Rickne has published well-cited studies in journals such as Research Policy, Industry and Innovation, Science and Public Policy and Small Business Economics, and has coedited several books. She analyses issues of entrepreneurship, innovation and industrial dynamics at various levels – within technology-based organisations, at the sectoral level, and within innovation systems – and draws conclusions for strategy as well as for policy. Her interest is economic growth initiated by new scientific or technological knowledge, creating opportunities that reshape existing knowledge fields and industries or gives rise to the evolution of new ones. This involves issues of public policies as well as firm and university strategies and behaviour, of commercialization in the form of new firms or the diversification of established ones, and of the role of globalization versus regional arenas. Her research approach spans from, for example, case studies of researcher’s motives, through surveys of firm strategies and bibliometric studies, to interview based analysis of policy development.
Annika Rickne earned her Ph.D. in Technology Management from Chalmers University of Technology in 2000, and was named reader (Docent) at Lund University in 2005. She has held positions at Chalmers University of Technology (School of Technology Management), Lund University (CIRCLE), the Dahmén Institute, the University of Gothenburg (Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship) and at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH).