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STOCKHOLM SCHOOL
OF ECONOMICS

Research

Current Research projects:

  • Public rankings. Research by Professor Kalle Kraus, Professor Wai Fong Chua and Assistant Professor Johan Graaf. Although rankings are ubiquitous, we know little of their making. This limits our understanding of their operations and effects. To redress this, we follow the birth and ongoing making of the national ranking (KKIK) used to measure the quality of Swedish municipalities from 2007-2020. Empirically, we show how the KKIK emerges and constantly co-evolves with variation in its content, structure, mode of production and presentation. Other things and people, with which KKIK becomes entangled, are also shaped by and shape the KKIK, including competing algorithmically generated rankings and a new professional group of quality controllers who co-create and diversely deploy the KKIK. But this evolvement of the ranking did not result in complete change over time; some qualities of the ranking endured, such as its non-additive nature. Accordingly, the performance indicators have never been summed and the KKIK remains as a suite of multiple rankings (around 40) enabling collaborative learning (rather than competition) and situated choice (rather than uniform discipline).

  • Governance and Ownership Processes in Municipal Corporations. Research by Professor Timur Uman, Associate Professor Elin Smith and Professor Sven-Olof Collin. Board behavior in municipal corporation remains to be understudied and there is a limited knowledge on how these boards function. By performing a longitudinal observational study of two boards and management teams this project explores board work and board behavior and explores how ownership processes are reflected in municipal boards’ functioning. The project also relies on a survey data to the CEOs of all Swedish municipal corporations to explore municipal boards processes and functioning from CEO’s perspective. The project is financed by Jan Wallander, Tom Hedelius and Tore Browaldhs Foundation.

  • Municipal Governance, Accountability and Democratisation (MCAD). Research by Professor Timur Uman. The MCAD project, financed by the Swedish Institute (Svenska Institutet), aims to strengthen democratic governance and accountability in Konotop Municipality, Ukraine, through capacity-building efforts inspired by Swedish models. Led by Jönköping International Business School (JIBS) in partnership with Jönköping Municipality and Konotop Municipality, the project supports municipal decision-makers in re-establishing clear governance structures and accountability mechanisms after the disruptions caused by the Russian invasion. Activities include a mix of online and in-person educational modules, site visits, and collaborative workshops focusing on democratic values, stakeholder communication, and transparency. By fostering mutual learning and transnational cooperation, the project contributes to Ukraine's post-war reconstruction and European integration goals.

  • Good Governance and Accountability in Public Administration (GAAP). Research by Professor Timur Uman. Financed by the Swedish Institute, the GAAP project aims to strengthen democratic institutions and public administration in Ukraine by equipping civil servants in the Sumy region with the tools to implement good governance and accountability practices. Through a partnership between Jönköping International Business School (JIBS), Sumy State University (SSU), Moldova State University, Jönköping Municipality, and a Ukrainian NGO, the project delivers a comprehensive training programme with three intensive modules hosted in Moldova and Sweden. The programme combines interactive lectures, workshops, study visits, and mentorship, helping participants design and implement change-oriented projects within their municipalities. Emphasizing collaborative and problem-based learning, the initiative empowers Ukrainian civil servants—especially women, given current mobilization restrictions on men—to act as change agents in their organizations. GAAP directly supports Ukraine's EU integration goals by addressing post-war governance gaps, fostering cross-border peer learning, and contributing to long-term democratic resilience and public sector reform.

  • Management Control in Municipal Corporations. PhD student project on management control and accountability in Swedish municipal corporations. PhD student Joshua Maine.

  • Role(s) and identities of accountants and financial communication. PhD project on the process of the construction of the role(s) and identity of CFOs within the public sector and how they may enact these. PhD student Isabella Nordlund.

  • Digitalisation. PhD project on accounting and digitalisation. PhD student Oliver Lindqvist Parbratt.

  • Implementation of market oriented solutions in public sector arenas. PhD project on management accounting practices in the public sector services. More specifically on the use of performance measures of various kinds, especially in public sector areas which has implemented market oriented solutions, such as the freedom of choice in the educational field. PhD student Malin Lund.