Conference theme: Closeness and Wholeness – Business Administration Competence Today and in the Future
In an era characterised by globalisation, digitalisation and growing societal challenges, the question of what it means to be a business administrator and manager – today and in the future – is becoming increasingly relevant. Whilst the demands for specialisation and niche disciplines are increasing, there is a growing need to understand business administration where complementary core knowledge and skills form a coherent whole.
FEKIS 2026 invites a collegial discussion and reflection on how we shape the subject of business administration and the skills needs of the future. At the heart of this are the concepts of Closeness (proximity) and Wholeness (holism).
Closeness is not just about geography, but also about trust, accessibility, local roots and mutual relationships – with students, colleagues and the surrounding community. Wholeness involves developing a comprehensive understanding in line with society’s needs and demands, which is often challenged by boundaries and gatekeepers, tensions and contradictions.
The conference welcomes contributions and discussions aimed at counteracting fragmentation, developing skills from a holistic perspective, and strengthening the subject’s positioning and societal relevance. Examples of themes include:
- Local relevance in teaching – how local businesses and the local economy can be integrated into education
- Closeness in the learning process – how engagement with and between students can be promoted – even in digital or hybrid environments
- Closeness between subject areas – how different sub-fields of business administration can together contribute to a holistic understanding, both in teaching and research
- Closeness and a holistic approach in research – how collegiality and trust can be developed in collaborative projects
- Closeness as a strategy for collaboration – how partnerships with local businesses and organisations can strengthen both teaching and research
Program
Preliminary program – detailed schedule will be published in September. Information about the plenary sessions and short abstracts for the parallel sessions can be found below.
- Doctoral Day
- FEKIS Board Meeting
- FEKIS Association Council Meeting
Morning
- Welcome speech
- AI: Disruption, Transformation, or Salvation — How Should We Prepare Students for What's Coming? (plenum session)
- Proximity and wholeness: The importance of higher education institutions for regional development (panel discussion)
Afternoon
- Parallel sessions
Evening
- Conference dinner at Quality Hotel Galaxen: Quality Hotel Galaxen Borlänge
Morning
- Why are employee-owned companies superior in terms of productivity, innovation, and working conditions (plenum session)
- FEKIS Annual General Meeting
Afternoon
- Parallel sessions
- Closing of the conference
Plenary Sessions
Why are employee-owned firms superior in terms of productivity, innovation, and working conditions?
Bo Rothstein (gu.se), Professor of Political Science, University of Gothenburg (Presentation in Swedish)
The Swedish business sector is characterised by two significant problems: low productivity and a high proportion of long-term sick leave related to psychosocial diagnoses. Employee-owned firms, which are rare in Sweden but relatively common in countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain, are characterised by unusually high productivity and high levels of job satisfaction. A first question is how this can be explained theoretically. A second question is why the prevalence of and interest in employee-owned firms is so limited in Sweden. A third question is what could facilitate the emergence of more employee-owned firms in Sweden.
More on the topic: "Varför är personalägda företag överlägsna i termer av produktivitet, innovation och arbetsvillkor?" (pdf, arenaide.se).
Closeness and Wholeness: The Importance of Universities and University Colleges for Regional Development
Panel discussion moderated by Lars Engwall (uu.se), Professor of Business Administration, Uppsala University (Session in Swedish)
Our country has a significant number of universities and university colleges. They vary in age, size, and orientation. All of them play important roles in the development of our country, not least at the regional level. The latter is particularly important to highlight at a time when the positions of different higher education institutions in global competition are increasingly emphasised. The panel will address the role and future of higher education institutions.
Panel participants:
- Jörgen Elbe, Vice-Chancellor of Dalarna University, Professor Business Administration and Management
- Helena Höij, Governor of Dalarna County
- Representative of the municipality
- Representative of the business sectort
AI: Disruption, Transformation, or Salvation — How Should We Prepare Students for What's Coming?
Arend Hintze, Professor of Microdata Analysis, Dalarna University
Corporations are still digesting the last wave of big data, data analytics, and data-driven leadership, and AI is already arriving with considerably sharper teeth. At the same time, something equally unsettling is happening within computer science itself: the people who build AI are among the first to question whether their own expertise is becoming obsolete.
This talk offers a view from computing science on a question business schools are also wrestling with. Drawing on the rapid transformation of computing education, it explores three possible futures — disruption, transformation, and salvation — and asks what each demands of educators today. What happens to curricula, competencies, and pedagogical purpose when the tools start writing themselves? And what might AI-driven leadership actually require from the students we are training now?
Parallel Sessions
The conference offers almost 30 parallel sessions. See their brief descriptions below. A detailed schedule will be published in September.
Brief descriptions of parallel sessions (swedish conference webbpage)
Doctoral Day
All PhD students in Business Administration from Swedish universities are welcome to participate in the Doctoral Day on Tuesday 13 October. Participation in the Doctoral Day (including lunch and refreshments) is included in the conference fee (SEK 1,000 for doctoral students).
To participate, you must be registered as a FEKIS member. Registration for FEKIS is free of charge. See information and register: Become a member - Föreningen Företagsekonomi i Sverige
The entire Doctoral Day will be conducted in English.
Join us to learn and to network with both fellow doctoral students and senior academics in the field of Business Administration.
- 09:30: Welcome & Fika (Peter Hultén, Dalarna University)
- 9:45 – 11:00: Workshop on intercultural communication (Sarah Ramsay, Dalarna University)
- 11:10 – 12:00: Thrown to the lions: Survival tips for balancing a PhD with teaching (Peter Hultén, Dalarna University)
- Lunch
- 13:00 – 14:00: Early career: Building a future in research: On postdocs and research funding (Christina Öberg, Linnaeus University)
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14:00 – 15:00: Crossing borders in academia: A personal story of interdisciplinary collaboration and finding one’s research group (Anna-Carin Nordvall, Uppsala University)
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15:00: Fika
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15:30 – 16:30: avigating the early career stage: On the job market for fresh PhDs (Josef Pallas, Uppsala University)
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16:30 – 16:45: Summing up and key takeaways (Peter Hultén, Dalarna University)
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19:30: Evening networking session (details will be published later)
Registration for the conference and conference fees
The last day to register is September 10.
We recommend that you register as soon as possible, as the number of places is limited. We also recommend booking hotels well in advance, as the availability of hotel rooms in Borlänge is limited. See recommendations for hotels below.
To participate in the conference, you need to be a member of FEKIS: Become a member - Föreningen Företagsekonomi i Sverige
Invited guests and exhibitors do not need to be members.
- Participants: 3 000 SEK*
- Doctoral student: 1 000 SEK
* The participation fee includes a fee of 500 SEK to FEKIS, which has been decided by the association. VAT of 25% will be added to the conference fee for participants who are not government employees.
The conference fee is invoiced to the organisation (higher education institution) specified in the registration form.
Key Dates
• 10 September 2026: Registration deadline
• 13 October 2026: PhD Student Day
• 14–15 October 2026: FEKIS 2026 takes place at Campus Borlänge
Travel and Accommodation
The easiest way to travel to Borlänge is by train. The journey takes around 3 hours from Stockholm Central Station and approximately 2.5 hours from Arlanda Central Station.
Many hotels are located close to both Borlänge railway station and the campus:
- Elite Hotel Brage, Borlänge (elite.se)
- Quality Hotel Galaxen (galaxen.com) (The conference dinner on Wednesday 14 October will take place there)
- Scandic Borlänge (scandichotels.com)
- Best Western Gustaf Wasa Hotel (bestwestern.se)
- Hotell Kupolen (hotellkupolen.se)
