The geography of rapid-growth firms : exploring the role and location of entrepreneurial ventures

This paper reports from an ongoing study focused on Norwegian rapid-growth firms. It starts with a general discussion of the dynamics of firm growth and particularly on rapid-growth as an entrepreneurial achievement and its importance for innovative activities. The empirical data is based on accounting data for all Norwegian limited liability companies (2000 – 2006). A subgroup of rapid-growth firms is identified. The spatial distribution and economic performance of this subgroup of firms are compared with the total population of limited liability companies. The study identifies their territorial and industrial sector distribution, and analyzes their economic performance and growth patterns. The regional distribution of knowledge intensive types of growth firms is particularly emphasized. The concluding section discusses the empirical results in light of the location and cluster literature

Frelsere eller parasitter? Ledermotiver for bruk av IT-konsulenter

Abstract: The high degree of digitalization in Norway depends on external ITconsultants working on internal projects in private firms as well as in public organizations. This is partly because of organizations’ need for key skills, and partly because of the need for the flexibility. The consultants are employed in flexible non-standard employment contracts with their customers, but usually have standard employment contracts with their “real” employer: the consulting firm. While managers in the customer (focal) firms highly appreciate the key competences and flexibility in these arrangements, they are also concerned about losing control of their own strategic choices, due to their own lack of competence. They also worry about how internal budget and decision procedures fuel the use of consultants, on behalf of building internal competencies by recruiting more of their own standard employment stafpublishedVersio

Gårsdagens suksess – morgendagens begrensning? Strategisk relevant handlingsrom: En rikere forståelse av leders handlingsrom

Managerial discretion is said to be a fundamental condition for effective leadership. Studies of managerial discretion have to a large degree focused on the magnitude of managers’ discretion and how different factors influence managers’ perceived level of discretion (Hambrick, 2007; Hambrick & Finkelstein, 1987; Hutzschenreuter & Kleindienst, 2013). In this chapter, we argue that it is insufficient to study the size of managers’ room for discretion. We also need to understand the content included in leaders’ discretionary rooms. In a study of ten successful logistics companies, one of which was studied more in-depth, we find that the managers perceive their room for managerial discretion as large. However, the alternatives considered are to a large extent operational and short-term, at the expense of more long-term, strategically relevant alternatives facing future challenges. Hence, we develop the concept “strategically relevant managerial discretion”, which, in addition to the alternatives that managers are aware of and that are acceptable for the mangers’ stakeholders, also includes a new dimension: to what extent the alternatives are strategically relevant for future challenges. We conclude the chapter by pointing out interesting directions for future research, including a call for empirical studies of the conceptual model developed in this chapter.publishedVersio

Hvordan påvirker tillit og psykologisk trygghet implementering av radikale endringer? En casestudie av digital tjenesteteknologi

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Mechanisms of time-dependent deformation in porous limestone

We performed triaxial deformation experiments on a water-saturated porous limestone under constant strain rate and constant stress (creep) conditions. The tests were conducted at room temperature and at low effective pressures Peff=10 and Peff=20 MPa, in a regime where the rock is nominally brittle when tested at a constant strain rate of 10−5 s−1. Under these conditions and at constant stress, the phenomenon of brittle creep occurs. At Peff=10 MPa, brittle creep follows similar trends as those observed in other rock types (e.g., sandstones and granites): only small strains are accumulated before failure, and damage accumulation with increasing strain (as monitored by P wave speeds measurements during the tests) is not strongly dependent on the applied stresses. At Peff=20 MPa, brittle creep is also macroscopically observed, but when the creep strain rate is lower than ≈10−7 s−1, we observe that (1) much larger strains are accumulated, (2) less damage is accumulated with increasing strain, and (3) the deformation tends to be more compactant. These observations can be understood by considering that another deformation mechanism, different from crack growth, is active at low strain rates. We explore this possibility by constructing a deformation mechanism map that includes both subcritical crack growth and pressure solution creep processes; the increasing contribution of pressure solution creep at low strain rates is consistent with our observations