Presentation

Stig Westerdahl is Professor emeritus in Business Administration at the Department of Urban Studies. His research is based on an interest in organizational issues and accounting. These interests have been put into research on non-profit organizations and the voluntary sector; the accounting industry and accountants everyday work as well as within regional development. Stig Westerdahl prefers to work with participatory observation and interviews. Research has focused on the role of culture in regional development, as well as major property deals, researching the Swedish state's sale of the real estate company Vasakronan 2008. Lately, research has looked into organizational and real estate perspectives on socially deprived areas. Previous studies have been undertaken on the role of Municipal Housing Companies, especially the impact of accounting in view of social responsibility. Another focus of interest has been to study markets drawing on economic sociology and organizational theory, where public transport is one arena. Collaboration between various stakeholders has been studied both in public transport and in the project “From Policy to Sick Leave”, on local actors work around patients on sick leave.

Current research also involves the project "Accounting practices in the everyday life of a refugee". This project studies the everyday life of refugees, emphasizing the social significance of accounting. We address the question: What is the role of accounting in the everyday life of the refugee?