Trond Nilsen
Biographic Data
| ID | 4413997 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Trond Nilsen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Trond |
| FAMILY NAME | Nilsen |
| SIGNATURE | NILSEN T |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Inland Norway |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2805-9971 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 69 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Contested local agency in aquaculture: Dominating regime encounters the “Underdog” in a peripheral region
Studying human agency provides a powerful lens for understanding informal relations and power relations because it focuses on the capacity of individuals and groups to act within, respond to, and shape the social structures they are embedded within. Human agency emphasizes the dynamic interplay between actors and their environment, making it well-suited for examining the complexities of informal and power-laden interactions. In this paper, we exp…
Varieties of extra-regional relations and local agency: A framework for tailored regional development work
Recent studies provide insights about local agency in regional development. While acknowledging non-local actors and drivers, these studies have not systematically discussed the link between extra-regional relations and local agency. This paper first discusses three key arguments in the literature on extra-regional relations covering context-specific dependencies, strategic coupling and open innovation. It then proposes a theoretically informed t…
Initiatives and barriers for green transition in peripheral regions: Path tracing and agentic orientations in the bioeconomy of Norway
Environmental degradation and climate change permeate our society and have unforeseen regional impacts. The literature on green transitions highlights preexisting structures that hinder or facilitate change and, more recently, micro-level actions in creating change. However, little is known about peripheral regions struggling to overcome systemic decline and ‘left-behindness’ in this context. In this paper, we adopt the approach of path tracing f…
Overcoming innovation challenges in waste management – the role of local agency
Questioning growth as we know it
Contested visions of regional futures in Inland Norway: Data storage, TikTok and the symbolic value of megaprojects
Herein, we analyse the social and economic processes that led to the construction of a large data storage centre in Inland Norway. Starting from the theoretical foundation that narratives and symbolic value are important to the emergence of regional development paths—and on the basis that narratives, symbolic value and materiality are strongly interlinked—we argue that megaprojects can be symbols of imagined futures, as well as controversy, in re…
Collaborative routes to innovation success in the periphery – a configurational approach
The purpose of the article is to add to the current debate in the literature of economic geography on innovation capacity in the periphery and the role of collaboration patterns important for innovation. Empirical data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) in Norway and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) are used to demonstrate how conditions in combination (configurations) lead to high levels of innovation for some peripheral regions in…
The role of collaboration in the renewal of Arctic waste management
This paper aims to investigate the possibilities of renewal of the waste management sector in the Arctic through increased regional collaboration. The theoretical part of our article focuses on collaboration in the foundational sector. The empirical study analyzes municipal waste management in Northern Norway, which is characterized by low diversity, large distances between settlements and recycling facilities, and relatively small internal marke…
Political leaders as agents in regional development
The study of agency has received increasing attention in recent years. The focus on change processes at the micro-level has brought new insights into the field of regional development. However, in debates about change and regional development, agents and leaders themselves have received far less attention than agency as a process. We provide an analytical model to show how political leaders and their leadership act as drivers of change through wh…
Norwegian wood, isn't it good? Narratives of the lumber industry and development paths in the Nordic periphery
Beyond ‘periphery’: A detailed and nuanced taxonomy of the Norwegian regions
Increasing attention is being paid towards the influence of regional contexts on innovation activities within regional development studies. Some of the literature in economic geography tends to consider the various peripheral areas as being homogenous and partly characterized by their remote location, weak innovation inputs and lack of knowledge exchange. This paper questions this approach by examining the role of innovation activities in periphe…
Varieties of periphery and local agency in regional development
The extent to which structures and preconditions stimulate or hinder regional development is of interest in economic geography, as is the renewal of ‘left-behind’ peripheral regions. However, few studies have addressed how and to what extent peripheral regions differ. To disentangle the notion of peripheral regions as homogeneous and lacking knowledge sources, capital and networks, the paper discusses the characteristics of four types of peripher…
Emergence of new industries in peripheral regions: The role of narratives in delegitimation of onshore wind in the Arctic Finnmark region
This paper discusses how narratives influence the legitimation of new industries in peripheral regions. We contribute to the literature a discussion of the emergence of green industries in peripheral regions, but particularly to the emerging debate in evolutionary economic geography on the role of legitimation in the emergence of new industries. Based on an empirical investigation of narratives regarding onshore wind in the Finnmark region in nor…
Blessing or curse for regions and firms? Narratives of the sharing economy as an innovative practice in a rural region in Norway
The sharing economy (SE) literature has grown rapidly in recent years. The literature has focused on the diffusion of SE in metropolitan regions, while rural regions have been almost entirely overlooked. To fill this gap, the article examines the SE in a rural region in Norway to explore how it is framed by key actors in regional development at different spatial scales. The article treats the SE as a mechanism through which new knowledge, practic…
Greening of regional industrial paths and the role of sectoral characteristics: A study of the maritime and petroleum sectors in an Arctic region
Recent studies on regional industrial path development call for new perspectives and studies of how a region’s endogenous and exogenous processes (e.g. networks, capital, knowledge) influence its industries, and more recently, the greening of those industries. To this end, recent research has focused on increasing our understanding of the roles of firm and non-firm agency and multi-scalar dynamics (e.g. value chains, national and global regulatio…
Global production networks and strategic coupling in value chains entering peripheral regions
In economic geography, scholars have discussed how endogenous regional sources of skills, networks and capital have led to new regional industrial growth. However, extra-regional dimensions and global production networks has mostly been left behind in the literature. In this paper, I develop a conceptual framework through the eanalysis of how exogenous sources are coupled to regional actors through the lenses of Global Production Networks and Glo…
The Role of Proximity Dimensions in Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration in Peripheral Regions: Insights from a Comparative Case Study in Northern Norway
It is commonly argued in the literature on regional innovation that regions must continuously develop new economic activities to compensate for economic decline. If a region manages to diversify from an existing path, it can sustain long-term economic development. One of the measures taken to increase these types of opportunities and to avoid lock-in is to stimulate a closer relationship and collaboration between universities and industry partner…
Innovation from the inside out: Contrasting fossil and renewable energy pathways at Statoil
Connecting to Global Production Networks: Challenges for Regional Actors in Northern Norway
Over the past few years, Northern Norway has been perceived as a land of opportunity. Announcements of offshore oil and gas discoveries off the coast of Finnmark have contributed to increased market activity in related sectors like service and construction. However, regional firms continue to score at the bottom of innovation indexes and seldom compete on international markets. Based on indepth interviews with representatives from key businesses …
Why Arctic policies matter: The role of exogenous actions in oil and gas industry development in the Norwegian High North
Comparing computer game and traditional lecture using experience ratings from high and low achieving students
Computer games are purported to be effective instructional tools that enhance motivation and improve engagement. The aim of this study was to investigate how tertiary student experiences change when instruction was computer game based compared to lecture based, and whether experiences differed between high and low achieving students. Participants consisted two cohorts enrolled in a first year university course (Cohort 1, traditional: male=42, fem…
Når konklusjonene ikke passer
Varieties of periphery and local agency in regional development
The extent to which structures and preconditions stimulate or hinder regional development is of interest in economic geography, as is the renewal of ‘left-behind’ peripheral regions. However, few studies have addressed how and to what extent peripheral regions differ. To disentangle the notion of peripheral regions as homogeneous and lacking knowledge sources, capital and networks, the paper discusses the characteristics of four types of peripher…
Emergence of new industries in peripheral regions: The role of narratives in delegitimation of onshore wind in the Arctic Finnmark region
This paper discusses how narratives influence the legitimation of new industries in peripheral regions. We contribute to the literature a discussion of the emergence of green industries in peripheral regions, but particularly to the emerging debate in evolutionary economic geography on the role of legitimation in the emergence of new industries. Based on an empirical investigation of narratives regarding onshore wind in the Finnmark region in nor…
Political leaders as agents in regional development
The study of agency has received increasing attention in recent years. The focus on change processes at the micro-level has brought new insights into the field of regional development. However, in debates about change and regional development, agents and leaders themselves have received far less attention than agency as a process. We provide an analytical model to show how political leaders and their leadership act as drivers of change through wh…
Innovation from the inside out: Contrasting fossil and renewable energy pathways at Statoil
Varieties of extra-regional relations and local agency: A framework for tailored regional development work
Recent studies provide insights about local agency in regional development. While acknowledging non-local actors and drivers, these studies have not systematically discussed the link between extra-regional relations and local agency. This paper first discusses three key arguments in the literature on extra-regional relations covering context-specific dependencies, strategic coupling and open innovation. It then proposes a theoretically informed t…
Contested visions of regional futures in Inland Norway: Data storage, TikTok and the symbolic value of megaprojects
Herein, we analyse the social and economic processes that led to the construction of a large data storage centre in Inland Norway. Starting from the theoretical foundation that narratives and symbolic value are important to the emergence of regional development paths—and on the basis that narratives, symbolic value and materiality are strongly interlinked—we argue that megaprojects can be symbols of imagined futures, as well as controversy, in re…
Beyond ‘periphery’: A detailed and nuanced taxonomy of the Norwegian regions
Increasing attention is being paid towards the influence of regional contexts on innovation activities within regional development studies. Some of the literature in economic geography tends to consider the various peripheral areas as being homogenous and partly characterized by their remote location, weak innovation inputs and lack of knowledge exchange. This paper questions this approach by examining the role of innovation activities in periphe…
Greening of regional industrial paths and the role of sectoral characteristics: A study of the maritime and petroleum sectors in an Arctic region
Recent studies on regional industrial path development call for new perspectives and studies of how a region’s endogenous and exogenous processes (e.g. networks, capital, knowledge) influence its industries, and more recently, the greening of those industries. To this end, recent research has focused on increasing our understanding of the roles of firm and non-firm agency and multi-scalar dynamics (e.g. value chains, national and global regulatio…
Global production networks and strategic coupling in value chains entering peripheral regions
In economic geography, scholars have discussed how endogenous regional sources of skills, networks and capital have led to new regional industrial growth. However, extra-regional dimensions and global production networks has mostly been left behind in the literature. In this paper, I develop a conceptual framework through the eanalysis of how exogenous sources are coupled to regional actors through the lenses of Global Production Networks and Glo…
Norwegian wood, isn't it good? Narratives of the lumber industry and development paths in the Nordic periphery
Connecting to Global Production Networks: Challenges for Regional Actors in Northern Norway
Over the past few years, Northern Norway has been perceived as a land of opportunity. Announcements of offshore oil and gas discoveries off the coast of Finnmark have contributed to increased market activity in related sectors like service and construction. However, regional firms continue to score at the bottom of innovation indexes and seldom compete on international markets. Based on indepth interviews with representatives from key businesses …
Når konklusjonene ikke passer
Comparing computer game and traditional lecture using experience ratings from high and low achieving students
Computer games are purported to be effective instructional tools that enhance motivation and improve engagement. The aim of this study was to investigate how tertiary student experiences change when instruction was computer game based compared to lecture based, and whether experiences differed between high and low achieving students. Participants consisted two cohorts enrolled in a first year university course (Cohort 1, traditional: male=42, fem…
Connecting to Global Production Networks: Challenges for Regional Actors in Northern Norway
Over the past few years, Northern Norway has been perceived as a land of opportunity. Announcements of offshore oil and gas discoveries off the coast of Finnmark have contributed to increased market activity in related sectors like service and construction. However, regional firms continue to score at the bottom of innovation indexes and seldom compete on international markets. Based on indepth interviews with representatives from key businesses …
Why Arctic policies matter: The role of exogenous actions in oil and gas industry development in the Norwegian High North
Innovation from the inside out: Contrasting fossil and renewable energy pathways at Statoil
The Role of Proximity Dimensions in Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration in Peripheral Regions: Insights from a Comparative Case Study in Northern Norway
It is commonly argued in the literature on regional innovation that regions must continuously develop new economic activities to compensate for economic decline. If a region manages to diversify from an existing path, it can sustain long-term economic development. One of the measures taken to increase these types of opportunities and to avoid lock-in is to stimulate a closer relationship and collaboration between universities and industry partner…
Global production networks and strategic coupling in value chains entering peripheral regions
In economic geography, scholars have discussed how endogenous regional sources of skills, networks and capital have led to new regional industrial growth. However, extra-regional dimensions and global production networks has mostly been left behind in the literature. In this paper, I develop a conceptual framework through the eanalysis of how exogenous sources are coupled to regional actors through the lenses of Global Production Networks and Glo…
Blessing or curse for regions and firms? Narratives of the sharing economy as an innovative practice in a rural region in Norway
The sharing economy (SE) literature has grown rapidly in recent years. The literature has focused on the diffusion of SE in metropolitan regions, while rural regions have been almost entirely overlooked. To fill this gap, the article examines the SE in a rural region in Norway to explore how it is framed by key actors in regional development at different spatial scales. The article treats the SE as a mechanism through which new knowledge, practic…
Greening of regional industrial paths and the role of sectoral characteristics: A study of the maritime and petroleum sectors in an Arctic region
Recent studies on regional industrial path development call for new perspectives and studies of how a region’s endogenous and exogenous processes (e.g. networks, capital, knowledge) influence its industries, and more recently, the greening of those industries. To this end, recent research has focused on increasing our understanding of the roles of firm and non-firm agency and multi-scalar dynamics (e.g. value chains, national and global regulatio…
Beyond ‘periphery’: A detailed and nuanced taxonomy of the Norwegian regions
Increasing attention is being paid towards the influence of regional contexts on innovation activities within regional development studies. Some of the literature in economic geography tends to consider the various peripheral areas as being homogenous and partly characterized by their remote location, weak innovation inputs and lack of knowledge exchange. This paper questions this approach by examining the role of innovation activities in periphe…
Varieties of periphery and local agency in regional development
The extent to which structures and preconditions stimulate or hinder regional development is of interest in economic geography, as is the renewal of ‘left-behind’ peripheral regions. However, few studies have addressed how and to what extent peripheral regions differ. To disentangle the notion of peripheral regions as homogeneous and lacking knowledge sources, capital and networks, the paper discusses the characteristics of four types of peripher…
Emergence of new industries in peripheral regions: The role of narratives in delegitimation of onshore wind in the Arctic Finnmark region
This paper discusses how narratives influence the legitimation of new industries in peripheral regions. We contribute to the literature a discussion of the emergence of green industries in peripheral regions, but particularly to the emerging debate in evolutionary economic geography on the role of legitimation in the emergence of new industries. Based on an empirical investigation of narratives regarding onshore wind in the Finnmark region in nor…
Norwegian wood, isn't it good? Narratives of the lumber industry and development paths in the Nordic periphery
Collaborative routes to innovation success in the periphery – a configurational approach
The purpose of the article is to add to the current debate in the literature of economic geography on innovation capacity in the periphery and the role of collaboration patterns important for innovation. Empirical data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) in Norway and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) are used to demonstrate how conditions in combination (configurations) lead to high levels of innovation for some peripheral regions in…
The role of collaboration in the renewal of Arctic waste management
This paper aims to investigate the possibilities of renewal of the waste management sector in the Arctic through increased regional collaboration. The theoretical part of our article focuses on collaboration in the foundational sector. The empirical study analyzes municipal waste management in Northern Norway, which is characterized by low diversity, large distances between settlements and recycling facilities, and relatively small internal marke…
Political leaders as agents in regional development
The study of agency has received increasing attention in recent years. The focus on change processes at the micro-level has brought new insights into the field of regional development. However, in debates about change and regional development, agents and leaders themselves have received far less attention than agency as a process. We provide an analytical model to show how political leaders and their leadership act as drivers of change through wh…
Varieties of extra-regional relations and local agency: A framework for tailored regional development work
Recent studies provide insights about local agency in regional development. While acknowledging non-local actors and drivers, these studies have not systematically discussed the link between extra-regional relations and local agency. This paper first discusses three key arguments in the literature on extra-regional relations covering context-specific dependencies, strategic coupling and open innovation. It then proposes a theoretically informed t…
Initiatives and barriers for green transition in peripheral regions: Path tracing and agentic orientations in the bioeconomy of Norway
Environmental degradation and climate change permeate our society and have unforeseen regional impacts. The literature on green transitions highlights preexisting structures that hinder or facilitate change and, more recently, micro-level actions in creating change. However, little is known about peripheral regions struggling to overcome systemic decline and ‘left-behindness’ in this context. In this paper, we adopt the approach of path tracing f…
Overcoming innovation challenges in waste management – the role of local agency
Questioning growth as we know it
Contested visions of regional futures in Inland Norway: Data storage, TikTok and the symbolic value of megaprojects
Herein, we analyse the social and economic processes that led to the construction of a large data storage centre in Inland Norway. Starting from the theoretical foundation that narratives and symbolic value are important to the emergence of regional development paths—and on the basis that narratives, symbolic value and materiality are strongly interlinked—we argue that megaprojects can be symbols of imagined futures, as well as controversy, in re…
Contested local agency in aquaculture: Dominating regime encounters the “Underdog” in a peripheral region
Studying human agency provides a powerful lens for understanding informal relations and power relations because it focuses on the capacity of individuals and groups to act within, respond to, and shape the social structures they are embedded within. Human agency emphasizes the dynamic interplay between actors and their environment, making it well-suited for examining the complexities of informal and power-laden interactions. In this paper, we exp…
Sociology (12 works) · Economic geography (11 works) · Economics (11 works) · Geography (11 works) · Business (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Regional science (9 works) · Regional resilience and development (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Agency (philosophy (5 works)