Professor Mats Larsson receives the 2024 prize from The Centre for Business History
The prize is awared for his long academic career in economic history and business history, his extensive personal research and for both guiding and creating opportunities for new generations of economic historians. The award comes with a prize sum of 100,000 SEK.
The Business History Award is given by the Centre for Business History to an individual or group who have made lasting efforts to highlight Swedish business history and demonstrate the contribution of Swedish companies have made to the nation. Previous recipients are the writer Anders Johnson, the Dalén Museum and the Economic Museum, professor Håkan Lindgren and IKEA.
The jurys' motivation:
- Mats Larsson is awarded the prize for his long academic career in economic history and business history. Over the decades, through research monographs, textbooks, articles, and biographies of industries, companies, and business leaders, he has shown students, researchers, and the general public how businesses contribute to societal development. Special emphasis should be placed on his research, teaching, and writings in Swedish financial history. On his initiative, the Uppsala Centre for Business History was established in 2008 as an interdisciplinary research centre for business history research in Sweden. As a research leader, Mats has guided an impressive number of doctoral students. His extensive productivity demonstrates how a pedagogical academic can make historical events accessible to a broader readership.
Lennart Francke, chairman of the jury for the Business History Award, commented:
- "Mats Larsson has through his own research highlighted Swedish entrepreneurship in international comparisons for decades. As a research leader, particularly through the Uppsala Centre for Business History, he has created platforms for younger researchers. Few have done more for the field of business history research in the country than Mats Larsson."