Sweden

This chapter consists of sections on Introduction, Historical Overview, Indigenous Sámi in Sweden, The Environment for Entrepreneurship and Toward the Future. Introduction, as follows:The Kingdom of Sweden covers 449,964 square kilometres, between Finland and Norway, with shores along the Baltic Sea and also along the Gulf of Bothnia, the Kattegat Sea, the öresund Strait, and Skagerrak Strait. Sweden’s national capital is Stockholm (Exhibit 20.1), a city that spans several islands (Exhibit 20.2). An elaborate ferry service complements the national rail network, which has approximately 11,000 kilometres of electrified rail routes (see Exhibit 20.3). Opened to the public in 2000, the combined railwayand- motorway öresund Bridge (Exhibit 20.4) — approximately 16 kilometres long — crosses the öresund Strait, linking Sweden with Denmark.Famous Swedes include chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel (1833–1896) who patented dynamite in 1867 and established the Nobel Prize. Other prominent Swedish entrepreneurs include: Lars Magnus Ericsson (1846–1926) founder of the telephone manufacturing company bearing his name; Mrs. Wilhelmina Skogh (1849–1926), who pioneered hotels and restaurants for the tourism industry across Sweden; Gustaf Larson (1887–1968) and Assar Gabrielsson (1891–1962) who — in 1927 — cofounded Volvo (see Exhibit 20.5); Mrs. Estrid Ericson (1894–1981) who pioneered design and décor in Sweden, establishing Swedish Tenn in 1924 and operating this firm until 1978; Dr. Ruben Rausing (1895–1983), founder of Tetra Pak — development work for which began in 1943; and Ingvar Kamprad (1926–) who established IKEA in 1943. By the turn of the millennia, Stockholm was acknowledged as the centre of Europe’s New Economy (Lynch, 2001)…