Sverre August Christensen

Christensen, Sverre August (2024)

Hydromodellens pragmatiske opprinnelse

Et selskapsliv : Festskrift til Tore Bråthen, , s. 154-170.

Christensen, Sverre August (2023)

Explaining State Ownership in Listed Companies in Norway

Enterprise & Society, Doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/eso.2023.19 - Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

This article aims to explain the considerable state ownership in listed companies in Norway (SOiN) at present. The extant literature has pointed to alleged national idiosyncrasies to explain this special feature of Norwegian capitalism. The main contribution of this article is a comparative perspective. It shows that most European countries have pursued selective protectionism (i.e., to secure national ownership in key companies). It also shows that financial capital was not crucial for selective protectionism. On this background, the article discusses why state ownership became the mode of selective protectionism in Norway. It argues that the main reason is that large private (often multinational) companies did not develop in the wake of the second Industrial Revolution. Another key reason is that a specific hybrid ownership model that was developed after 1945 became an available institutional solution for securing national ownership after 1990. A common ground and a compromise were found on this model, based both on trust and distrust toward the state: a trust in that the state could operate as a passive and private owner, and a corresponding distrust in the state as an active industrialist and owner.

Christensen, Sverre August (2021)

A Narrative Approach to Corporate Relations: The Historical Background on Telenor’s Success

Enterprise & Society, 23(2) , s. 512-547. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/eso.2020.66 - Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

This article examines the development of buyer-supplier relations in the telecom sector. The literature on telecoms in Scandinavia has been dominated by the narrative praising the trusting and collaborative relations between Telia, the Swedish public telephone operator (PTO), and Ericsson, the equipment supplier. The Norwegian PTO, Telenor, diverted from this path and was a pioneer in preferring competitive tenders and arm’s length relations with its suppliers starting in the 1970s. The article argues that Telenor’s history and nationality had a significant impact on its business strategy. In addition, the article examines why some business narratives persist while others remain unknown. One finding is that shareholder-friendly narratives have a handicap because they focus on self-interest and money, and not societal values.

Christensen, Sverre August (2020)

Dubrowka - a free-standing company from a Norwegian family-network capitalism

Scandinavian Economic History Review, , s. 1-18. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03585522.2020.1759680 - Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

The first globalisation, in the decades around 1900, was propelled by free-standing companies. This article discusses the establishment of a Norwegian free-standing company in Russia in 1910. It was the culmination of an eastwards movement from the Norwegian forest industry that went through Sweden and Finland before reaching Russia. The article discusses who controlled the company, and how this changed over time. It makes two main contributions to the literature. Firstly, how a family network can solve some of the puzzles free-standing companies have posed to theories of international business, especially regarding the origins and internalisation of ownership advantages. Secondly, it shows that, although free-standing companies were important for the first global economy, they were also integral to the deglobalization that followed.

Ekberg, Espen; Christensen, Sverre August, Bergh, Trond & Myrvang, Christine (2017)

Skadeskutt og livskraftig. Storebrand og forsikringsbransjen, bind 2: 1945-2017

Universitetsforlaget

Christensen, Sverre August (2016)

Selskaper, eierskap og innovasjon

[Lecture]. Event

Christensen, Sverre August (2016)

Statlig eierskap i Norge

[Lecture]. Event

Christensen, Sverre August (2016)

Dubrowka - a free-standing company from a family-network capitalism

[Conference Lecture]. Event

Benito, Gabriel R.G.; Christensen, Sverre, Lunnan, Randi & Tomassen, Sverre (2008)

Fra operativ til strategisk internasjonalisering: En studie av store norske selskapers utflytting av divisjonshovedkontorer

[Report Research]. Handelshøyskolen BI

Forskningsrapporten presenterer funnene fra en undersøkelse av utflytting av hovedkontorer for divisjoner og forretningsområder for selskaper som er børsnotert i Norge. Mens den tradisjonelle internasjonaliseringen – knyttet til salg og produksjon i utlandet – er godt beskrevet og velforklart i litteraturen gjennom et etter hvert betydelig antall teoretiske og empiriske studier av selskapers grenseoverskridende aktiviteter, finnes det få studier av selskapers utflytting av strategiske enheter og funksjoner, så som deres hovedkontorer. Vi utvikler en forskningsmodell der tilbøyeligheten til å flytte divisjonshovedkontorer blir forklart gjennom selskapsfaktorer, eierskapsfaktorer, og bransje­aktorer. Den empiriske delen av undersøkelsen bygger på to casestudier så vel som et paneldatasett over 30 av de største børsnoterte selskapene i Norge gjennom perioden 2000-2006. Hovedkonklusjonene i studien er at både i absolutt og relativ betydning blir hovedkontorfunksjoner for norske selskaper i utlandet betydelig viktigere i løpet av disse årene, og eierskaps­aktorene er samlet sett de som best predikerer hvorvidt utflytting skjer eller ikke. Statlig og konsentrert eierskap motvirker utflytting, men mot forventning finner vi at utenlandsk eierskap ikke fører til økt utflyttingstilbøyelighet.

Christensen, Sverre A. (1999)

Hydromodellens opprinnelse. Oppgjøret om Norsk Hydro etter andre verdenskrig

[Report Research]. Handelshøyskolen BI