What are we researching?
We use cultural and sports events as an empirical context. We research how management and collaboration between different actors takes place and develops over time, and how this can be seen in relation to value creation and sustainable business and place development.
The aim of the research is to identify needs, develop new knowledge, and build competence that can strengthen the capacity of event organizations. This involves understanding how these organizations work, and the focus on the interaction between stakeholders is central.
This includes actors from the private sector (sponsors, companies), public sector (authorities, municipalities, emergency services), and civil society (local communities, volunteers, the public). Understanding the dynamics between these groups can contribute to better collaboration and event success.
Cultural and sporting events are part of the heritage industries, a growing interdisciplinary field. Nationally, there is also a focus on creative industries since “the industry has an untapped potential in Norway”.
Tourism and destination development are closely linked to the research focus on the experience industries because events often attract visitors from different places. Cultural tourism has an impact on local economies and requires cooperation between tourism operators and event organizations.
Governance plays a central role in events and hospitality industries, where it is crucial to balance strategic decisions and financial sustainability to ensure a good interaction between stakeholders such as sponsors, participants and local communities.
How do we conduct research?
We study the relevant empirical contexts through both quantitative and qualitative methods. The methods used are adapted to the group's interdisciplinary expertise, which consists of:
- Event Leadership
- Leadership and Organization
- Marketing Management
- Organizational Studies
- History
- Cognitive Psychology
- Organizational Psychology
- Performance Psychology
- Mental Life Skills
The research group has published two books on the topic:
Recent research projects
Research on the festival "Kulturytring"
This project was launched in June 2025 and is a collaboration between Drammen Municipality, the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) and the Norwegian Cultural Forum (NOKU).
The project will run from 2025 to 2028.
The project has received funding from the university-municipality collaboration between Drammen Municipality and USN.
The aim of the research project is to strengthen the broad field of culture, democracy and debate culture as important elements in a democratic society – here, the research group contributes with interdisciplinary input.
Mental Life Skills
The project explores how to train and apply mental life skills to strengthen development, well-being and resilience.
The goal is to create greater awareness of how such skills can be practised in everyday life and how they can contribute to increased mastery when facing challenges.
Through systematic work with strategies such as motivation, coping, self-regulation and interaction skills, the project investigates how pupils and teachers can develop tools that promote both personal growth and a good learning environment.
Mental skills and performance
Being physically and mentally strong is a prerequisite for success in any sport. Although many people start playing sport at a young age, few go all the way after high school.
Those who continue have had sufficient faith in their own ability to succeed, been able to mobilize motivation for hard work over time, endured a lot of training, worked through injuries, made good decisions, endured defeat, endured discomfort, mastered self-regulation, continued to learn and perhaps also had a support system and a structure that helped to optimize the development process.
We want to investigate how world-class athletes have experienced the development of mental skills and understand which individual, structural and cultural factors have been decisive.
Two articles are in preparation:
- A case of a diamond: Not all athletes need a sport psychologist or coach to be the best in the world.
- Individualized development and performance: An investigation of 10 medal winners’ road to success.
The cross-country sprint in Drammen
A city also needs festive days to create identity, belonging, build reputation, motivate and excite.
See op-ed piece written by some of the group's members (in Norwegian)
Scientific article "Managing stakeholder tension in the hosting of a major ski sprint event in a Norwegian city"
Music festivals and emergency preparedness
The research project Music Events Risk Leadership and Educational Implications investigates music styles, leadership and risk.
The research question in the project is: Is there any relationship between the risk of adverse events, music styles and leadership at music events?
Read the book chapter about the project here. (in Norwegian)
Music festivals and sustainability
Events and festivals face increasing demands for sustainability initiatives from stakeholders such as local authorities, sponsors and strategic partners, attendees and neighbors.
Many festivals have implemented measures to reduce negative environmental impact. However, sustainability is more than environmental measures and should include measures that contribute positively to economic and social sustainability (the triple bottom line) and is a phenomenon that needs further investigation.
Based on the study, a strategic model for festival organizers has been conceptualized. Here, stakeholders' needs and expectations with the triple bottom line are connected through the life phases of the event.
In a qualitative study of all Norwegian music festivals organized in urban areas, a content analysis of sustainability communication on the festivals' websites was conducted.
The findings show that many communicate green initiatives. Economic and social sustainability is communicated less frequently and indirectly. Only a small selection communicates economic sustainability, primarily in the form of collaboration with local businesses and the hiring of local artists and labor.
Social sustainability is communicated through themes such as accessibility, inclusion and volunteering, without being linked to the concept of sustainability.
Manor experiences in Southeast Norway: cultural heritage as a resource in regional development
South-Eastern Norway is a region with many manor houses/major farms/pleasure farms. The farms represent an important dimension of history and identity and are an extensive cultural heritage that can be used in many contexts.
Manor houses/squares/pleasure farms are an important part of European cultural heritage and history and had their heyday from around the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 19th century. The farms represent part of the European cultural heritage and history that Norway, and in particular Southeast Norway, is part of.
In large parts of Europe, manor houses are regarded as an important resource for value creation and regional development. This does not seem to be the case to the same extent in Norway/Southeast Norway.
Two questions are therefore being researched:
- What is the reason why manor houses in Southeast Norway are not used to the same extent for various events compared to similar farms abroad (Europe)?
- What are the opportunities for developing the use of the farms in Southeast Norway in terms of value creation and regional development in general?
Co-creation of value in art galleries
How is value co-created between stakeholders in the cultural industry, more specifically in art? Most of the time, the relationship between the artist and the art buyer is absent, as the gallery that curates and sells the art is the one that has the relationship with the art collector. What change in value creation occurs when a direct relationship is established between the artist producing the artworks and the potential buyer?
The context is a three-week art collective in an Oslo-based art gallery, where the gallery is transformed into a studio for 11 visiting artists, where open days are organized for the public. This exploratory study investigates what motivates stakeholders to participate and interact in the event, how individual stakeholders value the experience, and what value(s) are co-created through interaction between artist, visitor and gallery.
Data is collected through a combination of participant observation, interviews with participating artists, visitors (potential buyers) and gallery owners, and data collection through a questionnaire. We look at how/what value is co-created between the stakeholders. We look at value creation both in the triangular relationship between artist, visitor and gallerist, and in the dyadic relationships between artist - visitor, visitor - gallerist, and gallerist - artist.
Psychological safety in decision rooms
The project investigates how psychological safety affects dialog, decision-making and conflict management in boards and management teams.
Through qualitative case studies, we explore the conditions that promote or inhibit openness and exchange of opinions in spaces characterized by power and responsibility.
The aim is to develop practical knowledge about how decision-making spaces can become safer without becoming toothless.
Absolute language as an expression of microaggression
In this project, we study how the use of absolute language - such as “always”, ‘never’, “completely unacceptable” - can function as subtle forms of microaggression in professional contexts.
We analyze language use in boards and management teams to identify how such expressions affect interaction, power balance and silence.
The ambition is to raise awareness of linguistic mechanisms and how absolute language can be replaced by better alternatives.
The importance of character strengths when selecting board members
This project investigates how different character strengths - such as courage, integrity and curiosity - affect board function and dynamics.
Together with managers and owners, we are developing a tool to identify and assess character strengths as a complement to competence and experience.
The aim is to contribute to better board composition and more value-creating boards.
Parent volunteers
This is a case study of a musical theatre school situated near Oslo, Norway. The institution is a private, intermunicipal, production-oriented school for children and youths. A crucial element of the school’s productions is parental participation, driven by the need for assistance and a desire to foster shared experiences between parents and their children.
We explore how children and parents experience parent-volunteering and what factors contribute to sustained volunteer engagement. Thus, the study draws upon the literature on volunteering and sustainable experience design.
Data were collected through observations and in-depth interviews with the stakeholders involved, including parents and children.
The findings reveal that parent-volunteers not only bond with their own children but also create a community together. The transition from new to emotionally involved volunteers was quicker than expected, largely due to the direct impact of their contributions on their children’s development.
This research contributes valuable insights into the dynamics of volunteer engagement in the context of cultural and educational settings, emphasising the need to cultivate an environment that delivers rewarding and sustainable experiences for participants and volunteers. This is of particular importance for managers of underfinanced activities and events.
