Past Projects 

2010 – Making Bottled Water Greener, USA
The aim of the project was to create a business model for an environmentally sustainable alternative to bottled water, adapted to the Nordic market. The industry was studied through interviews with traditional beverage companies as well as alternative business models in the US. The result was presented to Swedish companies and one of the studied models was developed to a business by the project initiator.

2009 - Master’s Thesis without Borders – Kenya, Tanzania
The aim of this project was to investigate the opportunities and obstacles for master students to write their master’s thesis for companies and organizations operating in less developed countries. The study was conducted during six intense weeks in Kenya and Tanzania, interviewing students and local and foreign organizations operating in the region. The project resulted in a model of how to create a ‘meeting point’ for interested students and organizations as well as how to provide inspiration and practical information to reduce the lack of knowledge and ambiguity that prevents students from going abroad. The model is currently being implemented as a part of the newly started non-profit student consultancy 180 Degrees Consulting in Co-operation with Stockholm School of Economic Students Association and the University of Sydney, www.180degreesconsulting.org.

2008 - Towards greater heights - microfinance in Nepal
Microfinance holds the promise of helping thousands of people in developing countries to gain a better quality of life. The conditions for distribution in Nepal are however vastly different from neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, limiting the use of microfinance. Tha aim of the project was to create a distribution model better suited to the local conditions of Nepal. Working with local MFIs and visiting villages in the remote areas of Nepal, David and Jian came up with an indirect model of distribution that makes use of existing infrastructure and local business practice.

2007 - "På plats i mitten", China
The project studied differences between entrepreneurship in China and Sweden, with sub-focus on environmental technology and venture capital. Through studying and interviewing 25 entrepreneurial companies in China with both Swedish, international and Chinese origin, some of the key success factors for foreign entrepreneurship in China were identified - the most important and fundamental being to not behave and judge by Western standards, but enter China with an insatiable amount of curiosity and openness to the Chinese way of thinking.

2006 - Increased donor communication and coordination in Uganda and Tanzania
This project aimed to improve donor coordination between two Swedish NGOs and their co-donors, supporting Ugandan and Tanzanian civil society organizations. Discussions were initiated on how to harmonize reporting routines, improve communication and facilitate more strategic partnerships in order to reduce the administrative burden of the East African NGOs and prevent corruption. The final report identified opportunities and challenges in donor coordination among NGOs.

2005- Market Entry Strategies
The project ”Market Entry Strategies – A Study of the Japanese Fast Food Industry’s Opportunities on the Swedish Market” included a visit to Japan to study the domestic fast food industry. The visit was followed by an overview of the Swedish fast food market, and the production of a report to help Japanese fast food chains to navigate the Swedish market.

2004 – Project for Sustainable Development
The “Project for Sustainable Development” focuses on the work on sustainable development produced by a number of American universities and research centers. The aim of the survey is to contribute to Sweden’s future efforts towards sustainable community development in line with the UN’s Agenda 21. The Stockholm School of Economics and other Swedish institutions of higher education will benefit greatly from a survey of this type.

2002 - MBA benchmarking, USA and the UK
During the summer of 2002, Johan carried out a field study to top-ranked universities in the US and UK (among which Harvard, MIT, Yale, LSE, and Oxford). The aim of the study was to gather insights for the new full-time MBA program that was to be launched at the SSE, with particular focus on student recruiting and admissions. Johan had identified this as an area where SSE could improve, and went to the US and UK to visit the best-practice institutions.
The results of the study were compiled in a report that was presented to the President of the SSE, as well as the Executive Director of the SSE MBA program.

2001 - Marketing the Wild East, Russia
Including fifteen in-depth interviews with non-Russian managers, all active in St Petersburg, this study aims to investigate relationship marketing in Russia. Four local marketing experts were also interviewed to provide a general idea of the Russian marketing climate. The study resulted in valuable insights into how foreign actors adapt their business activities to the Russian business climate and the importance of personal relationships in that adaptation.

2000 - The market for online retailers of baby gear and products, USA
Through interviews with representatives of internet businesses and large non-internet retailers, this study of internet trade with baby gear and products outlines consumer priorities and the distribution of products. The study was conducted during a turbulent and dynamic period, at the beginning of the end of the dotcom-bubble, in California and Washington DC. 

1999 - The Global Village for Future Leaders of Business and Industry, USA
The first GELS scholarship sponsored the holder's participation in The Global Village for Future Leaders in Business and Industry in Iacocca, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1999.The Global Village is a business and leadership summer program initiated by Lee Iacocca. The ambition of the program is to gather high achieving students and young professionals to build a global network of business leaders that have a good understanding of, and can easily navigate in, different business cultures and regions.