Entrepreneurship in island contexts: A systematic review of the tourism and hospitality literature

Tripped at the Finishing Line: The Åland Islands Internet Voting Project

The Åland Islands spent years preparing an internet voting system, to be implemented for the first time in October 2019 for Parliamentary Elections. Despite this, the project was canceled the evening before the expected release date. In this paper, we explore the causes of this failure using a two-pronged approach including Information System failure perspectives and the approach to e-voting Mirabilis, focusing on organizational elements which provoked the decision not to use the system.

Competition on a local market – a historical study of market gardens in Stockholm

In the period 1880-1930, interest in gardening products rose substantially in the Swedish market. The import of horticultural produce as well as domestic production increased by 20 times. The competition on the market for horticultural produce significantly increased from the 1930s. The costs of fuel and labor rose, and imports took a larger share of the Swedish market as the century progressed, except during the wars. Competition was stiff from countries with lower production costs. After World War II, a series of measures were introduced to stabilize the world economy and kick-start trade. These included the first General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which intended to boost international trade by reducing customs, duties, and trade quotas. At the negotiating table, Sweden was particularly anxious about the export opportunities for major industries. This meant easing imports for some products for the sake of the balance of trade, and one category sacrificed was horticultural products. This resulted in a backlash for the market gardens, and the number of market gardens decreased in favor of large-scale, modern companies with a rationalized and specialized production, often situated in southern Sweden. However, there are examples of small-scale family businesses that survived competition from large-scale companies, increasing imports, and rising costs of fuel and labor. These businesses adapted their production to the demands of local markets. Two of these have been reviewed in case studies: Nilsson’s market garden on Runmarö in the Stockholm archipelago, founded in 1929, and Nora market garden in Danderyd, founded in 1938 and still run by the Welander family. Referring to M. Porters generic strategies, Nilsson had a focused strategy, providing a custom range of products to wealthy summer visitors in the Stockholm archipelago. Welander had a differentiated approach, selling products of superior quality, with customers including a delicatessen in Stockholm.

Winds of time: Lessons from Utö in the Stockholm Archipelago, 1990-2001

When investigating the success or failure of different wind power projects, it is essential to take into account how they were historically situated. This study focuses on attempts to develop wind power in an archipelago setting, at Utö in Sweden. It has been argued that the development of Swedish wind power slowed during the 1990s; by revisiting the early days of wind power, looking at resistance and support, and connecting success factors, this can be further investigated. Whereas earlier research pointed out institutional conditions and site-specific conditions as crucial for successful wind power development and acceptance, the picture can be made more complete by discussing how wind power projects are affected by time-specific historical conditions. In the case of Utö, these can partly be associated with a newly launched political support program that gave the project political legitimacy and added a ”pioneering spirit” to the endeavor. Conversely, when wind power is not seen as ”pioneering” or ”experimental” any more, but as a mere industrial activity, other incentives may need to be offered to municipalities.

An inquiry into second-home-induced displacement

The aim of this study is to shed empirical light on the debate concerning second-home tourism and displacement of permanent residents. This is done by studying the most exclusive second-home area in Sweden, the Stockholm archipelago, and especially the island of Sandö, one of the most affected islands. Data were collected using a questionnaire examining all out-migrants from the island during the period 1991–2006. The questions concern out-migrants’ reasons for leaving the island and the extent to which second-home development had an impact on their migration decision. The core question is whether second-home tourism poses a displacement effect on the permanent population, through price inflation and limiting the supply of dwellings.

Economic valuation for sustainable development in the Swedish coastal zone

The Swedish coastal zone is a scene of conflicting interests about various goods and services provided by nature. Open-access conditions and the public nature of many services increase the difficulty in resolving these conflicts. ”Sustainability” is a vague but widely accepted guideline for finding reasonable trade-offs between different interests. The UN view of sustainable development suggests that coastal zone management should aim at a sustainable ecological, economic, and social-cultural development. Looking closer at economic sustainability, it is observed that economic analyses about whether changes in society imply a gain or a loss should take into account the economic value of the environment. Methods used for making such economic valuation in the context of the Swedish coastal zone are briefly reviewed. It is noted that the property rights context matters for the results of a valuation study. This general background is followed by a concise presentation of the design and results of four valuation studies on Swedish coastal zone issues. One study is on the economic value of an improved bathing water quality in the Stockholm archipelago. The other studies are a travel cost study about the economic value of improved recreational fisheries in the Stockholm archipelago, a replacement cost study on the value of restoring habitats for sea trout, and a choice experiment study on the economic value of improved water quality along the Swedish westcoast.

Effects of Fish Stocking on Ecosystem Services: An Overview and Case Study Using the Stockholm Archipelago

In this article, we focus on documented and possible effects of fish stocking in terms of ecosystem services. The increasing use of fish stocking between 1970 and 2000 in the semiurban setting of Stockholm archipelago, Sweden, is used as case study. The objective is to analyze this management practice from an ecosystem perspective, accounting for both the ecological and social context of releasing fish. The results show that enhancements of four native species (Salmo S. trutta, Salmo salar, Stizostedion lucioperca, and Anguilla anguilla) have dominated over new introductions of one nonnative species. (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The major objective has been to increase fish catches for local resource users. Involved stakeholders include three management agencies, one hydropower company, and several local sport fishing associations. Documented effects focus on recapture and production rates. However, our analysis suggests that additional positive or negative effects on biodiversity, food web dynamics, mobile links, or ecological information may also result, with possible consequences for the long-term provision of food, game, and aesthetic values. We conclude that a more adaptive and cooperative management approach could benefit from a deeper analysis of where, when, and what species is released, by whom, which stakeholders that use the fish and those ecosystem services the fish generate, and of the role of formal and informal institutions for monitoring and evaluating the success of releasing fish.

The Essential Power of Culture: Museums and the Archipelago Trail in the Southwest Finland Archipelago

The economic value of various symbols in culture will increase as a result of the process of the globalization of our time, as many researchers have noticed. Accordingly, culture and cultural heritage as symbols of localities are considered resources in cultural and regional politics in the European Union. The aim of using them as instruments is to develop local economic activities and well-being (see, for example, Wilenius 2004: 22-29; Shore 2000: 42-54). Both earlier industrialization and the globalization of our own time have brought significant structural and cultural changes to the Southwest Finland Archipelago (Andersson 1998; Vainio 1981). Thus, there is a need for local development in the area. In practice this need is realized, for instance, in the development projects where local culture is instrumentally used in different ways in the Archipelago area.

Sustainable everyday culture from glocal archipelago culture

World Heritage, Tourism and Community Involvement: A Comparative Study of the High Coast (Sweden) and Kvarken Archipelago (Finland)

The main purpose of this article is to portray locals’ perception of tourism impact, rural development and the role of the local communities in two World Heritage (WH) sites. The impact of WH on tourism is a much-debated matter for both WH practitioners and academics while United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) during the last 10 years has emphasised the concept of “community” as an integrated feature of the WH strategy. The results are based on an empirical attitude study in combination with focus group interviews portraying local residents’ perception of WH designation and tourism in the transnational WH High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago situated in Sweden and Finland. The overall local perception of WH designation is quite similar in both countries, although ways of administrating WH sites differ. The results show an overall positive attitude towards local tourism development, but a relatively low understanding of UNESCO WH concept. High Coast residents seem to be overall more positive than the locals in Kvarken to the WH designation and a possible increase in tourism. The Finnish authorities, on the one hand, seem to have a stronger urge to benefit from the WH status than their Swedish counterparts. Nevertheless, the WH status in the rural areas of the High Coast region fits into a larger destination building and does not alone constitute the driving force for regional tourism development. Both WH sites show a limited and partly conflict-laden collaboration between communities and authorities in WH planning. Improved cooperation between actors would give WH and tourism a better chance to develop and at the same time display a more positive image of the WH sites.

Branding Åland, branding Ålanders: Reflections on place identity and globalization in a Nordic archipelago

Ecosystem benefits from coastal habitats-A three-country choice experiment

Coastal habitats provide a variety of benefits for citizens living in littoral countries. The economic value of changes in coastal habitats in the context of the implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan, targeting good ecological status by 2021, in two coastal sites was estimated using the choice experiment method. The selected aspects of marine ecosystem were described in conjunction with ecological changes modeled within the Finnish-Swedish archipelago and the Lithuanian coast. The benefits for Finns, Swedes, and Lithuanians for changes in the adjacent coastal site were estimated with the conditional logit and random parameters logit models accounting for preference heterogeneity. The willingness to pay estimates for healthy perennial vegetation, protection of currently pristine areas, and size of fish stocks differed significantly between populations. The transfer errors ranging from 40%, when transferring the estimates for the same coastal site between populations, to 400%, when transferring between both sites and populations, underline careful consideration in value transfers.

Second homes and the commons: Terms for second home leaseholds and collective action in Kvarken Archipelago, Finland

Constraints and Opportunities for Small‐Scale Fishing Livelihoods in a Post‐Productivist Coastal Setting

Ecosystem Services at the Archipelago Sea Biosphere Reserve in Finland: A Visitor Perspective

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) Biosphere Reserves aim to be flagships of sustainable landscapes. Many of them are important locations for tourism and leisure activities. We explored the perceptions of short-term visitors and summer residents on ecosystem services (ESs) tied to characteristic habitats of the Archipelago Sea Biosphere Reserve in Finland. During holiday season, we conducted structured on-field interviews with 74 Biosphere Reserve visitors. From these data, we gained information on the visitors’ appreciation of different ESs and the selected habitats. We also derived habitat-specific ES profiles. Excluding the reedbeds, most habitats were both highly valued and considered as important producers of the listed ESs. The derived ES profiles were partially overlapping and inclined towards appreciation of cultural services, and the importance of scenery was highlighted. Provisioning services were not particularly appreciated. We discovered several linkages among biodiversity, ESs, and recreational land uses. Certain habitats were found to be in need of protection under high recreational land-use pressure, but also potential synergies were found. Our method introduces an important socio-cultural perspective into the region’s land management that aims to find a balance between the protection of the Biosphere Reserve’s unique biodiversity and the need to support sustainable local livelihoods and tourism.

Archipelago identities, nature, and the use of protected nature

V besedilu avtorica obravnava razmerja med krajevnimi identitetami v jugozahodnem finskem arhipelagu in načini delovanja Arhipelaškega narodnega parka in Arhipelaškega rezervata morske biosfere. Analiza se osredinja na različne rabe arhipelaškega morskega področja glede na lokalno prebivalstvo in obiskovalce.

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The author analyzes the relationship between local identities in the Southwest Finland Archipelago and the working principles of the Archipelago National Park and the Archipelago Sea Biosphere Reserve. The analysis focuses on different uses of the Archipelago Sea area by local residents and visitors.

Island accessibility challenges: Rural transport in the Finnish archipelago

A global trend in declining island populations is causing severe accessibility challenges for rural archipelago residents. Since waterways often provide the only viable connection between islands, the planning of ferry routes and capacities relative to prevailing population patterns is critical. In this paper, we present a case study of Pargas, a rural archipelago region in Southwestern Finland, which in many ways provides a typical example of current depopulation trends in archipelago regions. Owing to high maintenance costs, changing population patterns and transportation needs, the ferry network of Pargas has recently attracted attention in terms of planning and a perceived need to reduce costs. Still, compared to in-land transportation, few academic studies have explored this issue. Using methods adapted from urban and land-based transport studies and diverse datasets, we aim at identifying spatial discrepancies between population patterns and transport options in the peripheral archipelago and at determining how well the ferry network meets the needs of the permanent and seasonal population of the islands. Our results show that although the existing ferry network in general functions relatively well in relation to the population, spatial mismatches between transport opportunities and population patterns in some of the prominent islands are nevertheless evident. Because the economic vitality of the region depends on a well-functioning transportation network, this study offers suggestions for improving transportation services in the study area.

Aquaculture in the baltic sea: Regional development and environmental conflict

Aquaculture development in the Baltic Sea began during the 1970s in an area known as the Archipelago Sea off the southwest coast of Finland. Without public financing and assistance from regional development agencies, the rainbow trout farming industry would have become a marginal activity–as it is in other coastal districts of Finland. Both proponents of fish farming and environmental regulation are able to use culturally loaded terms and arguments in the debate surrounding the impact of aquacultural development. Without any support from the scientific community and despite hard natural conditions—including ice in the winter—Finnish producers from small islands in the Archipelago Sea have become leaders in the Baltic fish farming industry. The national goal of achieving a ”living archipelago” makes it the responsibility of all public authorities to act in a way that enables local people to stay in the region and develop their traditional way of living.

Adaptation and cultural sustainability of the winter-seining community in the Southwest Finland Archipelago

Global change, including climate change, is affecting local communities everywhere. These events occur at the global level, but the outcomes are often experienced most strongly at a local level. The importance of studying the local adaptation processes, capacity to adapt and community resilience at the local level in order to enhance the sustainability of communities in the face of global change, is highlighted. This chapter examines the role of culture within adaptive capacity indicators in the context of a former winter-seining community in Rymättylä, Southwestern Finland. The adaptation process, adaptive capacity and resilience of the community is analysed here in retrospect, and the identified 126indicators of adaptive capacity are examined in the context of cultural factors and cultural sustainability. © 2018 selection and editorial matter, Inger Birkeland, Rob Burton, Constanza Parra and Katriina Siivonen; individual chapters, the contributors.

Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Sustainable Tourism Development in a Cold-Water Destination: the Case of the Finnish Archipelago

Research on sustainable tourism development in the context of islands has mainly focused on warm-water destinations. Because the concept of sustainability differs according to the type of the destination, this case study increases the understanding of sustainable tourism development in a cold-water destination. The Finnish archipelago was chosen as a case destination, since sustainability has become an important policy framework for the tourism industry in Finland. The findings show that economic sustainability is the most important and socio-cultural sustainability the most contradictory as well as the weakest sustainability dimension. In particular, the conflicts caused by the pivotal role of the municipality, the specifics in legislation, the Finns’ emotional and personal relationship with nature and second home ownership emerge as the context-specific features in sustainable tourism development. These findings have important practical implications for the destination stakeholders when converting the intentions related to sustainable tourism development into practice.

Kustbor och det materiella arvet : upptecknad egendom som indikator för kulturell anpassning i sydvästra Finlands skärgård 1700-1900

Avhandlingen undersöker kulturell anpassning bland kust- och skärgårdsbor i sydvästra Finlands och Ålands skärgård. Olika skärgårdsområden jämförs med varandra för att identifiera regionala skillnader och tidsmässiga förändringar under två århundraden 1700-1900. Undersökningen baseras på 315 bouppteckningar som transkriberats och delvis preparerats för databehandling.

Huvudmålet är att undersöka skillnader i den egendom och det redskapsbestånd som använts i de lokala näringarna. Speciellt koncentrerar sig undersökningen på upptecknad egendom med koppling till jordbruk, boskapsskötsel, fiske och jakt. Även sjöfart och hantverksredskap behandlas kort. Den källkritiska aspekten på ett bouppteckningsmaterial diskuteras genom hela avhandlingen. Ytterligare söker avhandlingen efter metodiska grepp för att behandla källmaterialet baserat på såväl kvantitativ som kvalitativ grund.

Egendomen i bouppteckningarna ger en god bild av hur invånarna i undersökningsområdet anpassat sina näringar utgående från skilda miljömässiga förhållanden. Utvecklingen över tid är svårare att skönja eftersom källmaterialet – bouppteckningarna – ändrar karaktär under århundradenas förlopp.

The Baltic Sea Region Archipelagos and Islands: Conditions and challenges

Today, the Baltic Sea is an internal sea in the European Union characterized by diverse geographies of its coastal areas, islands, and many archipelagos, located near the Finnish West coast and the Swedish East coast. Historically, the Baltic Sea has played an important role in the development of shipping and trade between East and West, South and North of the region. The islands and archipelagoes of the Baltic Sea region (hereafter called BSR) have at times offered a safe harbor for ships, but also a space whereby people, goods, skills, knowledge, cultures, religions and political interests have met. In addition to maritime transports and trade some of the traditional economic activities in the BSR islands and archipelagos were agriculture and fishing. As the countries and societies around the BSR have been transformed by industrialization and modernization, the foundations for local livelihoods and businesses have changed. During the 20^th century, pollution and eutrophication have become major factors changing ecosystems and livelihoods in the region. Today, the number of fishermen and farmers left in the BSR have become decimated and tourism has become one of the key economic activities.

This special issue deals with a number of questions related to the livelihoods of people, economic conditions, challenges and opportunities for SME’s located on the archipelagoes and islands of the BSR. While some local conditions, problems, and challenges are shared by all rural, remote, and peripheral areas, the BRS archipelagos and islands have their own unique characteristics.

Envisioning the Archipelago

Certain limitations arise from the persistent consideration of two common relations of islands in the humanities and social sciences: land and sea, and island and continent/mainland. What remains largely absent or silent are ways of being, knowing and doing—ontologies, epistemologies and methods—that illuminate island spaces as inter-related, mutually constituted and co-constructed: as island and island. Therefore, this paper seeks to map out and justify a research agenda proposing a robust and comprehensive exploration of this third and comparatively neglected nexus of relations. In advancing these aims, the paper’s goal is to (re)inscribe the theoretical, metaphorical, real and empirical power and potential of the archipelago: of seas studded with islands; island chains; relations that may embrace equivalence, mutual relation and difference in signification.

Keywords: archipelago; assemblages; constellations; island relations; island studies; method

Competing Notions of Diversity in Archipelago Tourism: Transport Logistics, Official Rhetoric and Inter-Island Rivalry in the Azores

Contending and competing geographies are often implicitly involved in archipelagic spaces. Various small island states and territories with multi-island geographies have flourishing tourism industries that presuppose an archipelagic experience: visitors are encouraged to explore and sample different island constituents of the territory. This strategy taps into different tourism niche markets, improves local value added, and shares tourism revenue beyond key nodes and urban centers. The organization of such an important economic activity however often reflects a ‘one-size-fits-all’, tightly coordinated, frequently contrived process that does not necessarily speak to the cultural and biogeographical forms of diversity that reside in the archipelago. This paper offers the notion of archipelago as a new way of rethinking problems and challenges encountered in island tourism, and then assesses the implications of this conceptualization on the representation of ‘the archipelago’ in the Azores, Portugal, and reviews what this approach means and implies for sustainable tourism policy.

Keywords: archipelago; azores; brand consolidation; hub-and-spoke; islands; pluralism

Craftsmanship as a Carrier of Indigenous and Local Ecological Knowledge: Photographic Insights from Sámi Duodji and Archipelago Fishing

Continued use of Ecosystems: Challenges for Fishing and Farming Communities

Although there have been great changes in the lives and livelihoods of people in the Baltic Sea archipelago during the last century, the lives of local inhabitants are still strongly linked to the local nature, culture, and history. Customary use of local ecosystems provides resources for the household, but it is also an important carrier of local identity, culture, and way of life. Fishing, hunting, and harvesting of berries, mushrooms, etc., function as cultural and intergenerational glue for the local community context even today. This paper reflects upon the cultural and social importance of the small scale and informal economy in the Swedish Baltic Sea archipelago for sustainability living local communities, some of the present challenges to its continuation, and the potentials for positive change. It is based on participatory research on customary use of biodiversity and local and traditional knowledge in the Kalix Archipelago in the northern Bothnian Bay and in the Sankt Anna Archipelago in the Baltic Sea proper.

KEY WORDS:  local community, customary use, bio-cultural heritage, local and traditional knowledge, Sankt Anna Archipelago, Kalix Archipelago.

Entrepreneurship in the Stockholm Archipelago – a Historical Perspective

A cursory reading of the literature describing yesterdays’ societies in the Stockholm Archipelago tells us that people in the archipelago heavily relied on fishing and small-scale farming for their living. With the arrival of modern industrialized society during the latter half of the 19^th century, things changed, and other opportunities to earn a living appeared. However, there were and are certain circumstances in the Stockholm Archipelago that make it somewhat inert, preventing it from taking a place in the modern labor market. Some of these have to do with its geographical location and legal frameworks, while others derive from cultural constructions among the nearby town-dwellers over the last one hundred and fifty years. The following reflections will focus on how some of these circumstances have affected entrepreneurs in the archipelago from the 19^th century up to today, and what follows is a sketch of a broad outline of the history of entrepreneurship in the Stockholm Archipelago. In addition, being aware of anachronistic pitfalls and possible theoretical shallowness, I will focus on the element of self-employment in the concept of the entrepreneur in order to be able to generalize among different kinds of entrepreneurial enterprises over time — keeping in mind that a common way to make ends meet in the archipelago has also been to work part time as employees, e.g. as customs officials and/or pilot boat operators.

Student Involvement as a Tool for Nurturing Business Model Development in Tourism Businesses in the Stockholm Archipelago

Tourism consumption in Sweden is booming, but it seems to be at a standstill in the Stockholm archipelago, and most businesses of all kinds in it are small. Therefore, an eu-Interreg-financed educational community engagement project aiming at business model development in the archipelagos of Turku, Åland (both in Finland), and Stockholm was launched, as Finland has a similar situation. In this paper, the foundations of the project, the literature on the issues of being rural and in the archipelago, and business models are reviewed and put in perspective through preliminary empirical results of the project, in while municipality and some business representatives have been interviewed. The rationale is that there is a weak scientific understanding of business models in use in the archipelagos.Methodologically, action research is being used in addition to document studies, with unstructured interviews and observations as the primary empirical methods. The primary results for which the empirical findings put light on the intersection of the above mentioned literature bodies are the impact of infrastructural and access problems due to isolation, as well as indications of a community split between second homes and permanent residents. The lifestyle-entrepreneurship jeopardises the economic well-being but enriches the social well-being of the population. The primary conclusions are that seasonality and second homers provide entrepreneurs with large output markets in season, but small ones in the off-season. The business equation cannot omit place since it is part of the social well-being of the lifestyle-entrepreneurs, which calls for further research into configurational approaches to strategy in an archipelago context.

No Island is an Island: Participatory Development Planning on the Croatian Islands.

This text provides an overview of the history of attempts to introduce participatory development planning on the Croatian islands. Within the study of islands, there has been little attention to islands in countries undergoing post-socialist transition. Similarly, within the study of post-socialist strategic development planning, there has been almost no attention to islands. This study addresses both the resilience of islands and their heightened susceptibility to change, borrowing a periodisation from political economies of contemporary Croatia which emphasise the significance of multiple transitions. The text explores island development within socialist Yugoslavia, with islands subsumed within wider processes of industrialisation, urbanisation and, later, coastal tourism. As Croatia’s independence was inextricably linked to war, a crisis-induced authoritarian centralism also mitigated against islanders becoming development subjects. The post-war picture, marked as it is by a slow process of integration into EU norms and practices, shows the gap between the legislative rhetoric and the on the ground practice of participatory development planning. The text concludes that, thus far, only the top down element of strategic planning in terms of island development has been implemented, and this itself in a distorted, contradictory, and highly inconsistent, way.

Enterprise and entrepreneurship on islands and remote rural environments

Although there has been increasing interest in rural enterprises, relatively little has been written on enterprise and entrepreneurship on islands where problems tend to be different, additional and exaggerated. Economic and cultural development agencies intervene to support such remote and isolated communities but the significance of the dominant metropolitan paradigm in the peripheralization of those establishing and running businesses on islands needs critiqued. This article contrasts experiences but highlights similarities, rather than differences, of rural small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries and comparative Northern European locations. The key role of social capital, cultural values and norms is analysed and comment presented on small island experiences. Arguments are made for policies to be proofed for locational differences and for further research to understand the opportunities offered by islands and coastal communities in a world where the particularities of place and space are increasingly valued, and aspects of remoteness can be rearticulated to good effect.

Friluftslivkonflikter i svenska kustlandskap ur ett planerings- och användarperspektiv: Studier av Luleå och Blekinge skärgårdar

Den här avhandlingen tillför kunskap om spänningen mellan olika attityder och synsätt i den fysiska planeringens processer, förvaltning samt friluftslivets användare i svenska kustlandskap. Avhandlingen är också ett tillägg till tidigare kunskap om zonering som ett sätt att hantera konflikter i svenska kustlandskap, där särskilt användarperspektivet är en viktig del. Avhandlingen bidrar även till en grundläggande översikt av fysisk planering i relation till friluftsliv.

Hav och kust har alltid varit viktiga för oss människor. I svenska kustlandskap har boende, infrastruktur och fiskenäring existerat sedan lång tid tillbaka samtidigt som områdena också varit viktiga för nöje och rekreation. Men mellan olika intressen, samt mellan och inom olika användargrupper samt förvaltning, kan det uppstå målkonflikter. Utgångspunkten för den här avhandlingen är att beskriva och analysera eventuella målkonflikter kopplat till friluftsliv utifrån både ett planerings- och ett användarperspektiv genom två fallstudier i Luleå och Blekinge skärgårdar. Friluftslivet är en del av samhället och dess relevans för fysisk och mental återhämtning ger planering och förvaltning av friluftsliv ett ökat politiskt stöd, samtidigt som tidigare forskning visat att friluftsliv är stark i retoriken – men svag i planeringspraktiken. Därför behövs kunskap som kan utveckla planering och förvaltning av friluftsliv i svenska kustlandskap.

European Islands, Development and the Cohesion Policy: A Case Study of Kökar, Åland Islands.

A European Union initiative is seeking ways of determining the development potential of Europe’s lagging regions, which include various islands. On the basis of the policy review, methodology and data collected by the ongoing EUROISLANDS project, this paper present Kökar (population: 262), the easternmost municipality of the Åland Islands, as a prototype archipelago that is seriously challenged by its size and multiple peripherality. It reviews the state of its social and transportation infrastructure, and of its human and financial capital. While the situation is serious, there are opportunities for branding, for developing associated economic activity, as well for appealing to a new wave of residents.
Keywords: EUROISLANDS, Åland Islands, attractiveness, European Union, Finland,
islands, Kökar, peripherality, Sweden

Tradition and innovation in coastal Finland: the transformation of the archipelago sea region.

This paper deals with the demographic and socio‐economic development in the Archipelago Sea Region in southwestern Finland in recent decades. The most important finding is that the region has fared rather well during recent decades, even during the first half of the 1990s, when the rest of Finland was hit by a severe economic crisis. Two factors seem to have influenced the relatively favourable development in the archipelago. On the one hand, the region has specific cultural, social and economic traditions that have enabled it to adapt to new challenges; and on the other hand, certain welfare, regional and other policies seem to have favoured the region to some extent. A general conclusion from the study is that there is a need for a broader theory of rural development than those theories currently being used. The most important feature of such a theory would be its use in providing general interpretations of regional development, even if each region has completely different economic foundations and its own development logic.

Entrepreneurship and small business development in small islands.

This paper reviews the limited literature on successful small business and entrepreneurship in small islands, with a focus on Pacific and European research. It argues that the notable specific contribution of this collection is its focus on tangible examples of successful island entrepreneurship, and the specific challenges towards entrepreneurship faced by island people. This approach is micro-oriented and very close to the actual human entrepreneurs that lead and shine by example. This is contrary to much received wisdom, which tends to be overshadowed by macro-structural and institutional approaches that emphasize chronic vulnerability.

ISLAND ENTREPRENEURS: INSIGHTS FROM EXCEPTIONALLY SUCCESSFUL KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN SMES FROM 5 EUROPEAN ISLAND TERRITORIES

Developing successful, indigenously-owned, small scale, export-oriented, manufacturing firms from small island locations is difficult but not impossible. This paper describes key outcomes of a research project which is reviewing a selection of such successful firms from 5 European island territories. Operating in the information and communication technology sector allows small island firms to compete successfully in export markets. They often do so by depending on the wide, ’extra-island’ contacts and experiences of their ’global-local’ entrepreneurial founder-owners, who often leverage start-up funds from private and personal sources. The absence of notable local market opportunities induces island entrepreneurs to ’export or perish’, obliging a competitive strategy from inception.

Winds of time: Lessons from Utö in the Stockholm Archipelago, 1990–2001.

When investigating the success or failure of different wind power projects, it is essential to take into account how they were historically situated. This study focuses on attempts to develop wind power in an archipelago setting, at Utö in Sweden. It has been argued that the development of Swedish wind power slowed during the 1990s; by revisiting the early days of wind power, looking at resistance and support, and connecting success factors, this can be further investigated. Whereas earlier research pointed out institutional conditions and site-specific conditions as crucial for successful wind power development and acceptance, the picture can be made more complete by discussing how wind power projects are affected by time-specific historical conditions. In the case of Utö, these can partly be associated with a newly launched political support program that gave the project political legitimacy and added a “pioneering spirit” to the endeavor. Conversely, when wind power is not seen as “pioneering” or “experimental” any more, but as a mere industrial activity, other incentives may need to be offered to municipalities

Reasons for High Food Prices in Small Market Areas: The Case of the Åland Islands.

This article presents reasons for high food prices in small market areas. The starting point of this study is the knowledge that the price of food in the Åland Islands, a small archipelago between Finland and Sweden, is significantly higher than in continental Finland. It is also known that store-level economies of scale in grocery retailing mean that the structure of a small market is, even in the best case, either inefficient or uncompetitive. The article compares the price level of stores in Åland and Finland. High prices in Åland arise from a small average store size, high concentration in both the retailing and the food processing sector, border taxes and transportation costs.

The displacement myth: Second home tourism in the Stockholm Archipelago

Second homes are important for many households in Sweden. However, second homes are not uncontroversial and sometimes cause conflicts between the second home owners and locals. In attractive destinations, second homes are frequently blamed for creating price inflation, increased property values and higher property tax for all dwellings, including permanent homes. It is argued that this development is causing a displacement of permanent residents from these areas. However, others argue that the current depopulation trend in attractive second home destinations is caused by a restructuring of the rural labour market. This study departs from this societal and scientific conflict and has its aim in testing the displacement theory. This is done through an empirical case study dealing with essential issues regarding the development of second homes, permanent homes and changes in property values. The case area is the most popular second home destination in Sweden: the archipelago of Stockholm. Results show that increased assessed property values are caused primarily by increasing numbers of permanent homes, and the area is being repopulated rather than depopulated. The study concludes that no evidence of displacement caused by second home demand can be traced on a regional geographical level.