Business Administration

The research is conducted at the Centre for Research on Economic Relations (CER) and the research group Sparsely Populated Areas (SESPA). CER focuses on industry-related research, primarily in banking, insurance, pensions, property and auditing, while SESPA focuses on how social entrepreneurship can contribute to sustainable development of local communities.

Within the research specialisation of Marketing and Business Development, three profiled areas can be highlighted. The importance of entrepreneurship for regional development tries to understand development issues linked to a viable economy. Economic growth is dependent on new companies and the strengthening of existing companies through different forms of business development. Particular focus is placed on social entrepreneurship and regional development, which also include research on women’s entrepreneurship, equal opportunities, social innovation and the importance of creative industries in regional renewal processes.

Research on strategic networks focuses primarily on the importance of business relationships to business development but also considers public organisations and funding bodies. The focus is on networks that are growing organically as well as regional strategic networks. In the field of internationalisation of SMEs, growth and internationalisation are seen as two interconnected processes, and studies are conducted on the internationalisation of companies in terms of general strategies as well as entries in specific markets. Different network collaborations are considered.

Also the research specialisation Accounting and Finance has three profiled areas. In the area of auditing and assessing information, the primary interest is directed at auditors’ quality assurance of accounting information and issues on the relationship between the party being audited and the one conducting the audit; the dual loyalties of auditors; the objectivity of auditors, not least in assessments that are considered particularly challenging; auditing quality and the ethical cultures of audit firms. The researchers are interested in the same types of issues in studies on property valuation and authorised appraisers. More recently, there has also been interest in how artificial intelligence (AI) can affect management as well as auditing and assessments.

In the area of financial regulation, a number of changes are taking place in the institutional conditions for the financial market, partly driven by financial crises and corporate scandals. One vital question is how much increased regulations affect the abilities of financial companies to meet customers’ requirements and wishes while at the same time appeasing the supervisory authorities. In the area of corporate finance and growth, small companies find it more difficult to access external financing than large companies. The banks’ procedures, in particular, are affected by information asymmetry (the difference in access to information between the loan applicant and the party deciding on the matter). There are also studies on how financing and other company-specific and macroeconomic factors affect the profitability and growth of companies.