Mathias Karlsson

Research

My research and teaching focus on topics such as entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, organization, business ethics, and sustainability. In my research, I mainly use ideas and concepts from the humanities, and in particular philosophy.

My doctoral thesis Infinitely Demanding Entrepreneurship is an ethnographically inspired study where I use the philosopher Simon Critchley's work in order to analyze the social initiative 'IKEA's partnership with social entrepreneurs'.

Infinitely Demanding Entrepreneurship won the Oskar Sillén's Prize (2018) for best doctoral thesis in business administration in Sweden. You find the full thesis as a pdf below (publications).

https://www.fei.se/om-fei/competence-partner-choice/research-and-development/

From January 2021 to December 2023, I will work full-time as a researcher thanks to Handelsbanken and their Wallander Scholarship.

Teaching

I am currently teaching in the following courses:

2FE512. Organiserandets utmaningar och problem (course responsible)

1FE466. Entreprenörskap och grundläggande affärsutveckling (course responsible)

4FE534. Contemporary issues in management (teacher)

2FE78E. Examensarbete i organisation (supervisor)

CONTACT
mathias.h.karlsson@lnu.se
+46709781002

Mathias Karlsson presents his research within the Bridge, a collaboration between Linnaeus University and IKEA, about entrepreneurship as a force for societal change.

Publications

Article in journal (Refereed)

Bjerke, B., Karlsson, M. (2013). Why are some people behaving or acting entrepreneurially more than others? : Looking at opportunities as part of entrepreneurial behavior or action in more than one way. Journal of Business and Economics. 4. 465-474.

Conference paper (Refereed)

Karlsson, M. (2016). The Practices and Power of Legitimizing Entrepreneurship in an MNC? : Subverting and Reinforcing ‘Business as Usual’. Paper presented at the 6th Latin American and European Meeting on Organization Studies, Viña del Mar, Chile, April 6–9, 2016.

Conference paper (Other academic)

Karlsson, M., Taalas, S.L. (2015). Social Entrepreneurship Breaking Bad : Reflexive creative subjectivity of 'Friendly Rebels'. Paper presented at the 10th OS Summer Workshop 2015: Organizational Creativity, Play and Entrepreneurship, Chania, Crete, Greece, May 21–23, 2015.
Karlsson, M. (2015). In search of the limits and possibilities of practicing responsibility and reflexivity in multi-sited ethnography. Paper presented at the 31st EGOS colloquium - Organizations and the Examined Life: Reason, Reflexivity and Responsibility, Athens, Greece, July 2–4, 2015 : Sub-theme 15.
Karlsson, M. (2014). Dynamics of mosaic tensions that construct the alternative organising form – (corporate) social entrepreneuring. .
Karlsson, M. (2013). Social entrepreneuring: a move forward through a glance backwards. 22nd Nordic Academy of Management Conference held in University of Iceland Reykjavík 21-23 August 2013. On Practice and Knowledge eruptions. (USB).
Bjerke, B., Karlsson, M. (2010). On the importance of public entrepreneurs to local governments. Proceedings of the ResearchSymposium on Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Boston, MA.

Book (Other academic)

Bjerke, B., Karlsson, M. (2013). Social entrepreneurship : to act as if and make a difference. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing.
Bjerke, B., Karlsson, M. (2011). Samhällsentreprenör : att inte bara vara och agera som om. Malmö, Big Bad Books.

Doctoral thesis, monograph (Other academic)

Karlsson, M. (2018). Infinitely Demanding Entrepreneurship. Doctoral Thesis. Växjö, Linnaeus University Press. 356.