Richard Ferguson's CV

Richard is an associate professor in Business Administration and holds a full-time research position at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Department of Economics, about half of which is directed towards undergraduate and graduate teaching. Richard moved to Sweden from the US, with a bachelor degree from U. of Vermont, in 1989. He now lives on a small farm, outside Uppsala.

His academic interest is in entrepreneurship and small business management, with a particular interest in agricultural and rural firms. Richard is also motivated by teaching, and has extensive classroom experience, including past and on-going responsibility for courses in organization theory, strategy and leadership, accounting, supply chain management, ethics, research methods, and student independent projects in business studies. Richard also is active in PhD education, both as a supervisor (main and assisting), in organizing PhD courses and managing the research school Social Science Perspectives on Sustainable Development at SLU.

Academic Employment

Researcher, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept. of Economics, Uppsala, Feb. 1999 – on-going (position includes ca. 50% research/50% teaching).

Salaried doctoral student, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept. of Economics, November 1995 – 1999.

Notable academic posts and responsibilities

The Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences Board, board member, 2019 – on-going.

The Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences Education Program Board, board member, 2015 – 2019.

PhD-student research school, Social Science Perspectives on Sustainable Development, steering committee chair, 2017 – on-going.

Director of Studies, Dept. of Economics, 2006-2007.

Selected recent publications

Ferguson, R. 2019. Reshaping space through pooled entrepreneuring – synergies and ripples in a rural micro-venture network. paper presented at Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference, Nov. 14-15, Newcastle, UK.

 Ferguson, R., Gaddefors, J., Kristensen, I. 2018. The character of rural firms and their embeddedness in local community, paper presented at Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference, Nov. 7-8, Birmingham, UK.

Ferguson, R. & Waldenström, C. 2017. Contextualized entrepreneurship – A logic of space and place in rural biogas production, paper presented at Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference, Nov. 8-9, Belfast, UK.  

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.

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

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

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.