CEnSE

Warm congratulations to Orsa Kekezi, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics (CEnSE) affiliate and former Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University PhD student, on receiving the Young Entrepreneurship Researcher Award 2026 from Entreprenörskapsforum.

The award recognizes Orsa’s important work on how economic and geographical structures shape entrepreneurial behavior, including her research on third places such as cafés, coworking spaces, and other open meeting places as nodes for networks, creativity, and high-tech entrepreneurship. Her work also sheds light on entrepreneurs’ well-being in times of uncertainty and crisis, and on the individual and geographical factors that can support resilience.

We are very proud to see Orsa’s research recognized in this way.
Congratulations, Orsa!

CEnSE members Charlotta Mellander and Sofia Wixe have, together with José Lobo (Arizona State University), been awarded the Martin Beckmann Award by the Regional Science Association International (Regional Science Association International (RSAI)) for the paper “Adolescence socioeconomic segregation and high-skilled jobs in adulthood”, published in Papers in Regional Science (Volume 104, Issue 4, August 2025).

https://www.regionalscience.org/index.php/awards/martin-beckmann-rsai-annual-award.html

The paper examines how socioeconomic segregation during adolescence shapes the probability of entering high-skilled occupations in adulthood, drawing on Swedish microdata to analyze the relationship between neighborhood conditions, spatial mobility, and later labor market outcomes.

The Martin Beckmann Award is given to the best paper published in Papers in Regional Science during the year.

Congratulations to Charlotta Mellander, Sofia Wixe, and José Lobo.

Article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1056819025000302

www.sciencedirect.com

Today we had the pleasure of listening to our visiting PhD student Maria Camila Jiménez Amaya from the Gran Sasso Science Institute in Italy. Camila presented her ongoing dissertation work, which brings together themes of regional inequality, labor economics, and gender issues.

She will be with us until December 2025, and we are delighted that she will return for another two months in 2026. We’re so happy to have her here at Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics (CEnSE) and look forward to many inspiring exchanges and collaborations during her stay!

The Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics (CEnSE) at Jönköping International Business School, Charlotta Mellander recently participated in Varbergs Näringslivsdag (Varberg Business Day).

The event brought together a diverse group of speakers and participants, including former national ice hockey player Jonas Bergqvist on leadership, Stefan Hyttfors on the future, Niclas Kjellner on the art of small talk, and Anders Thornberg (former National Police Commissioner and now County Governor) on e.g. gender equality. Awards were also presented to Tommy Prim (cycling) and Cecilia Vennersten AB (music), with the day moderated by Leila Söderholm.

Participation in external events such as this provides important opportunities to connect research with practice.

BOOK

CEnSE members Charlie Karlsson and Sofia Wixe, together with Martin Andersson, have recently (July 2025) published The Oxford Handbook of Spatial Diversity and Business Economics, which brings together contributions and perspectives from both economics and business scholars, offering theoretical insights alongside new empirical research that serves as a foundation for policy recommendations.

For quite some time, research across various fields has highlighted diversity as a critical factor in fostering creativity, knowledge generation, innovation, and entrepreneurship—at the levels of organizations, cities, regions, and entire countries. The aim of this book is to provide a comprehensive overview of the role of diversity in modern advanced economies, appealing to academics, researchers, and advanced students in disciplines such as business, economics, and geography. Organized into four parts, the book comprises 16 individual chapters that address the topics of diversity and place development, workforce and labour market diversity, diversity and entrepreneurship, and regional diversity, innovation, and productivity. The introductory chapter complements with a broad discussion on existing research regarding the role of spatial diversity for creativity, knowledge production, innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth in the economy. Throughout the book, diversity is conceptualized as a multi-faceted phenomenon that can be measured and analysed in various dimensions and within different contexts, demonstrating its significant economic impacts at multiple spatial scales.

The Oxford Handbook of Spatial Diversity and Business Economics Abstract. For quite some time, research across various fields has highlighted diversity as a critical factor in fostering creativity, knowledge generation,

Last week, several members of the CEnSE research group participated in the annual European Regional Science Association (ERSA) conference in Athens.

The conference featured keynote talks by distinguished scholars such as Paul Krugman, Jacques Thisse, Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, and Michael Storper, among others, offering valuable insights into current research frontiers in regional science.

CEnSE was well represented, with Sofia Wixe, Lina Bjerke, Ruoshui He, and Peter Njekwa Ryberg among the researchers presenting their work. The conference provided an excellent platform for sharing ideas, engaging in academic discussions, and connecting with leading scholars from around the world.

We congratulate Hanh Luu Thuy, who receives an honorary mention in the 2025 CEnSE Thesis Award for her exceptional thesis, “Dancing Between Logics: Persistent Hybrid Entrepreneurs and Institutional Complexity.”

Her work offers a conceptually rich and timely exploration of how hybrid entrepreneurs navigate competing institutional logics in resource-constrained and rapidly changing environments. Grounded in institutional complexity theory and based on a meticulously conducted qualitative case study in Vietnam, the thesis highlights the lived experience of entrepreneurship under uncertainty.

It provides valuable insights into how economic and social goals are balanced, and how entrepreneurs persist without strong structural support. The thesis stands out for its theoretical depth, methodological transparency, and empirical richness, making it a significant contribution to CEnSE’s core focus on entrepreneurship.

The gap in life expectancy between high- and low-income earners in Sweden has tripled since the 1960s. In the latest episode of , Associate Professor and CEnSE member Johannes Hagen, discusses why health inequalities are growing—and what this means for the pension system.

Don't miss the conversation hosted by !

🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/dPgJnwiH

📄 Read the full report from Jönköping University: https://lnkd.in/dC3dES63

Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics (CEnSE) is happy to announce this year's winners of the student thesis award: Emelie Persson and Selene Majed for their essay titled " Something’s Brewing: Innovation, community and a cup of coffee."

The justification for the selection is as follows:

”The thesis “Something’s Brewing: Innovation, Community and a Cup of Coffee” offers a rich and original contribution that aligns closely with the mission of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics (CEnSE). Through a mini-ethnographic study of the coworking space GRO36 in Jönköping, the authors explore how managers act as entrepreneurial orchestrators—cultivating community, fostering collaboration, and shaping the social dynamics of innovation. The thesis stands out for its thoughtful combination of empirical insight and conceptual depth. Using interviews and observations, the authors reveal how everyday practices and leadership strategies contribute to a locally embedded innovation environment. Rather than focusing on traditional growth metrics, the study highlights how social capital, trust, and shared values shape entrepreneurial ecosystems. Methodologically rigorous and clearly written, the thesis draws effectively on literature in coworking, leadership, and innovation. Its findings offer relevant insights for researchers, policymakers, and community actors interested in inclusive, place-based entrepreneurship.

For its originality, clarity, and strong thematic fit with CEnSE’s goals, this thesis is a highly deserving winner of the 2025 CEnSE Thesis Prize”.

We congratulate Emelie and Selene on this well-deserved award!

Den 7 maj hade Centre for Entrepreneurship and Spatial Economics (CEnSE) nöjet att bjuda in några av landets främsta experter på områdena försvar och beredskap, gängkriminalitet, AI och miljö : Joakim Paasikivi, Diamant Salihu, Claudia Olsson och Ola Rosling. Samtliga gick med på att spela in var sin podcast under ledning av Emanuel Karlsten. Resultatet blev fyra fantastiskt innehållsrika diskussioner - ett måste att lyssna på under semestern.

(Eng: On May 7, we had the pleasure of inviting some of the country’s leading experts in the fields of defense and preparedness, gang crime, AI, and the environment: Joakim Paasikivi, Diamant Salihu, Claudia Olsson, and Ola Rosling. Each of them agreed to record a podcast hosted by Emanuel Karlsten. The result was four fantastically insightful discussions—a must-listen during the holidays.)

Poddcasten Framkant Sverige Konferensen Framkant Sverige ägde rum 7 maj 2025 på Jönköping University (JU) och samlade fyra av Sveriges främsta experter inom några av Sveriges tuffaste...