This study seeks to gain a better understanding of how small late internationalising (mature) firms operating in mature industry contexts, which seem largely ignored in international entrepreneurship research, identify primary and subsequent international opportunities. Integrating international opportunity and network literature, as well as adopting a multiple case study design, we build on the evidence obtained from two Swedish and two Norwegian late internationalising firms operating in medium-technology industries. Our findings highlight the vital importance of business ties for identification of both primary and subsequent international opportunities by mature firms operating in mature industries. We find that such firms may identify their primary international opportunities by both discovery and creation. Furthermore, the firms' reputation in the domestic market, accumulated technological knowledge and needs for product customisation and/or customer involvement in product development, may indicate whether the firms tend to discover primary international opportunities or create them either by strengthening existing business ties or by forming new ones. With regard to subsequent international opportunities, creation is found to be a more likely way to identify opportunities. We show that 'false' (identified but not pursued) international opportunities, apart from generating a beneficial learning experience for both entrepreneurs and firms, prompt the entrepreneurs to (i) realise the urgency of needed strategic changes and (ii) identify future learning content, i.e. knowledge which should be acquired by the firm for successful pursuit of subsequent international opportunities.

Denna studie designades och analyserades av Högskolan Väst 2016-2017. Undersökningen kompletterar den besökar- och boendestudie som Högskolan Väst tidigare genomförde inom projektet i Lysekil under sensommaren 2016 (se Högskolan Väst Rapport 2 Urban Platsinnovation Besökar- och boendestudie i Lysekil sensommaren 2017). Denna studie genomfördes under tiden 26 maj - 11 augusti 2017 med 363 svarande respondenter, varav 165 var besökare och 198 permanent boende i Lysekil. Syftet med studien var att öka kunskapen om både besökares och boendes uppfattningar om Lysekil. Högskolan Väst har även genomfört en intervjustudie med centrumaktörer i Lysekil under 2017 (se Högskolan Väst Rapport 4 Urban Platsinnovation Att utveckla Lysekils centrum tillsammans - utmaningar och möjligheter). Studierna1 avser även att bidra gränsöverskridande inspiration samt vara ett underlag för planering och utveckling av kommande centrumutvecklande aktiviteter såväl inom som utanför projektets regi.Undersökningen visar att besökare framför allt kommer till Lysekil för att koppla av och är nöjda med sitt besök i Lysekil samt med service och utbud, stadsmiljö och faciliteter. En stor majoritet av besökarna har besökt Lysekil innan och anger att de kommer att besöka Lysekil igen. Av de besökare är det 88% som sannolikt kommer rekommendera andra ett besök i Lysekil. Ungefär hälften av besökarna bor mer än 10 mil från Lysekil.De permanent boende i Lysekil är också nöjda med utbudet av restauranger, kvalitén på både maten och servicen. De boende var också nöjda med servicen i butikerna men ställde sig neutrala till utbudet av butiker. Det största missnöjet bland de permanent boende i Lysekil finns kring parkeringssituationen.Studien är i stort samstämmig med den besökar- och boendeundersökning som genomfördes 2016.Ett stort antal förbättringsförslag ges av respondenterna och finns redovisade i rapporten. Dessa förslag är allt från konkreta till visionära.Det är vår rekommendation att denna rapport ihop med rapporten från undersökningen 2016 (se Högskolan Västs Rapport 2) delges och diskuteras med de aktörer och nätverk som finns i Lysekil i arbetet i att ta fram nya centrumutvecklande aktiviteter.

Denna studie designades och analyserades av Högskolan Väst 2016-2017. Undersökningen kompletterar den besökar- och boendestudie som Högskolan Väst tidigare genomförde inom projektet i Lysekil under sensommaren 2016 (se Högskolan Väst Rapport 2 Urban Platsinnovation Besökar- och boendestudie i Lysekil sensommaren 2017). Denna studie genomfördes under tiden 26 maj - 11 augusti 2017 med 363 svarande respondenter, varav 165 var besökare och 198 permanent boende i Lysekil. Syftet med studien var att öka kunskapen om både besökares och boendes uppfattningar om Lysekil. Högskolan Väst har även genomfört en intervjustudie med centrumaktörer i Lysekil under 2017 (se Högskolan Väst Rapport 4 Urban Platsinnovation Att utveckla Lysekils centrum tillsammans - utmaningar och möjligheter). Studierna1 avser även att bidra gränsöverskridande inspiration samt vara ett underlag för planering och utveckling av kommande centrumutvecklande aktiviteter såväl inom som utanför projektets regi. Undersökningen visar att besökare framför allt kommer till Lysekil för att koppla av och är nöjda med sitt besök i Lysekil samt med service och utbud, stadsmiljö och faciliteter. En stor majoritet av besökarna har besökt Lysekil innan och anger att de kommer att besöka Lysekil igen. Av de besökare är det 88% som sannolikt kommer rekommendera andra ett besök i Lysekil. Ungefär hälften av besökarna bor mer än 10 mil från Lysekil. De permanent boende i Lysekil är också nöjda med utbudet av restauranger, kvalitén på både maten och servicen. De boende var också nöjda med servicen i butikerna men ställde sig neutrala till utbudet av butiker. Det största missnöjet bland de permanent boende i Lysekil finns kring parkeringssituationen. Studien är i stort samstämmig med den besökar- och boendeundersökning som genomfördes 2016. Ett stort antal förbättringsförslag ges av respondenterna och finns redovisade i rapporten. Dessa förslag är allt från konkreta till visionära. Det är vår rekommendation att denna rapport ihop med rapporten från undersökningen 2016 (se Högskolan Västs Rapport 2) delges och diskuteras med de aktörer och nätverk som finns i Lysekil i arbetet i att ta fram nya centrumutvecklande aktiviteter

Collaboration and learning are vital for development in all sectors of society and there is a constant need for new ideas, innovation and development. Crucial for dealing with contemporary complex challenges on a local, regional, national and global scale is a need for the inclusion of many perspectives and competences. However, collaboration is never friction free but challenging. A reason for this might be that there are different expectations on goals and outcomes due to that collaborating organizations bring different contexts, Inter-organisational collaborations, cultures, traditions etc. These challenges are addressed by several approaches for university-society collaboration, e.g. Work-Integrated Learning (WIL), University-Industry-Government (Triple-helix), University Community Partnership (UCP), and Public Private Academic Partnership (PPAP). These are all aiming at planning, performing, compiling and leveraging knowledge exchange and co-creating sustainable results. What is less developed is what genuine impact such results do have on society, i.e. societal impacts. Thus, there is a need for gaining more knowledge in research about what key mechanisms that constitutes successful collaboration between academia and various public and private organizations in research projects.This conceptual paper explores the underlying concepts of principles that are used as guidelines for successful university-society collaboration. It draws on a literature review of key concepts selected from established frameworks and models that are current in the field of university-society collaboration, e.g. co-creation, trust, relationship building. The aim of the paper is to gain deeper insights in the complex dynamics of research collaboration by combining previous models with current research literature and suggest implications for both model development as well as principles of conduct when societal impact are to be ensured in university-society collaboration. Hence, the research questions to be addressed in this paper are: What are the key concepts that underlie the dynamics of university-society collaboration in the research literature? How can successful university-society collaboration be conceptualized in order to facilitate co-creation and societal impact?

This study aims to identify tourist segments present during the summer season in a northern European seaside resort setting. Demographic changes on a global scale bring with them dramatic changes in tourist demand and behavior. This poses new challenges for places that have a history of being attractive summer tourist destinations, challenges that can only be dealt with by informed actors. The small coastal town of Lysekil was chosen as the case of study since it has a history as a traditional northern European seaside resort, experiencing problems with adjusting to changing tourist demand and behavior. In addition, it is geographically separated from other similar towns which facilitates data collection. Data was collected during the summer season, from May to September, with a structured survey. The results identify five segments, what characterize them and when they are present.

This study aims at gaining a deeper understanding of the role of networks in internationalization of small firms originating from a cross-border region. Internationalization is viewed as the process of identification and exploitation of international opportunities. The present study specifically seeks to understand how different kind of networks enable small firms to identify and exploit their first and subsequent international opportunities and where (within or beyond the cross-border region). The study employs a multiple-case study design and is built on empirical evidence mainly collected via face-to-face semi-structured interviews with managers/owners/founders of five small firms located in the cross-border region Northern Fyrbodal (Sweden) – Southern Østfold (Norway). Preliminary findings suggest that the roles of business, institutional and social networks as well as regional and international networks differ with regard to i) international opportunities identification and exploitation; ii) geographically/institutionally proximate and distant markets as well as iii) discovery or creation as a means of international opportunities formation.

Firms’ small size is commonly considered as a disadvantage in internationalization (Jansson, 2007), which is mainly associated with the lack of resources needed to expand internationally (Jansson & Sandberg, 2008). Consequently, internationalization of small firms differs noticeably from that of large firms (Musteen et al., 2010). In particular, compared to large firms, small firms rely more extensively on networks relationships, thus trying to overcome barriers to internationalization related to their size (Zahra, 2005). Previous research reports a wide use of different kinds of networks (business vs. social, local vs. foreign) by small firms in the process of their internationalization (e.g., Kuhlmeier and Knight, 2010; Musteen et al., 2010, Dubois, 2016). Fletcher (2004) and Dubois (2016) stress the need to further investigate the relational context of small firms’ internationalization in order to understand how these firms start and manage their international expansion. Further, Dubois (2016) arguments for bringing in a geographical context for conceptualising the process of small firms’ internationalization and calls for more research to be done in order to get a better understanding of how the contextual elements influence the actions of individual actors.The proposed study takes into focus the context of cross-border regions, which implies that the firms located in such areas benefit from a spatial proximity to a neighbouring foreign market and its potential (Niebuhr and Stiller, 2004). However, the empirical evidence, obtained for various cross-border regions, often shows the contrary, i.e. that these areas are characterised with weak economic dynamism involving local firms, which do not benefit remarkably from a spatial proximity to a neighbouring foreign market (Leick, 2012). The purpose of this study is to generate a better understanding of the internationalization process of small firms originating from a cross-border region using the network perspective (Johansson and Matsson, 1988). In particular, the study aims to examine the role of relationships in the process of international expansion of firms located in the cross-border region Northern Fyrbodal (Sweden) – Southern Ostfold (Norway), with regard to their choice of the first and consequent markets, mode and time of internationalization.The study uses a multiple-case study design (Yin, 2014) and is built on empirical evidence collected via face-to-face semi-structured interviews with managers/owners/founders of seven small firms located both in Sweden and Norway in a relative proximity to the Swedish-Norwegian border. Preliminary findings suggest that both business and social networks are of extreme importance for small firms from a cross-border region with regards to the identification of international opportunities in foreign markets, making a decision to internationalize as well as the choice of mode of internationalization. It is found that local networks are equally important for small firms from cross border regions to reach distant markets as foreign networks. Reliance on social networks seem to contribute to exploring international opportunities by small firms in the neighbouring markets while reliance on business networks appear to help them to reach distant markets at early stages of internationalization.

This paper draws on the experiences of work-integrated learning from a Swedish-Norwegian cross-sector research project where actors from university, industry, government and volunteer sector collaborate on city center development. The empirical setting of the present study consists of six smaller cities in rural municipalities with limited resources and experiences of collaboration with higher education institutions. The following research question is addressed: How can research and development projects serve as a vehicle for facilitating mutual knowledge exchange between academia and society in cross-sector and rural collaboration contexts? The aim is hence to suggest a tentative collaboration model that identify and integrate knowledge flows between actors involved in cross-sector collaborations in such setting. To gain deep insights in the complex dynamics of project collaboration we applied a mixed methods approach including surveys, structured, in-depth qualitative interviews, observations, workshops and student projects. The data collection was performed during 2016-2017. Findings indicate that trust, continuity, and relationship building are the basis vital for successful creation, development and maintenance of knowledge flows. Furthermore, there is a need to develop an integrative tool box with different methodological tools, work practices and strategies to plan, perform, compile to leverage the knowledge flows and coproduce sustainable results. Our tentative model aims to illustrate conceptualize lessons learned on work-integrated learning and collaboration with academia. We discuss how the model may support co-creative and mutual results over time.