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About Caroline
Caroline Wigren-Kristoferson is Professor of Urban Studies and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Collaboration and Innovation at Malmö University, within the Department of Urban Studies, Faculty of Culture and Society. Her academic background is in business administration with a specialization in entrepreneurship and innovation. She earned her PhD from Jönköping International Business School in 2003, with the dissertation The Spirit of Gnosjö – The Grand Narrative and Beyond, which examined entrepreneurship through an ethnographic lens in the renowned Gnosjö industrial district. Over nearly three decades in academia, she has held positions including Associate Professor in Business Administration at Lund University, associated with CIRCLE and the Sten K. Johnson Centre for Entrepreneurship. From autumn 2018 to 2020, she undertook a Flexit embedded researcher position at the Department of Strategic Community Development in Helsingborg City Administration, funded by the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond to foster links between social sciences research and public organizations.
Her research examines the role of context in entrepreneurship and innovation processes, encompassing academic entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, women's entrepreneurship, and urban innovation, including studies on urban supply systems and real estate-related innovation. Appointed Professor of Urban Studies at Malmö University in 2021 with a focus on real estate science and transport, she contributes to the Urban Business and Development research group. Notable publications include 'Rethinking embeddedness: a review and research agenda' (2022, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development), which has garnered over 160 citations; 'A legitimacy approach to social innovation initiatives at universities' (2023, Science and Public Policy); 'Exploring caring collaborations in academia through feminist new materialist lenses' (2024, Gender, Work & Organization); and 'Start-ups among university employees: the influence of legitimacy, human capital and social capital' (2012, Journal of Technology Transfer). In November 2024, she was selected for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Future Research Leaders list, recognizing her impactful society-oriented research. With over 900 citations on ResearchGate and 43 publications, her work influences discussions on embeddedness, legitimacy, and contextual entrepreneurship. She engages in doctoral supervision, such as in the ASSURE doctoral school, and public discourse on urban entrepreneurship.