Paulina Rytkönen

Paulina Rytkönen

Senior Lecturer

I am associate professor in Economic history and lecturer in Business Studies at the School of Social Sciences.

+46 8 608 41 09 +4686084109

Social Sciences

ME429D

I have a PhD in Economic history from Lund University (2004) and I am an associated professor in economic history since 2012. I am currently working at the School of Social Sciences, Department of Business Administration.

I have both before and now constantly cooperated with actors within the green industries, the food industry and restaurant- and experience sectors.

I am a member of several academies:

The Swedish Royal Academy of Agriculture and Forestry

The Routabaga Academy

The Fermented Herring Academy

The Swedish Beverage Academy


Research and Development projects
I am currently running three research/development projects within the frame of my organizational belonging. On January 1st 2017 I will initiate an additional project.

The first project is a planning study about Environmental Security, a theory field that focuses on the relation between energy extraction/energy use and various conflicts. The planning study grasps a case study about the construction of the Hydro-plant Alto Maipo ant the consequences of the hydro-plant in terms of sustainabiliry, risk, livelihoods, social unrest. This project will be terminated at the beginning of 2017 after a final fieldwork that will be conducted in December 2016 and January 2017.

Project number two started in 2016 and is conducted together with Håkan Tunón, SLU and Bolette Bele, Nibio (Norway). The project is called Biological heritage as sustainable value creator. The project will promote knowledge and the development of new practices in order to increase the economic sustainability of firms, in this case, mainly transhumance and other farm/rural operations whose main income is based on nature based values. For more information please follow our blogg biologiskt kulturarv External link.

This project has been highlighted by the Norwegian government as important to meet some of our challenges in rural and less favoured areas.

Link to comment from Norwegian Government External link.

Project number three was initiated on October 1st 2016 and is a three year Interreg project with the purpose of developing business models for firms in the Swedish and Finnish Archipelagoes. The name of the project is Archipelago Partnerships for Business Development, and is a cooperation between Novia University of Applied Sciences, Åbo Academy, Drivhuset Sverige and Södertörn University. I am the coordinator for the participation of Södertörn University in this project.


Starting from January 1st 2017 a new research project will be initiated with finance from the Baltic Sea Foundation. The project is called A Contemporary Business History of the Dairy Industry – Processes of Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Internationalization in the Baltic Sea Region, 1989-2018. The project will study the process of internationalization and the strategies adopted and developed by firms within the agro-food sector, with dairy firms as our main case. Special emphasis will be put on the strategies and transformation processes of the dairy industry in the countries around the Baltic Sea, and especially companies in former Eastern Europe. The project is a cooperation with Professor Mikael Lönnborg (project coordinator), FD Marcus Box (Enter Forum, School of Social Sciences) and Paulina Rytkönen.


Main research interests
During the last years I have mainly done research on the globalization of the agro-food industry and on how to promote growth and thereby rural development amongst new and existing firms in Sweden and Europe. Some specific long term lines of research are entrepreneurship, innovation processes and diffusion of innovations, global and local agro-food systems, geographical indications, food and tourism, natural resource management, industry studies and business history.

Previous/finished research projects where I was main applicant.


Rural development, traditional goods, territories and local production systems in the Swedish countryside, Formas 2007-2036. The project was finished the 30th of June 2013. Results of the project have partly been published and are under publication. People employed in the project: Paulina Rytkönen (project coordinator and main applicant) and Professor: Per Wramner, Södertörn University. (total amount 2,2 million crowns)

Bland getter och kor i Europa – Lokala produktionssystem av mervärdesostar i Europa – En komparation Project VR 2008-2005. the project was finished in March 2014. Employed in the project, Paulina Rytkönen (project coordinator and main applicant) and Professor Karl Gratzer Södertörn University. (total sum awarded 3,6 million crowns).

Wrångebäck Sweden – en fallstudie för att samla know-how och stärka konkurrenskraften för producenter av traditionell ost, KK-Stiftelsen 2009-0225. Employed in the proyect were PhD Ivailo Simoff, a post-doc in the project. We had three external cooperating partners from the agricultural/food sector, namely Almnäs Bruk AB (a Swedish small scale cheese producer and farm), The rural societies for agriculture (Hushållningssällskapet) and Isili AB (a consultant company). This project focused on gathering knowledge about how to obtain The project was finished in February 2012. Total awarded 2,2 million crowns.

Farmers and corporations, Global commodity chains, clustering and local systems of provisioning in Peruvian livestock, Planning grant from SAREC/SIDA, 75000 scr. A planning fieldwork was conducted in 2007, but since finance was obtained for the above mentioned project, the application for research grant was withdrawn. Co-applicant was Örjan Bartholdson, PhD at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.


Previous research projects with other main applicants

From national champions to global leaders - a study of the globalization of the dairy sector in Denmark, France, Chile, New Zealand and Uruguay. This project was financed by the Swedish research Council – project number 2005-2092. My participation started in October 2006 and encompassed 50% of my work time for 1,5 year. The head of this project is professor Ulf Jonsson 08-164288. Other project members were Lena Molin and Carin Israelsson, both from the department of Economic History at Stockholm University.

Project with finance from Formas, project number 2006-2246 Sojakedjan I globaliseringen av livsmedelssystemet: utmaningar för ett hållbart livsmedelssystem. Project coordinator: Professor Ulf Jonsson, Stockholm University, 08-164288. My part of the project is comprised by 25% of a full time position from 1/7-2007 until 30/6-2008. I contributed both with research (mainly a fieldwork in Argentina) but my main task was administrative support. The head of the project was professor Ulf Jonsson, Department of Economic History, Stockholm University.

SAREC (Swedish Development Agengy’s Research Council). The transformation of Chilean Agriculture 1950-2000.
I was granted four years of finance from 1/1 2000-30/9-2004 for my PhD project. The project generated the thesis “Fruits of Capitalism – Modernization of Chilean Agriculture 1950-2000”, Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2004.


Scholarships
2009 years large Wine and Spirits scholarship.


EU-projects
New Rural Enterprises and Agrarian Development, a contribution to the development of management capacities, ALFA- II0439-A. Project ended in 2007.

This project developed methods to compare production systems in dairy farms in France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Costa Rica, Chile, Cuba, Brazil and Uruguay. Between May 2005 and May 2007, scholars from the named countries conducted surveys in respective countries, and met in four occasions to discuss and develop methods to compare different productive systems. The project also contributed to important insights among the scholars about how agriculture and agricultural policy works in the participating countries (copy of some of the documents are enclosed appendix 3). During the workshops, a part of the time was devoted to visit farms and local industries in the areas of Valdivia, Chile, San José, Costa Rica, Oviedo in Spain and Ancona in Italy. The network members also organized public information workshops to inform stakeholders in each country of our project and the final results. In Sweden two workshops were held.

Link to my blog External link, opens in new window.

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