VA Report 2008:5
A study into how the business world views knowledge
Vetenskap & Allmänhet (Public & Science), VA, has studied the attitudes of the business world towards research, researchers and collaborating with researchers. Six important sectors within the manufacturing and service industries were selected for the study: the wood and paper industry, food and pharmaceuticals industry, engineering companies (manufacturing of motor vehicles, electrical appliances, electronics and computers), consulting firms (technology and organisation consultants), tourism (travel services, hotels and passenger transportation) and the retail trade.
The study consists of five parts:
1. Telephone interviews with just over 600 business leaders from companies with at least 20 employees within the selected sector groups. The majority of those interviewed were managing director or chief executive officer of the company.
2. Reflections on the interview results by five prominent figures from business and academia: Monica Lindstedt, founder and Chairman of Hemfrid; Michele Micheletti, Professor of Political Science at Karlstad University; Björn O. Nilsson, President of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA; Niklas Prager, CEO of Pfizer Sweden and Göran Sandberg, Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University.
3. Analysis of a selection of trade journals from the six sectors, with a focus on the research-related content: Nordisk Papperstidning, Livsmedel i Fokus, Läkemedelsvärlden, Chef, Elektroniktidningen, The Vehicle Component, Market Magasin, Turist och Restauratören.
4. Survey of the general public’s attitudes to research carried out within companies. Telephone interviews with a national sample of Swedes age 16 year and up.
5. Literature survey within the area and analysis of relevant industry statistics.
This report summarises the most important results and conclusions of the study. Download a PDF of the VA Report 2008:5 (English summary).
A full account of the results, methods and selections is provided in VA report 2008:4, Kunskapssynen i Näringslivet (How the business world views knowledge)in Swedish only.
