklint (middle) has been involved in developing the School’s Partner Programme since its inception in 1999.

20 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP

From the outset, the School of Business, Economics and Law has always maintained a close relationship with wider society. 20 years ago the Partnership Programme was created, as a form of structured cooperation with clear benefits for all parties.

Annelie Dagerklint and Ingmarie Karlgren helped to launch the Partnership Programme in 1999.

“Of course, we looked at what other business schools around the world were doing. Some places adopted more of a cocktail party approach, but we wanted to focus on collaboration and content. It was hard work, but we got several partners on board in the first year. It felt like there was a pent-up demand to have contact with the academic world,” explains Annelie Dagerklint.

Employer branding and skills development There were early indications from the partner companies that they wanted help in finding the right students, and so the Career Service was set up in autumn 2000.

“We can’t be an actual headhunting company, but we can help our partners to show the students what they have to offer,” says Annelie Dagerklint.

“As a partner company, you can have as much time as you want for employer branding. But any initiatives have to be of high quality. Students aren’t as easily seduced as they were 20 years ago. We know what is needed and are happy to help,” says Ingmarie Karlgren. Skills development is another key area of the Partnership Programme. A number of opportunities for learning and development are organised each year: from quick fixes in Meeting Points to longer and more in-depth collaborations such as those available through Executive Faculty (see article on next page). “The trend over time is for companies to want a more customised partnership. For example, we held an Executive Workshop for 30 people from SKF with a visiting professor from San Francisco,” says Annelie Dagerklint.

Keeping education alive and relevant In a genuine partnership, knowledge flows in both directions. Via its partner companies, the School gains an increased understanding of the challenges and skill needs in society.

“There’s an auditors’ network within the group of partners. They identified a need for the students to learn more IT skills as part of their education. In response, a course has now been added to the programme – a concrete example of how things can work,” says Ingmarie Karlgren.

EXECUTIVE FACULTY Taking skills development to a new level

Executive Faculty is completely different from traditional skills development. The concept matches a researcher from the School of Business, Economics and Law with an executive at a partner company. Together, they embark on a 1.5 year-long journey that aims to develop them both.

Evangelos Bourelos is a researcher at the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Staffan Vidén is Vice President, Manufacturing at Volvo Trucks. Over the course of 1.5 years, they have met every three weeks to discuss and challenge each other. “It felt good straight away. We quickly found areas of shared interest and were both keen to establish a good partnership,” says Evangelos Bourelos.

“I have quite a lot of exchanges with technical universities, but with this I gained a different perspective. We always have extremely interesting discussions. It hasn’t exactly been difficult to fill the time,” adds Staffan Vidén.

A unique Swedish opportunity Both agree that business and society face major challenges, and tackling them will require new forms of collaboration. “Change comes very quickly these days. Those of us who work in production often make investments over a 20 year time horizon. Many of the companies on today’s Fortune 500 list haven’t even been around that long! So it’s particular important to ask whether we have the right perspective, the right business models,” says Staffan Vidén. “Very few countries have managed to get industry and academia to work together in a way that gets results. Sweden has cultural advantages in terms of its capacity to collaborate, and we’re a good example of that,” says Evangelos Bourelos.

Opportunity for cross-pollination Artificial Intelligence and Big Data were subjects that both had immersed themselves in, creating the potential for cross-pollination.

“I wanted to know about the cutting edge expertise in the field and learn from what others were doing. A university offers greater scope for this and Evangelos was very knowledgeable on the subject,” comments Staffan Vidén. “We also saw an opportunity here to engage with the students. I invited Staffan to come and be interviewed and give a talk. Many of the students were inspired, as evidenced much later when they were choosing their degree projects,” says Evangelos Bourelos.

Valuable exchange After 1.5 years of Executive Faculty, the feedback has been extremely positive and the exchange continues.

“It worked out really well. I recommend that others try it. Even if you already have good contact with the academic world, this is a whole different ballgame,” concludes Staffan Vidén.

EXECUTIVE FACULTY A long-term, structured programme that gives experienced professionals an opportunity to develop their expertise in an academic environment. Via a matching process, each participant is assigned a senior researcher with a suitable profile. Only available for the School of Business, Economics and Law’s Senior Partners.

THE VOLVO GROUP EQUIPS ITS LEADERS FOR NEW CHALLENGES

We live in a changing and multifaceted world that is being driven forward by digitalisation, globalisation, new technology and new business models. In partnership with GU School of Executive Education, the Volvo Group Corporate University is developing Volvo Group’s leaders to handle the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Since 2017, the ABLE programme (Advanced Business Leadership) has been developing leaders in the Volvo Group’s second-highest tier of management, known as Leading leaders. The participants are nominated from all over the world, and from all of the companies in the Group. So far, around 80 leaders have completed the programme.

New knowledge, new perspectives The School of Business, Economics and Law develops custom leadership programmes for a wide range of companies, both global and local, creating the conditions for decision-makers to develop new skills and reflect on the direction in which they want to take their operation.

“When you’re fully focused on your dayto-day work, it can be hard to take a step back and think about what’s happening outside the Volvo Group. Getting to know people from other parts of our organisation is also an opportunity for the programme participants to avoid silo thinking and see new angles of approach,” says Marion Trumel, Learning Programme Manager at Volvo Group University.

In Gothenburg and Singapore The programme is being delivered in collaboration with the School of Business, Economics and Law’s Finnish partner Aalto University Executive Education. This year the participants have assembled in Gothenburg and Singapore, where they have met leading lecturers from various parts of the world, most with links to academia. “Our aim is to develop all the leaders within the Volvo Group, no matter which country they work in. For the ABLE programme, we wanted a supplier with roots in Swedish culture, since the Volvo Group has its headquarters in Sweden, but with a global presence so the participants get to meet lecturers from different cultural backgrounds. And by choosing GU School of Executive Education and Aalto University Excutive Education, that is exactly what we got,” says Marion Trumel.

Immediate benefit When Marion Trumel meets former ABLE participants, many of them describe the programme as the best form of skills development they have ever had. Gregoire Ducasse, Director Medium Duty Trucks Range in St Priest, France, was one of the people taking the summer’s first module in Singapore: “The themes of the programme’s modules reflect the actual challenges I have within my organisation. Every day I have to deal with the uncertainty associated with new technology and its various issues. Now I’m finally getting the tools to manage that uncertainty,” he asserts.

ABOUT ABLE – ADVANCED BUSINESS LEADERSHIP The programme runs for 11 full days, spread over five months. The participants are encouraged to apply an outside-in perspective with a view to strengthening their customer focus, reassessing their organisation’s value creation and strategic thinking, and successfully driving and communicating change.

OLA BERGSTRÖM APPOINTED AS GOVERNMENT EXPERT

The Swedish Government has commissioned an inquiry into how labour law can be modernised, and Ola Bergström, professor of Management and Organisation, is one of the experts chosen to take part.

“It is an honour and I look forward to contributing experience from our research into the transformation of the labour market in Sweden and other European countries,” says Ola Bergström.

CONSUMPTION SIGNS THAT THE RECESSION IS ON THE WAY

In the 2019 Consumption Report, researchers see several signs of Swedish consumption indicating that a recession is on the way.

“This year’s report shows that the good days are over and that people are starting to tighten their belts in Sweden,” says John Magnus Roos, researcher at the Centre for Consumer Research. But in spite of this, total consumption in Sweden increased during 2018. This is explained by the fact that the large consumption categories ‘food’ and ‘housing’ increased more than in a long time.

NEW BOOK ON EU LAW

Anna Wallerman Ghavanini, associate professor in EU Law, is the co-editor and author of the book ‘The Eurosceptic Challenge: National Implementation and Interpretation of EU Law’. The book is a collection of studies on how national governments and legislators interpret and enact the requirements set out in the EU’s legal system. The studies show that the political rhetoric does not always match what the Member States actually do. Some of the Member States that are most vocal in their criticism of the EU in fact adhere to the regulatory framework relatively well, whereas there are a number of essentially pro-EU states that push the boundaries and try to exploit the regulations for their own advantage.

RESEARCH COLLABORATION WITH MOZAMBIQUE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The Department of Economy and Society is involved in a programme funded by Sida as part of its drive to increase capacity at universities in the Global South. The aim is to strengthen research of high quality and relevance aimed at poverty reduction and sustainable development. This specific programme is a joint venture with the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) in Mozambique on the theme of ‘Gender and territory under conditions of climate change’. As part of the programme, doctoral students from UEM spend time in Gothenburg and Mozambican researchers come here for seminars and workshops with a focus on research, researcher supervision and academic writing. Margareta Espling, a researcher in human geography, is the Swedish coordinator of the programme, which is conducted in partnership with the School of Global Studies at the University of Gothenburg.

PARTNER COMPANIES

Senior Partners: AB SKF AP2 Carl Bennet AB Elanders AB Göteborgs Stadshus AB Handelsbanken PWC AB Region Västra Götaland SEB Stena AB Stena Metall AB Sparbankerna Västsverige Volvo Car Group Volvo Group

Associate Partners: AP6 Deloitte Ekan AB Hogia AB Länsförsäkringar Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyrå AB Swedbank Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre

Public Associate Partners: The Administrative Court of Gothenburg The Swedish Migration Agency in Gothenburg The Swedish Tax Agency

NEW PARTNERS In 2019, two new partners joined the School’s Partner Program: the consulting company Ekan AB and Göteborgs Stadshus AB, the group company for all companies within the City of Gothenburg.

HOW DO BUSINESS LEADERS WORK TO CREATE GROWTH?

There is a common perception that successful business leaders in growing companies are action-oriented people who allow strategies to emerge organically through experimentation, and that their ability to network plays a key role.

New research from the School shows that in fact business leaders, along with their staff and their network, develop conditions that generate growth, and that there are many paths that lead to success.

In his doctoral thesis, Jonas Fasth interviewed 60 business leaders in small and medium-size enterprises about how they work in practice to create growth. Four different working styles were identified from the responses given by the business leaders. These styles differ in terms of whether the business leaders involve many or just a few people and whether the people involved are external or internal. Other variations include whether business leaders develop an understanding by being active in production or through internal meetings, and whether they work in a structured way or progress through trial and error.

“There are good grounds to consider and challenge the ideals that exist around how success is achieved. In this regard, I believe the results of my study can help business leaders to reflect on their own way of working. The model can be used to identify how a person’s own work is organised and the results can then be used to discuss development work within the company and thus also support the business leader’s personal development. In addition, the model can be used as the starting point for discussions on future support initiatives that promote growth in small and medium-size enterprises,” says Jonas Fasth.

The analysis shows that all four working styles identified in the study were represented among the companies making positive progress.

Jonas Fasth has interviewed business leaders.

The four working styles in brief A: The business leader has little input from other people, understanding is developed in production and they advance through trial and error. B: The business leader has a focus on leadership and management, has many meetings and uses a wide range of tools and documentation. C: The business leader has a focus on employees and makes use of working groups and development days, along with various systematic procedures. D: The business leader maintains contact with many different actors, is very active outside the operation and networks widely, with dialogue at the centre of everything.

INVITE AN ETHNOLOGIST INTO YOUR WARDROBE In their ‘Sustainable Wardrobes’ project, researchers Magdalena Petersson McIntyre and Elias Mellander are investigating obstacles to and opportunities for the transition to a circular fashion economy. By exploring the wardrobes of private individuals and interviewing them about their clothing consumption, the researchers are trying to find answers to the questions of what our clothing means to us and how we can establish more sustainable clothing consumption. The results of the study will be collated to serve as supporting data for design and business development. The project is funded by Vinnova.

ON A STUDY VISIT WITH SVARTEDALSSKOLAN The School brought a group of Year 9 students from Svartedalsskolan secondary school in Biskopsgården last spring to visit the local office of law firm Mannheimer Swartling. Hillevi Börjesson and her colleagues talked about what it was like to work at the firm and how they got where they are. The visit was part of the School’s work with widening participation.

SWEDEN’S FIRST PROFESSOR OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Stefan Tengblad is the first professor of Human Resource Management (HRM) to be appointed in Sweden. The new professor works at the Centre for Global HRM – a multidisciplinary centre with a national mission at the University of Gothenburg.