Richard Ferguson

Richard is an associate professor in Business Studies and holds a full-time research position at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Department of Economics. Research interests focus on rural entrepreneurship and small business manmagement, and current teaching includes organisation theory, entrepreneurship and research methodology.  
In 2022, Richard was appointed Head of Department, duties that are shared with continued teaching and research activities. Richard moved to Sweden from the US, with a bachelor’s degree from U. of Vermont, in 1989, and now lives on a small farm, outside Uppsala. His academic interest is in entrepreneurship and small business management, with a particular interest in the development of agricultural and rural firms. Most recent research has focused on a contextualised view of rural entrepreneurship. Much or Richard’s academic career has been dominated by teaching, including past and on-going responsibility for courses in organisation theory, strategy and leadership, accounting, supply chain management, ethics, research methods, and student theses in business studies. Richard has also been active in PhD education, including supervision, teaching, and examination.

Richard has broad experience in teaching in business studies, ranging from introductory managerial and financial accouting through PhD courses in organization theory. While most course responsibility has focused on organization theory, including entrepreneurship, at the bachelor, master and PhD levels, he has also taught courses in research methods, supply chain management, busienss ethics, as well as extensive supervision and examination of student theses at all levels.

Richard’s current research is focused on rural entrepreneurship and the development of small firms in rural areas. This includes the development of farm firms and other businesses, such as small scale food processors and rural turist ventures, with a focus on how rural ventures interact and contributr to their local community. Past research has also included the study of innovation processes, including academic entrepreneurship, the development of new technology-based firms, and the selection of new technologies in firm development.

Melin, E., Gaddefors, J. and Ferguson, R., 2022. The moral of the story: ‘populism’ and ‘activism’ in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 34(9-10): 765-787. 

Adamseged, M.E., Ferguson, R., Grundmann, P. and Langendahl, P.A., 2022. Innovative Entrepreneurial Initiatives for Sustainable Food Production and Institutional Change. Available at SSRN 4115179. 

Waldenström, C., Ferguson, R., Sundberg, C., Tidåker, P., Westholm, E., & Åkerberg, A. 2016. Bioenergy from agricultural resources in a rural development context. Society & Natural Resources.

Korsgaard, S., Ferguson, R., & Gaddefors, J. 2015. The best of both worlds: How rural entrepreneurs use placial embeddedness and strategic networks to create opportunities. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development.

Ferguson, R. & Hansson, H. 2014. Measuring Embeddedness and its Effect on New Venture Creation – A Study of Farm Diversification. Managerial and Decision Economics.

Hansson, H., Ferguson, R., Olofsson, C. and Rantamäki-Lahtinen, L., 2013. Farmers' motives for diversifying their farm business–The influence of family. Journal of Rural Studies, 32: 240-250. 

Ferguson, R., & Hansson, H. 2013. Expand or exit? Strategic decisions in milk production. Livestock Science, 155(2-3): 415-423.

Hansson, H., Ferguson, R. and Olofsson, C., 2012. Psychological constructs underlying farmers’ decisions to diversify or specialise their businesses–an application of theory of planned behaviour. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 63(2): 465-482. 

Rabinowicz, E., Ferguson, R., Kaspersson, E., & Lind, L. 2012. På spaning efter ett innovationssystem för landsbygdsföretag, AgriFood Economics Centre rapport.

Hansson, H. and Ferguson, R., 2011. Factors influencing the strategic decision to further develop dairy production—A study of farmers in central Sweden. Livestock Science, 135(2-3):.110-123. 

Ferguson, R., & Olofsson, C. 2011. The Development of New Ventures in Farm Businesses. In G. A. Alsos, S. Carter, E. Ljunggren, & F. Welter (Eds.), The Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in Agriculture and Rural Development. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Hansson, H. and Ferguson, R. (2010). Factors influencing the strategic decision to further develop dairy production — A study of farmers in central Sweden. Livestock Science.

Hansson, H., Ferguson, R. and Olofsson, C. (2010). Understanding the diversification and specialization of farm businesses. Agricultural and Food Science 19.

Olofsson, C., Svensson, B. and Ferguson, R. (2008). Academic entrepreneurship - Roles and relations in the venture creation process. In Carayannis, E., Assimakopoulos, D. G. and Kondo, M. (Eds), InnovationNetworks and Knowledge Clusters - Findings and insights from the US, EU and Japan. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 54-76.

Ferguson, R. (2004). Why firms on science parks should not be expected to show better performance - the story of twelve biotechnology firms.International Journal of Technology Management 28, 470-482.

Ferguson, R. and Olofsson, C. (2004). Science parks and the development of NTBFs: Location, survival and growth. Journal of Technology Transfer 29, 5-17.