This licentiate thesis examines why Åre, the premium skiresort of Sweden, is so successful inproducing new small and medium sized firms. Since the 1980s, Åre has been among the highestranked Swedish municipalities when it comes to new firm formation, and their survial rateis better than in the rest of the country. Åre is situated in the interior north of Sweden, and isthe only comparable municipality in that part of the country that has increased its popultion inrecent years. Other similar municipalities are facing a heavy decline in population. Åre has along history in the tourist industry and most newly started firms are connected to this industry.Some 450 000 visitors come annually, mainly in the wintertime, to experience Åre, which hasthereby developed into a local market with demand on a broad range of products and services.The aim with the licentiate thesis is to analyse what is causing the entrepreneurial processthat is taking place in Åre. The theoretical point of departure is found in theories of contemporaryeconomic geography with concepts like social capital, cluster and ”creative class” formingthe framework for the analysis. Path-dependence theory is also in focus when it comes tounderstanding the importance of local history and its footprint of today.The main data used in the thesis come from 34 semi-structured interviews with companyowners/managers representing private firms in Åre. Only individuals that have started theirbusiness or taken over the firm from a family member have been of interest in the study. Thepurpose is to get close to the persons behind the business and reveal why they became entrepreneursin the local context. The mainly qualitative analysis of the interview material is supplementedby a statistical analysis where a) Åre is compared with other similar municipalitiesin Sweden concerning for example the development of new business or unemployment rates.And b) where all individuals who have lived in Åre during the period of 1990-2008 are analyzedusing different variables concerning socio-economic background and occupation.The thesis shows the importance of the attraction to the local environment where newfirms are formed as a result of a strong local market and an positive entrepreneurial atmospherethat exists in Åre. Entrepreneurs in Åre have a diverse background, but with the passionfor skiing or outdoor activities as common denominators. Another important factor is thegathering of local actors in the destination around a future oriented vision that unites them.

As the retail apocalypse is increasing, it is common to face stores without consumers in citycenters. E-commerce is one of the factors that has had a negative impact on physical stores,both in city centers and in shopping malls. It has been easier for shopping malls than forcity centers to fight the increased competition.The purpose of this thesis was to explore who the typical shopping mall consumer was andif this consumer felt excluded from city centers. Four concepts were investigated; consumerstereotype, place image, shopping experience and place attractiveness. A qualitative,method and an exploratory approach were applied, and the data was collected through anonline focus group and interviews.The findings showed that the perceived typical shopping mall consumer had seven traits;social, fun, curious, open, flexible, time thrifty, calm and patient, and four characteristics;young, families with children, females and formal styles/ fashion oriented. Furthermore,this consumer felt excluded as a shopper because of the limited supply and divided citycenter.The implication of this study was to understand who the typical shopping mall consumeris and, if and why he/she felt excluded. Hence, this can provide retailers in city centers withunderstanding of what factors affect the perceived typical shopping mall consumer’s choiceand thus will enable them to make their stores more welcoming also to the typical shoppingmall customer.The original value of this study is an understanding of the perceived typical shopping mallconsumer and if this consumer feels excluded from city centers, which has previously notbeen explored.

Due to urbanization, Sweden’s municipalities have adapted their cities for population growth as peoples’ desire to live closer to service, jobs, and city activities have increased. This has left the rural areas with population decline as the focus have swifted towards the city areas and place attractiveness and service in the rural have decreased. Municipalities need to aim focus on rural areas again to enhance an attractive living environment for its residents, but also to increase population growth again. However, there is a problem on how profitable it is to invest new buildings and infrastructure in those areas.  This study focuses on Sundsvall municipality and its largest rural area, Indals- liden. It investigates opinions of current and recent residents on how the area can increase in attractiveness. The study points out what actions that three types of migrants (immigrants, emigrants, and home returners) want the municipality to prioritize in order to increase attractiveness and attract new residents, but also sustain a pleasant surrounding for existing residents. A rural coordinator explains the prioritized points, that have been analyzed in relative to the lifestyle migrant’s perspective. The results presents both similarities and differences between different groups of migrants on how to increase place attractiveness, but also differences and similarities between push- and pull factors that have driven them to move. Further, there are differences and similarities between the rural coordinator’s opinions and prioritized agenda, and the migrants. This study therefore concludes the importance of using the narrative of residents to ensure that the area stays attractive and have necessary service and infrastructure in order to attract new residents and provide a good living environment for current residents.

<p>The thesis includes six self-contained papers that from various perspectives examine place attractiveness and migration in Sweden. </p><p>Paper I provides an extensive overview of Swedish municipalities’ place marketing engagement to attract in-migrants, based on survey responses from 220 municipalities. The results suggest that, although this kind of marketing has become more prominent during the last few years, there is little evidence of any significant effects on migration flows. </p><p>Paper II addresses place marketing campaigns directed towards the Stockholm region carried out by rural municipalities. The results show no general evidence of success, but in a few cases a positive impact of these campaigns cannot be ruled out conclusively.</p><p>Paper III explores the effect of tourism on interregional net-migration in Sweden. The results indicate that tourism exerts a positive influence on migration, and it is shown how its effects vary depending on age group. </p><p>Paper IV scrutinizes recent survey research on migration motives in the Nordic countries. This paper employs a different questionnaire design and surveys a somewhat different migrant population. The findings do not support recent research and the importance of employment-related motives is emphasised. </p><p>Paper V focuses on residential preferences and explores what place attributes people would consider important if they were to migrate. Special attention is given to demographic, socio-economic and geographical determinants. The results show how these aspects influence residential preferences, and make some contributions to methodological issues on researching preferences. </p><p>Paper VI aims at a conceptual framework whereby place attractiveness can be better understood. It is suggested that needs, demands and preferences are central factors and the attractiveness of places increases with the successive fulfilment of these factors. But the more factors a migrant seeks to fulfil in his or her destination selection, the fewer the choice possibilities.</p>

The thesis includes six self-contained papers that from various perspectives examine place attractiveness and migration in Sweden. Paper I provides an extensive overview of Swedish municipalities’ place marketing engagement to attract in-migrants, based on survey responses from 220 municipalities. The results suggest that, although this kind of marketing has become more prominent during the last few years, there is little evidence of any significant effects on migration flows. Paper II addresses place marketing campaigns directed towards the Stockholm region carried out by rural municipalities. The results show no general evidence of success, but in a few cases a positive impact of these campaigns cannot be ruled out conclusively. Paper III explores the effect of tourism on interregional net-migration in Sweden. The results indicate that tourism exerts a positive influence on migration, and it is shown how its effects vary depending on age group. Paper IV scrutinizes recent survey research on migration motives in the Nordic countries. This paper employs a different questionnaire design and surveys a somewhat different migrant population. The findings do not support recent research and the importance of employment-related motives is emphasised. Paper V focuses on residential preferences and explores what place attributes people would consider important if they were to migrate. Special attention is given to demographic, socio-economic and geographical determinants. The results show how these aspects influence residential preferences, and make some contributions to methodological issues on researching preferences. Paper VI aims at a conceptual framework whereby place attractiveness can be better understood. It is suggested that needs, demands and preferences are central factors and the attractiveness of places increases with the successive fulfilment of these factors. But the more factors a migrant seeks to fulfil in his or her destination selection, the fewer the choice possibilities.

<p>The aim of the thesis is to quantitatively study the driving forces and mechanisms for regional growth from an endogenous and exogenous perspective and reveal the most important factors contributing to regional growth, by focusing on three aspects: local labour market, the supply side and the demand side of the labour market. The thesis is designed to use Swedish micro register data to develop spatial models with higher spatial resolution. It was found that endogenous factors are important and probably explain about at least one third of total regional economic growth. Among the endogenous factors, localised demographic composition, labour force and labour market, firms, and business environment have the strongest influence on regional economic growth. The findings from the Swedish context were briefly compared to China’s economic growth in the last fifty years.</p><p>The thesis consists of three related papers. The first paper studied the endogenous and exogenous factors in 108 Swedish LA regions during the 1990s. By using the SNI92 code, individual longitudinal data and an improved shift-share analysis method, it was found that the endogenous factor is important for regional economic growth because it is able to accelerate, decelerate or reverse the impact from exogenous factors during the period studied.</p><p>The second paper studied regional growth from the supply side of the labour market by focusing on population redistribution and place attractiveness. A ‘floating grid’ approach was developed to understand the factors shaping place attractiveness. The approach disregards administration zones by focusing on a small spatial unit—vicinity which is one kilometre square. Each unit has a unique set of surrounding zones that are local area and hinterland. By constructing spatial models, the total explained variance in place attractiveness was decomposed into partial explanatory effects that are assigned for physical attraction, demographic, service and labour market factors over the spatial scales. The finding is that the spatial scale of vicinity and demographic factors contribute most to place attractiveness.</p><p>The third paper studied regional growth from the demand side of the labour market by focusing on workplace and its economic performance. The ‘floating grid’ approach was once more applied while the basic analysis unit is a constructed workplace that holds working-square, local area and hinterland as surrounding zones. The economic performance of the workplace was attributed to external demand, local demand, business environment and labour force factors over different spatial scales. A method was developed to quantitatively identify intervals of partial explanatory effects that are components of the total explained variance. It was found that working-square and labour force factors contribute most to workplace economic performance.</p>

The aim of the thesis is to quantitatively study the driving forces and mechanisms for regional growth from an endogenous and exogenous perspective and reveal the most important factors contributing to regional growth, by focusing on three aspects: local labour market, the supply side and the demand side of the labour market. The thesis is designed to use Swedish micro register data to develop spatial models with higher spatial resolution. It was found that endogenous factors are important and probably explain about at least one third of total regional economic growth. Among the endogenous factors, localised demographic composition, labour force and labour market, firms, and business environment have the strongest influence on regional economic growth. The findings from the Swedish context were briefly compared to China’s economic growth in the last fifty years. The thesis consists of three related papers. The first paper studied the endogenous and exogenous factors in 108 Swedish LA regions during the 1990s. By using the SNI92 code, individual longitudinal data and an improved shift-share analysis method, it was found that the endogenous factor is important for regional economic growth because it is able to accelerate, decelerate or reverse the impact from exogenous factors during the period studied. The second paper studied regional growth from the supply side of the labour market by focusing on population redistribution and place attractiveness. A ‘floating grid’ approach was developed to understand the factors shaping place attractiveness. The approach disregards administration zones by focusing on a small spatial unit—vicinity which is one kilometre square. Each unit has a unique set of surrounding zones that are local area and hinterland. By constructing spatial models, the total explained variance in place attractiveness was decomposed into partial explanatory effects that are assigned for physical attraction, demographic, service and labour market factors over the spatial scales. The finding is that the spatial scale of vicinity and demographic factors contribute most to place attractiveness. The third paper studied regional growth from the demand side of the labour market by focusing on workplace and its economic performance. The ‘floating grid’ approach was once more applied while the basic analysis unit is a constructed workplace that holds working-square, local area and hinterland as surrounding zones. The economic performance of the workplace was attributed to external demand, local demand, business environment and labour force factors over different spatial scales. A method was developed to quantitatively identify intervals of partial explanatory effects that are components of the total explained variance. It was found that working-square and labour force factors contribute most to workplace economic performance.

The main aim of this licentiate thesis is to examine how local actors in a medium-sized Swedish municipality, Värnamo, in their role as decision-makers at the local arena, describe and explain the preconditions and strategies for local economic and social development. The analysis uses semi-structured interviews to reveal the connections between the local actors representations of social and economic structures and their representations of central and future strategic choices. The local actors are represented by a) firm owners or central firm managers, b) local politicians in the municipal executive board, c) civil servants in central positions and d) key actors connected to local and regional organizations. The methodological approach is based on discourse analysis. The overall aim of the study is to understand how local discourses are constructed and communicated. The analysis is deepened by relating the local discourses to relevant theoretical models in contemporary economic geography. The economic-geographical theoretical models used in the analysis focus on industrial districts, clusters and innovation systems. Path-dependency, social embeddedness and creative class are other concepts of importance to understand the formation of the local discourse. The analysis shows how local discourses are affected by the perceived globalization process while being at the same time linked to a) specific historical and environmental factors leading to predominant behavioral norms and values stating that you should be hard working, economical, cooperative and trustworthy and b) the relative location, which is conceived to be central regarding communications and regional service functions. This is combined with an image of a creative and innovative local/regional production system, based on traditions in manufacturing and trade. The foundations in manufacturing and trade are however challenged by new sectors like logistics, design, and higher education in cooperation with universities in the region.