Rural areas have experienced a decline in traditional livelihoods, leading to a decrease in population and economic challenges. However, tourism has emerged as a crucial source of income and a driving force in rural community development. This study explores the role of lifestyle entrepreneurs in creating sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems in rural tourism destinations. It investigates the motivations and management practices of lifestyle entrepreneurs and examines their perceptions of their own performance and contribution to sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems in their local communities. Six in-depth interviews were conducted with lifestyle entrepreneurs operating in different regions of rural Sweden to address the research questions.    The findings reveal that lifestyle entrepreneurs are primarily motivated by the quality of life, personal fulfilment, creativity, autonomy, and a strong connection to their community and local environment. These motivations influence their decision-making processes, leading to the application of sustainable business practices that align with their values. Networking and cooperation among lifestyle entrepreneurs are emphasized, with a focus on collaboration over competition, resulting in benefits such as sustainable practices, increased competitiveness, and opportunities for knowledge sharing and discussion. However, the extent of engagement in networking and cooperation may vary based on entrepreneurs' motivations and priorities.   The study concludes that promoting sustainable tourism practices and supporting the well-being of lifestyle entrepreneurs are crucial for local sustainable development. Policymakers and stakeholders should consider the unique needs of lifestyle entrepreneurs and foster a supportive environment that encourages cooperation, networking, and work-life balance.

Entrepreneurs are portrayed as salient drivers of regional development and for a number of years nascent entrepreneurs have been studied in a large number of countries as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project and the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics. Scholars have devoted much effort to investigating factors that determine how individuals engage in entrepreneurial activities, with most of the discussion limited to business start-ups. However, since this type of project does not follow identical nascent entrepreneurs over time, limited knowledge exists about their development and whether they stay in this nascent phase for a long time. In practice, it is common for entrepreneurs to run a business and at the same time work in wage work, so-called combining entrepreneurs. In Sweden, almost half of all business owners combine wage work with a business. However, not all combining entrepreneurs will eventually decide to leave the wage work and invest fully in the business. Consequently, much research has focused on the first step of entering entrepreneurship full time, but less has focused on the second step, the transition from the combining phase to full-time self-employment. The aim of this thesis is therefore to contribute to the theory of entrepreneurship by gaining a deeper understanding of combining entrepreneurs and their motives and intentions.   In the context of combining entrepreneurs, the theory of identity, resources and choice overload has been used to examine how entrepreneurs’ age (when starting the business), entrepreneurial tenure (the length of engagement in the side-business), hours spent (weekly involvement in the side-business), involvement in entrepreneurial teams (leading the business with one or more partners) and involvement in networks (business networks) influence their passion for engaging in entrepreneurship while sustaining wage work. Different categories of combining entrepreneurs and their intentions have also been examined.   A survey was administered to 1457 entrepreneurs within the creative sector in two counties in Sweden (Gävleborgs County and Jämtlands County). Since there were no separate mailing lists to only combining entrepreneurs, the survey was sent to all entrepreneurs within the chosen industry and counties. The total response rate was 33.5 percent and of them 57.6 percent combined, yielding 262 combining entrepreneurs who answered the questionnaire. The survey was then followed up with eight focus group interviews and two single interviews to validate the answers from the questionnaire.   The results indicate three types of combining entrepreneurs: nascent – with the intention to leave the combining phase for a transition into full-time self-employment, lifestyle – with the intention to stay in the combining phase, and occasional – with the intention to leave the combining phase for full-time wage work and close down the business. Transitioning fully to self-employment increases with the individual’s age. Also, a positive interactive effect exists with involvement in entrepreneurial networks. The results also indicate that the ability to work with something one is passionate about is the top motive for combining wage work with a side-business. Passion is also more likely to be the main motive behind the combining form among individuals who are older at business start-up, but passion is less likely to be the main motive behind the combining form among individuals who spend more time on the business. The longer the individual has had the side-business, the less likely passion is the main motive behind the combining form, and passion is less likely to be the main motive among those who are part of an entrepreneurial team. / <p>Avhandlingen baseras på fem delarbeten, tre var opublicerade vid tidpunkten för disputationen, två länkas här.</p>

Entrepreneurs are portrayed as salient drivers of regional development and for a number of years nascent entrepreneurs have been studied in a large number of countries as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project and the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics. Scholars have devoted much effort to investigating factors that determine how individuals engage in entrepreneurial activities, with most of the discussion limited to business start-ups. However, since this type of project does not follow identical nascent entrepreneurs over time, limited knowledge exists about their development and whether they stay in this nascent phase for a long time. In practice, it is common for entrepreneurs to run a business and at the same time work in wage work, so-called combining entrepreneurs. In Sweden, almost half of all business owners combine wage work with a business. However, not all combining entrepreneurs will eventually decide to leave the wage work and invest fully in the business. Consequently, much research has focused on the first step of entering entrepreneurship full time, but less has focused on the second step, the transition from the combining phase to full-time self-employment. The aim of this thesis is therefore to contribute to the theory of entrepreneurship by gaining a deeper understanding of combining entrepreneurs and their motives and intentions.   In the context of combining entrepreneurs, the theory of identity, resources and choice overload has been used to examine how entrepreneurs’ age (when starting the business), entrepreneurial tenure (the length of engagement in the side-business), hours spent (weekly involvement in the side-business), involvement in entrepreneurial teams (leading the business with one or more partners) and involvement in networks (business networks) influence their passion for engaging in entrepreneurship while sustaining wage work. Different categories of combining entrepreneurs and their intentions have also been examined.   A survey was administered to 1457 entrepreneurs within the creative sector in two counties in Sweden (Gävleborgs County and Jämtlands County). Since there were no separate mailing lists to only combining entrepreneurs, the survey was sent to all entrepreneurs within the chosen industry and counties. The total response rate was 33.5 percent and of them 57.6 percent combined, yielding 262 combining entrepreneurs who answered the questionnaire. The survey was then followed up with eight focus group interviews and two single interviews to validate the answers from the questionnaire.   The results indicate three types of combining entrepreneurs: nascent – with the intention to leave the combining phase for a transition into full-time self-employment, lifestyle – with the intention to stay in the combining phase, and occasional – with the intention to leave the combining phase for full-time wage work and close down the business. Transitioning fully to self-employment increases with the individual’s age. Also, a positive interactive effect exists with involvement in entrepreneurial networks. The results also indicate that the ability to work with something one is passionate about is the top motive for combining wage work with a side-business. Passion is also more likely to be the main motive behind the combining form among individuals who are older at business start-up, but passion is less likely to be the main motive behind the combining form among individuals who spend more time on the business. The longer the individual has had the side-business, the less likely passion is the main motive behind the combining form, and passion is less likely to be the main motive among those who are part of an entrepreneurial team.

This exploratory study aimed to investigate how private tourist accommodation owners on Gotland perceive, value and act upon sustainability. The overall aim of the research was to examine their actions in the context of circular economy, to see if they share municipalities visions of becoming a sustainable society. A qualitative method, with semi-structured interviews and a online content research based on their accommodation offers was conducted. Challenges and value conflicts of owners were identified. This research concludes that awareness of entrepreneurial practices, knowledge and collaboration are needed to overcome challenges that these owners encounter and help foster sustainable development. This study offers ideas for future research.

In this study, crisis management has been studied primarily from the perspective of small business owners and lifestyle entrepreneurs. Over time, a need was also discovered to interview and study the relationship of public support organizationswith small businesses in crisis contexts. This is because in the theoretical research framework we experienced a lack of how private small businesses can act in a crisis. This is how our subject has been developed, and curiosity about practical crisis management versus theoretical crisis management has played a central role. Following the work, the niche of small entrepreneurs became in nature tourism, partly due to the fact that Värmland as a county has many entrepreneurs in this category. It is also inevitable that Värmland and the entrepreneurs here have had a strong international market before COVID-19 and therefore the interest has also been to study and analyze how they have acted and proceeded during the crisis. The question of adjustment is therefore very essential to study for future possible crises. To discern these similarities and differences, the private has been set against the regional and public, but also against each other. It has been conducted thanks to semi-structured interviews that highlight the same themes. The themes then follow a consistent structure for both method, empirical data and analysis, where it relates to the study's purpose and issues. Overall, the study has generated striking similarities and differences, but also a dimension in the exclusion of small business owners. The lastpart of the conclusion shows why it is still important to study the subject, as COVID-19 has affected the tourism industry in a very unique and global way, which has not previously been discernible. It highlights the importance of contributing to and continuing research in the future, where both public actors together with regional and private actors can find a way to deal with future crises together. / I denna studie har krishantering studerats utifrån framförallt småföretagares- och livsstilsföretagares perspektiv. Under tidens gång upptäcktes även ett behov av att intervjua och studera offentliga stödorganisationers förhållande till småföretagare i krissammanhang. Det på grund av att det i de teoretiska forskningsramarna upplevdes en brist för hur privata småföretagare kan agera vid kris. Det är genom den vägen ämnet har arbetats fram, och nyfikenheten kring praktisk krishantering versus teoretisk krishantering har spelat en central roll. Utefter arbetets gång kom nischen av småföretagare att bli inom naturturism, bland annat på grund av att Värmland som län innehar många företagare inom den kategorin. Det går heller inte att undkomma att Värmland och företagarna här har haft en stark internationell marknad innan COVID-19 och därför har intresset likaså varit att studera och analysera hur företagarna har agerat och gått tillväga under krisens gång för att ställa om. Omställningsfrågan är därför essentiell att studera för framtida eventuella kriser. För att skönja dessa likheter och skillnader har det privata ställts emot de regionala och offentliga, men även mot varandra. Det har utförts tack vare semistrukturerade intervjuer som lyft samma teman. Temana följer sedan en genomgående struktur för både metod, empiri och analys, där de förhåller sig till studiens syfte och frågeställningar. Studien har totalt sett genererat påvisande likheter och skillnader, men även en dimension i exkludering av småföretagare. I slutsatsens sista del framkommer det varför det är fortsatt viktigt att studera ämnet, eftersom COVID-19 har påverkat besöksnäringen på ett väldigt unikt och globalt sätt, som tidigare inte har kunnat skönjas. Det belyser vikten av att bidra med samt fortsätta forskning framöver där både offentliga aktörer tillsammans med regionala- och privata aktörer kan hitta ett sätt att tillsammans hantera kommande kriser / <p>C-uppsats </p>