Karl Wennberg

Visiting Professor

My research focuses broadly on entrepreneurship, organisational change, and their macro-level implications. Currently, I am researching on how demographic change shape new and established organizations, funded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters.

Entrepreneurship, Organisational Sociology and Regional Science

I am currently doing research on the demography and hiring practices in new firms, the demography of corporate boards, and the organisational dynamics of schools.

I am doing interdisciplinary research at the intersection of Entrepreneurship, Organisational Sociology and Regional Science. I currently pursue three major streams of research:

• Contextual influences on Entrepreneurship
• Meso- and Macro level implications of entrepreneurial activities
• Organisational dynamics (entry, exit, and growth of new organizations)

I am the author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles, books, reports and book chapters on these or related topics. Practical and policy implication of this research are often derived in the form of case studies, research notes, public policy papers and articles for public debate.

I am on the Editorial Boards of Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Business Venturing and Journal of Business Venturing Insights. I am also senior editor of Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice.

Publications

2023

2022

2021

News

OECD countries’ politicians follow each other

The more democratic a country is, the greater the probability that its politicians decide in the same way as in neighbouring countries, without further analysis, according to a study on decision-making during the beginning of the Corona crisis.

Swedish students best at hand washing, worse at keeping their distance

Initial results from an international research project in which LiU is participating show that Swedish students follow official recommendations about hygiene, but not about social distancing.

Cause and effect in the transformation of ecosystems

How can we distinguish between cause and effect when changes take place in a ecosystem? Can new methods give a more accurate picture of the interaction between society and the natural world? These are important questions for a new research programme.

Selected work

Three recent academic works

• Sebhatu, A., Wennberg, K., Arora-Jonsson, S., & Lindberg, S. I. 2020. Explaining the homogeneous diffusion of COVID-19 nonpharmaceutical interventions across heterogeneous countries. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2010625117.
• Halvarsson, D., Korpi, M., & Wennberg, K. 2018. Entrepreneurship and income inequality. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 145: 275-293.
• Kim, P., Wennberg, K. & Crodieu, G. 2016.Meso-Level Mechanism of Entrepreneurial Activity in Societies. Academy of Management Perspectives. 30(3) 273-291.

Three often cited academic works

Autio, E. Pathak, S. & Wennberg, K. 2013. Consequences of Cultural Practices for Entrepreneurial Behaviors. Journal of International Business Studies 44(4): 334-362.
Folta, T. B., Delmar, F., & Wennberg, K. 2010. Hybrid Entrepreneurship.Management Science, 56(2): 253-269.
Wennberg, K., Wiklund, J., DeTienne, D.R., Cardon, M.S. 2010. Reconceptualizing entrepreneurial exit: Divergent exit routes and their drivers. Journal of Business Venturing, 25 (4), 361-375.

Three recently published books

Research Handbook of Entrepreneurial Exit.
Inclusive Growth in Europe.
Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship.

My research activities

Organizational Dynamics

Investigating how new organizations and industries are created and evolve, how labor market dynamics affect workforce segregation across organizations, and computational approaches to group and organizational decision-making.

Related Researchers

Magnus Klofsten

Professor, Head of Division