Purpose: The study aims to explore strategic employer brand management by combining experiences of multiple organizations. In particular, the purpose is to identify what strategic management processes managers consider relevant to employer brand management for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach: This study took…

European Union policies emphasise the importance of entrepreneurship and self-employment to maintain economic growth, a solution influenced by the USA and research from schools of business. There are expectations of higher education graduates that they are innovative, will start businesses and will employ others. However, transferring a solution…

Research in entrepreneurship and learning has focused on education about, for and within enterprises. The purpose of this article is to analyse and discuss the importance of organizing for entrepreneurial learning. The research design included a case study of a newly established 1-year programme at a university in Sweden. Data were collected…

Educational collaboration activities are generally under-researched part of the interactive learning between universities and industry. The study based on 529 Master of Science (MSc) theses from a major Swedish engineering school, the faculty of engineering LTH at Lund University, shows that MSc theses are a frequently used collaboration mechanism…

This handbook, first published in 2014, aims at helping policy makers and social partners understand some of the ways in which learning in the workplace can be encouraged and how its quality can be improved. It is also intended to help them understand some of the ways that such learning can be organised in a structured manner so that it benefits…

Introduction: Several studies have shown that workplace health promotion leads to better health, increased productivity, as well as reduced absenteeism and presenteeism among employees. The objective of this study was to describe how managers in small companies (10-19 employees) perceive their company as an arena for promoting employees' health.…

Purpose: Understanding the factors behind successful enterprise policy interventions are critical in ensuring effective programme development. The aim of this paper is to analyse an academic-industry initiative in Sweden developed to support knowledge-intensive businesses in expanding their operations. Design/methodology/approach: This paper…

In this paper, the authors first discuss the Neumark and Troske piece, and then compare the U.S. context to that in Europe and Korea, as described by the Caspar, Hartwig, and Moench and the Cho and Shin contributions. Although they are in basic agreement with Neumark and Troske on the extent and depth of the current employment situation, they…

Purpose: By comparing two small high-tech firms specialising in medical technology this article seeks to answer the following questions: What are the key characteristics of innovation processes in the case firms? How do the mutual relationships between mental, social and physical spaces explain the different pathways in the innovation processes in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the relationships among the workplace as a learning environment, strategies for competence development used by SMEs and learning outcomes. Specifically, there is a focus on a distinction between formal and integrated strategies for competence development, the conditions under which…

The role of work-based learning is a pivotal part of developing the learning region. With rates of employment at their highest for many years across Europe, the need for up-skilling the workforce in many areas will be essential to retain competitiveness and employability. This paper will focus on quality management up-skilling in small to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to deal with the design of small-business training programs and focuses on women business owners, their real needs and the supply of adequate training. How and to what extent are client selection and support needs influenced by the gender system? Design/methodology/approach: An in-depth study of an ambitious…

There is an ongoing debate both in the United States and Europe about the need to develop a broader view of scholarship and the different activities connected with it, including "service to the community". This empirical study reveals that researchers who are engaged in collaboration with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) encounter…

Responses to a survey of 20 business support organizations in Sweden show that they are aware of the problems of new businesses, However, business owners participating in training they offer perceive their teaching to be too theoretical, their programs too inflexible, and their teaching expertise lacking. (SK)

Small businesses implementing ISO 14001 standards worked with a university to develop a learning network. The network served as a source of inspiration and reflection as well as a sounding board. It enabled small enterprises to act collectively, compensating for individual lack of resources. (SK)