Swedish Case Study Research Articles

Why Organization May Be the Primary Limitation to Implementing Sustainability at the Local Level: Examples from Swedish Case Studies

Much of the effort to address environmental issues at the local level has focused on defining principles and aims rather than addressing the operational difficulties of implementation. Drawing upon insights from sustainability scholarship, this study reviews two cases: the development of a Swedish standard for implementing sustainable development at municipality, county council, and regional levels, and attempts by a small rural municipality to establish a process towards implementing the Aalborg Commitments. The research illustrates the specific organizational and managerial complexity of these case study experiences. It concludes that an organizational focus on integration and mainstreaming deserves particular attention to achieve broader sustainability, or related environmental or adaptation goals. The results, in particular, highlight the role that integrated management systems can play for sustainability work at the local level.

Multi objective particle swarm optimization of hybrid micro-grid system: A case study in Sweden

Distributed energy resources DERs are small scale energy system which could provide local supply when placed at customers' premises. They aggregate multiple local and diffuse production installations, consumer facilities, storage facilities and monitoring tools and demand management. The main challenges when assessing the performance of an off-grid hybrid micro-grid system HMGS are the reliability of the system, the cost of electricity production and the operation environmental impact. Hence the tradeoff between three conflicting objectives makes the design of an optimal HMGS seen as a multi-objective optimization task. In this paper, we consider the optimization and the assessment of a HMGS in different Swedish cities to point out the potential of each location for HMGS investment. The HMGS consists of photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, diesel generator and battery storage. The HMGS model was simulated under one-year weather conditions data. A multi objective particle swarm optimization is used to find the optimal system configuration and the optimal component size for each location. An energy management system is applied to manage the operation of the different component of the system when feeding the load. The techno economics analysis shows the potential of HMGS in the Swedish rural development.

Economic feasibility of solar photovoltaic rooftop systems in a complex setting: A Swedish case study

An economic feasibility study of solar photovoltaic rooftop (PV) systems in Swedish multifamily buildings was carried out to examine the effects of current market conditions, incentive programmes, and building-specific parameters. Economic analyses were conducted for 108 electricity supply points for scenarios including (1) a tax rebate, (2) an investment subsidy, and (3) both tax rebate and subsidy. First, PV systems were sized and oriented to give the highest net present values, considering actual fuse sizes and hourly demands matched to simulated PV generation. This resulted in shares of profitable systems as follows: 33% with a tax rebate, 51% with a subsidy, and 93% with both. It was shown that the tax rebate programme promotes relatively large systems compared to the subsidy, although with a much higher risk. Thereafter, the influences of main fuse size and existing roofs were investigated. Most of the roofs were large enough to fit the previously sized PV systems. However, taking into account the slopes and directions of available rooftops considerably reduced the number of profitable systems. Finally, the study showed that in addition to support measures and other economic conditions, the PV system feasibility was highly sensitive to roof characteristics, electricity demand and fuse size.

Vertical integration in the real estate sector: three Swedish case studies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain why some real estate companies choose to have a vertically integrated structure, instead of specializing in only stage of the production chain.Design/methodology/approachThe first stage of the research was an extensive literature review to generate hypotheses. A case study method was then chosen, as more detailed knowledge about the companies were judged to be needed to evaluate the different hypothesis. Documents about the companies were studied and interviews carried out.FindingsIn the studies cases, there is no support for theories related to vertical integration as a way to monopolize a market and only marginal support for theories that focus on contracting problems related to the so called hold up problem. The most important factors for the companies were that vertical integration gives information and more options that are important in small number bargaining situations. The companies bargaining power increases when they are better informed about, e.g. costs and profits in nearby activities, and when they can use in-house units, if there are problems to find reasonable conditions on the outside market.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation is that only three cases were studied.Practical/implicationsThe study can be helpful both to companies that choose to integrate vertically and those that chose not to. There are similar problems related to information and bargaining power that needs to be handled.Originality/valueThis is the first study that test theories about vertical integration in the real estate sector.

Battery sizing and rule-based operation of grid-connected photovoltaic-battery system: A case study in Sweden

The optimal components design for grid-connected photovoltaic-battery systems should be determined with consideration of system operation. This study proposes a method to simultaneously optimize the battery capacity and rule-based operation strategy. The investigated photovoltaic-battery system is modeled using single diode photovoltaic model and Improved Shepherd battery model. Three rule-based operation strategies—including the conventional operation strategy, the dynamic price load shifting strategy, and the hybrid operation strategy—are designed and evaluated. The rule-based operation strategies introduce different operation parameters to run the system operation. multi-objective Genetic Algorithm is employed to optimize the decisional variables, including battery capacity and operation parameters, towards maximizing the system’s Self Sufficiency Ratio and Net Present Value. The results indicate that employing battery with the conventional operation strategy is not profitable, although it increases Self Sufficiency Ratio. The dynamic price load shifting strategy has similar performance with the conventional operation strategy because the electricity price variation is not large enough. The proposed hybrid operation strategy outperforms other investigated strategies. When the battery capacity is lower than 72kWh, Self Sufficiency Ratio and Net Present Value increase simultaneously with the battery capacity.

User Choice – Blessing or Curse?

Based in an analysis of elderly care and primary school, the article discusses and explores marketization and especially user choice as a type of democratic participation in Swedish and Norwegian local government. Empirical data include surveys among Swedish and Norwegian citizens and case studies in four municipalities. The analysis shows that having a choice regarding service delivery is considered a significant means of influencing policies among the citizens in the two countries. Comparing the two policy sectors leads to a conclusion that user choice is developing as a means of influence in both sectors, but most important in primary school, and more developed in Sweden compared to Norway. The case studies aim to explore and illustrate the reasoning about choice and democracy among local leaders. This analysis clearly illustrates how the conceptual relation between marketization and democracy varies to an almost extreme extent among local government leaders in Sweden and Norway.

Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of forest supply chains: Comparison of Canadian and Swedish case studies

This study took a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective to model a total of twenty forest supply chains, from seedling production to forest biomass delivery to industry. Four scenarios were analyzed, two in Sweden and two in Canada. Resource and energy consumption, and emissions to air, water and soil of conventional and biomass dedicated supply chains were evaluated and compared.The Swedish supply chains showed a better environmental profile, on average, per oven dry tonne (ODt) than the Canadian ones in the regions studied. In terms of climate change potential the Swedish biomass dedicated supply chains generated 48.8 kg CO2-eq, 13%, 30% and 38% lower than Swedish conventional, Canadian biomass dedicated and Canadian conventional supply chains, respectively. Sawlogs from final felling in the Swedish biomass dedicated supply chains generated 34.2 kg CO2-eq, the lowest emissions within the roundwood assortments. Concerning the forest fuel assortments in form of wood chips, pulpwood from final felling in the Swedish conventional supply chains, and stump core and long tops from final felling in the Swedish biomass dedicated supply chains generated the lowest emissions: 48.9 kg CO2-eq, 52.3 Kg CO2-eq and 57.8 kg CO2-eq respectively. Transport from forest to industry, harvesting, extraction, chipping, and crushing were identified as hotspots in the forest supply chains. Forwarding versus skidding, chipping and transportation were the processes that differed the most between countries.In both countries, when the supply chains were biomass dedicated the environmental impacts per ODt were lower than in the conventional supply chains. Therefore, integrating forest fuel supply with industrial wood harvesting has the potential to reduce emissions.

How the electric meter configuration affect the monitored amount of self-consumed and produced excess electricity from PV systems—Case study in Sweden

This study evaluates how the principal function of bi-directional electric meters affects the monitored amount of self-consumed and produced excess electricity for dwelling buildings connected to the grid by three phases. The electric meters momentarily record the sum of the phases or the phases individually and then summarize the recorded values to a suitable time period and is then collected by the grid owner. In Sweden, both electric meter configurations fulfill laws and regulations.The meter configuration affects the monitored distribution of self-consumed and produced excess electricity significantly for the investigated single-family house but is negligible for the investigated multi-dwelling buildings. The monitored self-consumed electricity produced by the PV installation for the single-family house varies between 24% and 55% depending on the configuration and how the inverter is installed for the investigated year. The difference in economic value for the produced electricity varies between 79.3 to 142 Euros.Due to the electric meter configuration, the profitability of PV systems will be different for identical single-family houses with identical conditions. This should be corrected for a well-functioning market. It is also important to decide how the configuration should be designed to ensure that different incentives and enablers results in desired effects.

Enacting the role of special needs educator – six Swedish case studies

With the increasing focus on inclusion, special needs educators (SNEs) are now expected to share responsibility for pupils with teacher colleagues and to lead school development, but it is a challenge to enact this role in schools. The aim of the study was to explore how professional roles of Swedish SNEs are enacted in local school contexts. From a survey of SNEs in 10 Swedish municipalities, six participants whose work tasks were expected to correspond to the degree ordinances for their university training were chosen. The participants were followed at work, and data were collected through observation of the participants at work, participants’ diaries and interviews with the participants, their teacher colleagues and their school principals. The analysis involved both quantitative and qualitative methods. First, based on the researchers’ observations of the participants at work, categories of SNEs’ tasks were discerned, and the amount of time devoted to those categories of tasks was summarised. Second, case study narratives of the SNEs’ work were constructed to describe how the participants, their teacher colleagues and their school principals view the SNE role and to describe how the work is enacted in various school contexts. The results revealed seven categories of work tasks practised to varying degrees by the six SNEs. The case study narratives exposed large variation in how the SNEs conceptualised their role and how it evolved in relation to local school contexts. The results of the study are discussed with regard to the role of the SNE in relation to policies of inclusion.

Climate impact assessment of willow energy from a landscape perspective: a Swedish case study

AbstractLocally produced bioenergy can decrease the dependency on imported fossil fuels in a region, while also being valuable for climate change mitigation. Short‐rotation coppice willow is a potentially high‐yielding energy crop that can be grown to supply a local energy facility. This study assessed the energy performance and climate impacts when establishing willow on current fallow land in a Swedish region with the purpose of supplying a bio‐based combined heat and power plant. Time‐dependent life cycle assessment (LCA) was combined with geographic information system (GIS) mapping to include spatial variation in terms of transport distance, initial soil organic carbon content, soil texture and yield. Two climate metrics were used [global warming potential (GWP) and absolute global temperature change potential (AGTP)], and the energy performance was determined by calculating the energy ratio (energy produced per unit of energy used). The results showed that when current fallow land in a Swedish region was used for willow energy, an average energy ratio of 30 MJ MJ−1 (including heat, power and flue gas condensation) was obtained and on average 84.3 Mg carbon per ha was sequestered in the soil during a 100‐year time frame (compared with the reference land use). The processes contributing most to the energy use during one willow rotation were the production and application of fertilizers (~40%), followed by harvest (~35%) and transport (~20%). The temperature response after 100 years of willow cultivation was −6·10−16 K MJ−1 heat, which is much lower compared with fossil coal and natural gas (70·10−16 K MJ−1 heat and 35·10−16 K MJ−1 heat, respectively). The combined GIS and time‐dependent LCA approach developed here can be a useful tool in systematic analysis of bioenergy production systems and related land use effects.

Holistic approach for treatment of accidental hazards during conceptual design of bridges – A case study in Sweden

The control of risks in engineering design is, for most conventional construction projects, achieved through the use of design codes. However, relying on design based on code-compliance can lead to situations where risks are overlooked or inadequately treated; a complementary approach is needed. In this paper, a holistic risk-informed approach for the treatment of accidental hazards during the conceptual design of bridges is considered and a framework for such an approach is provided. The treatment of these design situations is incompatible with current codified approaches. Although risk assessments are commonly used in the design of large scale infrastructure projects, such approaches are rarely used for more common bridge designs. The assessment procedure, applicable for more conventional bridge projects, is described and some background information is provided that is useful for applying the proposed approach in practice. To illustrate the application of the proposed approach in practice, a case study of a bridge construction project in the west of Sweden is considered in which the approach is applied.

Striving for Sustainable Development and the Coordinating Role of the Central Government: Lessons from Swedish Housing Policy

Housing plays an important role in the development of welfare policies and also often in achieving sustainability goals. There exists, however, implementation gaps between policies and practices in urban development and housing. Here it should be possible to draw lessons from policy implementations in the past. In this article we explore the strategies of the Swedish central government in implementing a social housing policy in the mid-20th century. The policy was successfully implemented in that it resulted in the rapid expansion and modernisation of the Swedish apartment stock in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and acute housingshortages and poor housing standards were overcome. The main lesson learned from the Swedish case study is the critical role of the central government in implementation throughthe strategic coordination of policy aims, instruments, stakeholders and interests throughout the implementation process. Although the central government could have used hard, almost authoritarian policy instruments to force the realisation of the new policy, it mainly used soft policy tools and focused on coordination. In the contemporary networked governance setting, the central government, like no other player, still has the potential to guide and coordinate implementation processes for the realization of sustainable housing visions.

Technology assessment of the two most relevant aspects for improving urban energy efficiency identified in six mid-sized European cities from case studies in Sweden

The increasing population living in cities is leading to higher resource utilization, which strains the cities’ ability to focus on sustainability. Adoption of different technologies can transform cities into “smart cities” that utilize energy in a more efficiently.This paper presents results from a technology assessment tool developed together with six mid-sized European cities. The main areas of focus have been evaluated based on the cities’ priorities: transportation (both public and private) and consumers’ perspectives on the use of smart electricity meters. The use of electric vehicles in Sweden, and a techno-economic evaluation of biogas-derived biomethane and electricity use in public transportation have been analyzed. The main conclusions show an overall higher efficiency for biogas-derived electricity use in electric buses; a need for higher consumer engagement through more detailed information provision for both increasing EV market penetration and electricity savings; and a need to establish detailed technology assessments for successful technology adoption in cities.

Vulnerable users' perceptions of transport technologies

As the global population continues to grow, age and urbanise, it is vital to provide accessible transport so that neither ageing nor disability constitutes barriers to social inclusion. While technology can enhance urban access, there is a need to study the ways by which transport technologies – real-time information, pedestrian navigation, surveillance and road pricing – could be more effectively adopted by users. The reason for this is that some people, and particularly vulnerable populations, are still likely to be reluctant to use (or even avoid using) technologies perceived as ‘unknown’ and ‘complicated’. On the basis of evidence from British and Swedish case studies on older people's perceptions of the aforementioned transport technologies, as well as of a Swedish case study of visually impaired people's perceptions, this paper makes the case that technology is only one tool in a complex sociotechnical system, and one that brings challenges. The authors also suggest that although vulnerable populations are not homogeneous when expressing their attitudes towards transport technologies, their assessment criteria tend to be ‘prosocial’ as they usually consider that the societal benefits of the assessed technologies outweigh the personal benefits. Emphasising aspects linked to the technologies' prosocial potential or relevance to the individual user could therefore increase acceptance.

Testing visitor produced pictures as a management strategy to study visitor experience qualities – A Swedish marine case study

The aim of this paper is to test how visitor produced pictures can be applied in recreation management in order study, and potentially also monitor, different visitor experience qualities. To support this goal, a case study from Sweden is introduced wherein visitor produced pictures are the main methodological approach. The case study took place during summer 2014 and involved 41 participants who via smartphones took pictures of their important recreational experiences. The results revealed six different categories of experience qualities in the visitor produced pictures: natural elements, social situations, cultural environments, recreational activities, emotional reactions and disturbing factors. These categories are described with special attention to possible management implications and a better understanding of visitor experience qualities. Furthermore, the paper suggests how new technology might be useful for recreation managers. The paper concludes that visitor produced pictures have considerable potential as an informative and efficient strategy to capture and study visitor experience qualities. The development of visual methods as a monitoring approach should therefore receive more attention in recreation management. Management implicationsThis paper suggests that recreation managers should base their management actions and activities not only on information such as visitor numbers, profiles and spatial behavior. Furthermore, the paper presents a new opportunity to gather information about important visitor experience qualities. However, doing so involves several management implications, including:•An emphasis on the importance of studying visitor experiences in recreation planning and management;•An integration of qualitative methodology into recreation management, for instance via visitor produced pictures;•An increase in managerial competences and training in the work with social science based, qualitative methodology;•An understanding of the need for visitor involvement and the potential in new technology in recreation management;•Recognition of the need for more collaboration between managers and researchers, especially concerning manager education.

An analysis model of tourism academic networks: a Swedish case study triangulated with an EU research project

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this research is to investigate and develop an analysis model of a tourism department network using an explorative approach. Strategic stakeholders have been identified for the tourism department and organised into partner groups. An analysis model has been developed based on four network types: formal organisation, informal organisation, formal individual and informal individual. For every type, the following six network content dimensions were found relevant to analyse: stakeholders, reciprocal relations, relation exchange, network driving forces, network management and network purpose. The investigations have shown some focused network strengths such as network permanency, with corresponding weaknesses such as rigid relations. Some typical implications of the strengths and weaknesses for the department have been identified, and some network techniques to handle the implications have been proposed. An annual network development process for a tourism department is suggested. The resulting network is summarised as the Professional Tourism Academic Network (PTAN).

International Competitiveness: A Case Study of American, Swedish, and Ukrainian Forest Industries

ABSTRACTThe objectives of this article are to assess changes in the international competitiveness of the forest products industries in three countries (Sweden, the US, and Ukraine) during the years preceding, during, and after the recent economic crisis. To deepen the exploration of the three countries’ competitiveness, we propose a Cross-Country Relative Competitiveness Index. The results show that comprehensive measurement of comparative and competitive advantages is essential for determining why a given industry in a given country is doing well or badly. They also provide broad background information for subsequent, more detailed explorations of important changes and trends.

Reorienting health aid to meet post-2015 global health challenges: a case study of Sweden as a donor

The international development community is transitioning from the era of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), ending in 2015, to the era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have a 2030 target. Global development assistance for health (DAH) increased substantially in the MDGs era, from US $10.8 billion in 2001 to $28.1 billion by 2012 (in 2010 US dollars), and it played a crucial role in tackling global challenges such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. In this paper, we describe the likely health challenges of the SDGs era and the types of international assistance that will be required to help tackle these challenges. We propose a new way of classifying DAH based on considering the functions that it will need to serve in order to address these post-2015 challenges. We apply this new classification to the current health aid spending of one donor, Sweden, as a case study. Based on our findings, we suggest ways in which Sweden's DAH could be reoriented towards meeting the health challenges of the next two decades. (Less)

Income Inequality and Willingness to Pay for Public Environmental Goods

We study how the distribution of income among members of society, and income inequality in particular, affects social willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental public goods. We find that social WTP for environmental goods increases with mean income, and decreases (increases) with income inequality if and only if environmental goods and manufactured goods are substitutes (complements). Furthermore, social WTP for environmental normally changes more elastically with mean income than with income inequality. We derive adjustment factors for benefit transfer to control for differences in income distributions between a study site and a policy site. For illustration, we quantify how social WTP for environmental public goods depends on the respective income distribution for empirical case studies in Sweden, China and the World. We find that the effects of adjusting for income inequality can be substantial.

Prosumers in district heating networks – A Swedish case study

A prosumer is a customer that both uses and supplies energy, such as electricity or district heat. These are already a part of the electricity system. Lately, prosumers have also been discussed as a part of the district heating systems. This calls for more knowledge in this area. The present study seeks to evaluate the potential for district heating contribution from small scale prosumers, based on excess heat, and their environmental impact in an area with diverse building types. The results were mainly developed through a case study performed on Hyllie, an area under construction in Malmö, Sweden. Data from property developers and some measured data were used to evaluate the annual prosumer potential of buildings. Environmental calculations were performed by simulations in the commercial simulation programme NetSim and data from Swedish literature. Four cases were investigated, based on whether the prosumers were allowed to deliver heat beyond the Hyllie borders or not and on two different ways of managing the supply temperature. The temperature of the excess heat was either raised with a heat pump, or directly utilised in the district heating network. In the latter case, the temperature of the domestic hot water was raised with electricity. The results showed that the potential for excess heat prosumers is fairly big, in Hyllie around 50–120% of the annual heat demand. Most of the excess heat is however produced during the summer months. The environmental results showed that the environmental output of the electricity applied in the prosumer solution decided whether or not the prosumer solution was better than the conventional district heating solution.