The STInno project, which was part of the EU Framework Programme 7 aimed to minimise thedistance between south–north regions in Europe with a specific focus on wastewater treatmentclusters. Three triple helix collaborations from three different countries participated, using theirknowledge to work on a case study of olive mill wastewaters. The objective of this paper was tostudy how the triple helix functioned in practice. Results showed that a management model of thetriple helix is somewhat different from the analytical model. A shift between these two viewsoccurred during the project and the participants had to relate to this, as it had an effect onthe outcomes. Concepts of social capital and trust are used to further elaborate on this byemphasising the importance of the people side of the triple helix and how the original, analyticalmodel can be limiting when used in management practice.

Allying and expanding the diverse fields of entrepreneurship and sustainable development research is a modern day imperative. The Handbook of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development Research cuts through the different approaches and perspectives of the two fields to point the way ahead for research on sustainable entrepreneurship, outlining the motivation, intentions and impact of ecopreneurs in a local, national and global context.

This Handbook paints an illuminating picture of the historic and current understanding of the bond between entrepreneurship and sustainable development. The authors explore the basic contradictions between the two fields and outline the transformative role entrepreneurship can play in achieving sustainable development. 45 expert researchers and their research communities from 16 countries across Europe, Africa, Australia and North America provide original and informative contributions on a variety of issues, from women’s empowerment to climate change and organic farmers to ecotourism.

With current and authorative contributions spanning the globe, this Handbook will inspire researchers, teachers and policy-makers to compose their own understanding and contribution on the fast expanding field of entrepreneurship and sustainable development.

The paper is based upon experiences from a Swedish Business School of educating in the area of Entrepreneurship. Starting from traditional class room teaching, a specific pedagogical concept “entrepreneurial learning” emerged. The paper discusses how interaction with partner organizations and local communities can be used on bachelor and master level.

Projektet ’Entreprenöriella landsbygdsenklaver’ är det första projekt som tilldelats medel av Familjen Kamprads stiftelse inom området entreprenörskap –särskilt sådan som främjar en levande landsbygd. Projektet bygger på idén att varje bygd har sina specifika förutsättningar och att människorna som bor där också är speciella, varför varje bygd har unika förutsättningar för entreprenörskap. Tidigt i planeringen av projektet skapades begreppet ”landsbygdsenklav” och med detta begrepp som ledstjärna identifierades socken som ett möjligt sätt att uppfatta och beskriva en entreprenöriell bygd präglad av stark samhörighet och handlingskraft. I planeringen av projektet diskuterades vilka bygder (socknar) som skulleingå i studien, vilket ledde till att socknarna Långasjö i Emmaboda kommun samt Älmeboda/Rävemåla och Urshult i Tingsryds kommun valdes ut. Denna rapport redovisar delprojekten i Långasjö.

This paper departs from an ongoing interactive research project on entrepreneurial enclaves in southern Sweden aimed at promoting regional development through interaction between local stakeholders, academic researchers and undergraduate university students in three different municipalities. The logic of the project is that university students and academic researchers launch projects in the three municipalities. The projects are planned and performed with support from the local community. By initiating projects in the three municipalities, the research idea is that processes will start that can lead to new initiatives. Through initiating action and interaction the aim of the project is, in an experimental way, to see how entrepreneurship is mobilized. The question is how activities develop in the municipalities as a result of the research project, and how conflicts and resistance partake in this process.

After having worked with the research project for half a year two issues surprised us; the conformity of the ideas in our three enclaves and the close relatedness, when it comes to practical solutions, between practice and academia. The research project seemed to have resulted in standardized, expected and widespread, common solutions to the kinds of problems and opportunities that are ascribed to the rural areas. As the solutions produced within the project are collaboratively discussed and decided upon by academic staff and local stakeholders, the fault of this lack of imagination seem to be a problem for all of us. Preconceptions about what is important in rural entrepreneurship guide us as researchers when we try to understand the field. Preconceptions were also a point of departure in the enclaves we studied, resulting in a few common solutions for how to cope with downturn and produce regional development. In this paper we are using the concept of functional stupidity (Alvesson & Spicer, 2012) to reflect upon the benefits as well as the drawbacks of the tendency, in the academy as well as in society at large, to produce a stereotypical menu of problems and suggested solutions when it comes to rural development. We also discuss the possibility to break this norm by promoting a kind of reflexivity that has the potential to produce surprising and norm-breaking ideas in the area of rural development.