The Capability of Swedish Municipalities to Attract New Company Establishments

Abstract: During the last decades there has been an ever-decreasing number of jobs in the industry sector of Sweden. However, in more recent years there are indications that the trend has shifted, and jobs are now being moved back to Sweden, a phenomenoncalled reshoring. This gives opportunities for local municipalities to attract these companies to establish their operations within their territory. However, there is a general competition among the municipalities when it comes to attracting new company establishments, regardless of reshoring. Hence, the purpose of this study is to understand how Swedish municipalities can secure their appeal towards companies that are considering establishing themselves within their boundaries. To study this a multiple-case study is conducted on three Swedish municipalities where respondents responsible for business establishments have been interviewed. An analytical framework was developed where certain archetypes are assigned to the municipalities depending on their profile, Reactor, Insubstantial, Servant and Partner. The analysisl ooks at aspects between municipalities and companies from the perspective of level of value facilitation, level of interaction as well as drivers for reshoring. In conclusion the municipalities have an ambition of ensuring a high level of value facilitation by being responsive and securing high availability towards the companies and keeping a high level of interaction. There is room for improvement for municipalities to develop their strategies and capabilities related to reshoring to better capture these opportunities.