Introducing the inverted Icarus paradox in business history – Evidence from David and Goliath in the Swedish telecommunications industry 1981–1990

PublikationArtikel (med peer review)

Christian Sandström, Erik Lakomaa, Klas Eriksson, Rasmus Nykvist

Sammanfattning

Previous research in business and management history has identified the Icarus paradox, which describes how organisations may fall due to overconfidence and hubris. We build upon previous research on paradoxes in business history and introduce the notion of an inverted Icarus paradox. Using rich archival sources coded in a relational database, we show how an entrant firm, Comvik, outmanoeuvred an established government monopoly in the non-market domain from 1980 to 1990, despite inferior resources and a weak market position. The government monopoly Televerket faced an inverted Icarus paradox; it could not leverage its strengths and political connections as they were stuck in a David versus Goliath narrative where public opinion was more sympathetic to the entrant firm Comvik.

Eriksson, K., Lakomaa, E., Nykvist, R., & Sandström, C. (2024). Introducing the inverted Icarus paradox in business history – Evidence from David and Goliath in the Swedish telecommunications industry 1981–1990. Business History, Advance online publication.

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Is Hydrogen a green bubble? A review of Samuel Furfari’s book The Hydrogen Illusion

Artikel (utan peer review)Publikation

Sandström, C., & Eskilson, E.

Publiceringsår

2024

Publicerat i

Journal of Evolutionary Economics

Sammanfattning

The Hydrogen Illusion (2022) is a self-published book by Samuel Furfari, a retired chemical engineer who worked for 36 years in energy policy at the European Commission. Hydrogen has been brought to the forefront of environmental policy in recent years as the EU and other Western economies are allocating billions of euros and dollars towards hydrogen production. Furfari argues that this is a mistake, and that hydrogen has little potential as an energy form, primarily as it requires so much energy in order to be produced. While at times technical and difficult to follow, The Hydrogen Illusion is a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate about how Western economies can combine economic and environmental development.

Seven reasons why mission-oriented innovation policies seldom work in practice

Artikel (med peer review)Publikation

Henrekson, M., Sandström, C., & Stenkula, M.

Publiceringsår

2024

Publicerat i

Economic Affairs

Sammanfattning

Large-scale government programmes and centrally directed industrial policies to address well-defined societal goals – mission-oriented innovation policies (hereafter referred to as ‘missions’) – are now prominent on many governments’ agendas. This new-found enthusiasm that a ‘visible hand’ should – or perhaps even must – drive the economy forward has, until recently, escaped significant critical scrutiny. There is a dearth of academic studies examining how, when and why such missions often risk failure.

The state as a marketizer vs. the marketization of the state: Two organizational models of public sector corporatization

Artikel (med peer review)Publikation

Fleischer, J., Danielsen, O. A., Neby, S., & Nykvist, R.

Publiceringsår

2024

Publicerat i

Public Organization Review

Sammanfattning

Governments engage in corporatization by creating corporate entities or reorganizing existing ones. These corporatization activities reflect an interplay between political agency and environmental pressures, including (changing) notions of state-market relations. This paper discusses two ideal-typed organizational models of corporatization: the state as a marketizer and the marketization of the state. Whereas the first emphasizes the role of political design and agency in corporatization, the second emphasizes the role of (actors in) the environment for corporatization. Both models are assessed across five corporatization episodes in Norway and Sweden, where we also demonstrate the interplay between political agency and environmental pressure.

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