Globalization and the structural transformation process evident in the western economies during the recent decades have led to the diminished importance of the industrial sector, the loss of many jobs, and ruthless competition between countries. It is no longer large companies that continuously create new jobs, but rather the small enterprises which make up the experience industries (also known as the ‘creative industries’). Not only countries and companies, but also local and regional politicians have chosen to challenge the status quo in different ways and at different spatial levels. One example is cross-border mergers between companies. Another is networking and cooperation between locales within a region or between several regions within a country, as well as between locales and regions in different countries. Many meaningful, innovative jobs can also be created while maintaining a sustainable level of development and a sound environmental policy in accordance with the United Nations’ environmental agenda.
As in other western countries, structural changes in the Swedish economy in recent decades have caused transformation in a great portion of the service sector, which has negatively affected many communities in Sweden, especially those areas whose local economies have been dependent on a few established industries. Small Swedish communities like Gotland Island and Degerfors have been more affected by these changes because of their dependency on a single dominant industry or company in the municipality. When a dominant business in a region ceases operation, a number of individuals may feel compelled to start their own businesses as the alternative to moving. This has a particular impact on women, who have less mobility in the labor market than men.
The unexplored but expanding experience industry has evolved through the structural changes brought about by rapid internationalization and globalization (Kolmodin and Pelli, 2005; and Fridlund and Furingsten, 2006). This economy, in other words, is thought to contribute to international competition between countries (Power and Gustafsson, 2005), and many governments and regional authorities have been eager to help develop this industry in recent years (see e.g., Cunningham, 2003; and UNESCO, 2006). It has the potential to offer many unemployed individuals (especially women) new jobs and create growth in vulnerable regions, and also is said to be an ideal way for those who already have jobs to start their own new businesses.
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