Research Areas
Research Area 1: Innovation Management
Research Area 2: Environmental and Resource Management
Research Area 3: Transport & logistics
Research Area 4: Education management and knowledge distribution
The challenges of the High North
U.S Geological Survey (UGS) has estimated that ¼ of the world’s undiscovered petroleum resources are in the Arctic. The development of these energy resources represent a crucial factor for sustained economic growth - not only as a separate product that could be traded, but also as a source stimulating the development of related industries, infrastructure and transportation. The question is how to use both increasing international attention and regional economic significance of energy resources in order to promote sustained economic growth.
However, the challenges are many, balancing petroleum production, fisheries, environmental and resource management. Hence, we are experiencing an increased focus on environmental regulations. For the industrial communities and single enterprises, such environmentalregulations are often seen as suppressing innovation, by limiting strategic choices. However, a competing argument is that environmental regulation, if seen as an external jolt, can stimulate innovation. A jolt such as environment regulation may appear as disruptive and threatening to a enterprise, but may be necessary to induce innovation. At Bodø Regional University our position is that such regulations represent a huge innovation potential. The challenge is to transform this potential into the creation of wealth.
Knowledge as the most important resource
In addition to the challenges specific to the High North, the industrial communities and singleenterprises linked to the energy sector, are also facing the more general challenges from a globalized economy, characterized by turbulence, uncertainty and complexity. In a globalized economy, the accelerating technological development and dramatic reduction of previous protective economic boundaries allow for a modular flexibility. Enterprises increasingly decompose their value chain into separate modules, placing the singular modules within a global economic logic (coordinated by the use of ICT). Within this picture, signifying the transition from an industrial society to a knowledge-based society, we have witnessed an increasing focus on knowledge as the most important resource for companies.
The pace and magnitude of this development are changing the rules of the game and the challenge is to find new recipes to increase the enterprises’ productivity, continuous improvements and innovation, so as to create and maintain sustainable competitive advantages, and thereby the creation of wealth. Consequently, during the last decade we have observed an explosive attention, both in the press, among academics, and among policy-makers, on knowledge and innovation as the most important elements in the creation of wealth.
In search of innovations - and value creation
The results will rely heavily on how enterprises, authorities, research and education institution collectively will handle the challenges that are very specific to the High North. The region has specific environmental and societal characteristics. The vulnerability of the arctic areas necessitates harsh requirements related to a safe production and transportation, and increasing costs of surveillance. Increased engagement of multinational companies can collide with and even alter the culture, traditions, and languages of the indigenous people living in the region. Therefore, energy production in the High North has to satisfy a number of often conflicting criteria’s, such as economical profitability, technological reliability and environmental/societal friendliness.
The vast petroleum and gas resources in the High North provide a huge potential for value creation. The realization of this potential will rely on cooperation between enterprises, authorities, research- and educational institutions in the region, and on the capacity to innovate. There are, however, many challenges to such international cooperation anchored in considerable differences in institutional environment, regulatory policies, cultural differences and differences in traditions. Hence, there is a need to create an arena where enterprises, authorities, research- and educational institutions in the region can find common grounds and innovative solutions to these challenges. The foundation for such arenas is the creation and dissemination of knowledge. Hence, at Bodø Regional University we are focusing on four main research areas, as shown:
Innovation management is focusing on knowledge infrastructures and innovation processes that enhance innovation and subsequently value creation.
Environmental and resource management are focusing on global environmental issues and on resource allocation and conflicts of interests.
Transport and logistics are focusing on internal and international logistical systems.
To find appropriate ways to disseminate this knowledge, we are focusing Education management and knowledge distribution as a separate research area.
The main focus within all four areas is in innovation and value creation.
PhD-project: Valuation of energy enterprises.
PhD-project: Regulation of public goods.
PhD-project: Entrepreneurial activity in farm households.
PhD-project: Regulatory mechanisms and incentives for investment in electrical distribution networks.
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