Björn Kjellander

Assistant Professor American Studies
Director of Quality and Accreditation
Business Administration , Jönköping International Business School
CeFEO - Centre for Family Entrepreneurship and Ownership , Jönköping International Business School
Doctor of Philosophy

Biography

Björn Kjellander earned his PhD in American Studies from University of Sussex, England, Spring 2006, on his dissertation entitled Building American Entrepreneurs: Male Commercial Selves and the Road to Success in the US 1873-1914, which received national attention in media. His thesis investigated the origins of the American entrepreneur, what popularly has been called the self-made man. It traced the building of the self-made man as a commercial ideal self, leading to the narratives of US entrepreneurship and the road to success.

Björn's research interests involve inter-disciplinary analyses of business in a wider sense, embracing economic, social and political aspects, with a focus on American business. Björn is particularly interested in the forming of family dynasties, corporate and family ownership and the handing over process of companies between generations, particularly in the American and British economies. His approach covers disciplines such as economic history, history of ideas, as well as comparative literature studies.

Current activities

Björn is, among other things, involved in the following two research projects:

First, the project titled The Dynamic Discourse of the Family Business History: Strategizing through the Past into the Present and the Future explores how family business owners express and perceive their family business story and the implications of these stories when it comes to strategy formation of the firm. It builds on 20 cases of family businesses (23 owners) of various generations, life-cycles, sizes and industries, listed or privately-held.

The second project titled Corporate Museums, Memoralization and Organizational Memory explores corporate museums as a specific form of history use in organizations, particularly the creation of narratives told in the museum, the orchestration of the physical space and the integration between museum and the organization.

Article

Kahn, D., Stevenin, B., Kjellander, B. (2023). Building reputation through quality management of accreditations and ranking Global Focus, 17(1), 51-56. More information
Kjellander, B., Riach, K., Lindqvist, G., Stévenin, B. (2021). Anchoring Impact to Identity AACSB Insights. More information
Hommel, U., Thouary, C., Kjellander, B. (2021). Ambidexterity strengthens quality management during COVID-19 Global Focus, 15(1), 54-57. More information
Brusoni, M., Kjellander, B., Stévenin, B. (2020). Pursuing multi accreditations: from standards to value Revista MBA, 64-67. More information
Ericson, M., Kjellander, B. (2018). The temporal becoming self-towards a Ricoeurian conceptualization of identity Scandinavian Journal of Management, 34(2), 205-214. More information
Simendinger, E. El-Kassar, A. Gonzalez-Perez, M. Crawford, J. Thomason, S. Reynet, P. , ... Edwards J. (2017). Teaching effectiveness attributes in business schools International Journal of Educational Management, 1(6), 780-800. More information

Doctoral thesis

Kjellander, B. (2005). Building American entrepreneurs: male commercial selves and the road to success in the US 1873-1914 (Doctoral thesis, Brighton: University of Sussex). More information

Book chapter

Kjellander, B., Nordqvist, M., Welter, F. (2012). Identity Dynamics in the Family Business Context: A Novel('s) Perspective. In: Alan Carsrud & Malin Brännback (Ed.), Understanding Family Businesses: Undiscovered Approaches, Unique Perspectives, and Neglected Topics (pp. 39 -53). New York: Springer More information

Conference paper

Ericson, M., Kjellander, B. (2011). In the temporal becoming of the entrepreneurial self. More information
Kjellander, B. (2010). The Morgan family firm’s collective narrative strategies as ‘habitus’. IFERA. More information
Kjellander, B. (2010). The Morgan family firm’s narrative strategies as ‘habitus’. EIASM 6th Workshop on Family Firms Management Research Culture and Values, Barcelona, Spain, June 6-8, 2010. More information
Brundin, E., Kjellander, B. (2009). The Dynamic Narrative of the Family Business History: Strategizing through the Past into the Present and the Future. The 5th Workshop on Family Firms Management Research (EISAM), Hasselt, Belgium, June 7-9, 2009. More information
Brunninge, O., Helin, J., Kjellander, B. (2009). Corporate Museums as Creators of Organizational Memory. 6th International CMS Conference 13th - 15th July 2009, University of Warwick. More information
Brunninge, O., Helin, J., Kjellander, B. (2009). Corporate Museums, Memoralization and Organizational Memory. 25th EGOS Colloquium Barcelona. More information
Brundin, E., Kjellander, B. (2009). The Dynamic Discourse of the Family Business History: How the Story of the Past Informs the Present and the Future. The 9th IFERA World Family Business Research Conference, Limassol, Cyprus, June 24th- 27th, 2009. More information
Kjellander, B. (2008). The Morgans and the Textualization of Familiar Knowledge: Managing Stories in Family Business. The 9th IFERA World Family Business Research Conference, Limassol, Cyprus, June 24th- 27th, 2009. More information
Kjellander, B., Nordqvist, M., Welter, F. (2007). Gender and Identity Dynamics at the Nexus of Entrepreneurship and Family Business: An Analysis of Two Novels. The 9th IFERA World Family Business Research Conference, Limassol, Cyprus, June 24th- 27th, 2009. More information
Kjellander, B., Nordqvist, M., Welter, F. (2007). Entrepreneurship, Family Firms and the Role of Women: An Analysis of Two Swedish Novels. The 9th IFERA World Family Business Research Conference, Limassol, Cyprus, June 24th- 27th, 2009. More information
Brundin, E., Kjellander, B. . The Dynamic Narrative of the Family Business History: How the Story of the Past Informs Strategy Processes of the Present and the Future. The 9th IFERA World Family Business Research Conference, Limassol, Cyprus, June 24th- 27th, 2009. More information
Brundin, E., Kjellander, B. . Strategizing in the family firm: the dynamic narration of the family business story. The 9th IFERA World Family Business Research Conference, Limassol, Cyprus, June 24th- 27th, 2009. More information

Report

Brundin, E., Kjellander, B. (2010). Strategy Formation In The Family Business: The Role Of Storytelling. Jönköping: JIBS More information
Kjellander, B. (2010). The Novelist as Entrepreneur, the Novel as Entrepreneurship. More information
Mattias, N., Kjellander, B., Welter, F. (2009). The Novelist as Entrepreneur, the Novel as Entrepreneurship. Jönköping: Centre for Family Enterprise and Ownership, Jönköping International Business School More information