Successful companies in the border region (FRAMFOR) : Current and future challenges

The objective of the present anthology is to shed light on some of the challenges a border region is facing and what they mean for companies located in such a region as well as the region’s sustainable development. The anthology presents selective results of the Interreg project Framgångsrika företag i gränsregionen (FRAMFOR), which run in the period 2016-08-01 - 2019-07-31 and which was led by University West (Sweden) and Østfold University College (Norway). FRAMFOR aimed to increase the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Interreg program area “Gränslöst samarbete”. The project aim was to describe the industrial structure as well as preconditions for successful businesses in the cross-border region. The anthology covers four contributions in total, which were produced by researchers that were involved in the FRAMFOR project. The first contribution is about the companies’ challenges regarding competence supply as well as generational change and change of ownership. Further, it focuses on how the municipalities in Dalsland and other actors support the companies to meet these challenges. The second contribution is about similarities and differences in the border region, in natural geographical conditions as well as in population structure and business life. Further, it shows that it is time to shift focus from the geography of inaccessibility to the geography of opportunities as well as to see the border region as a larger entity. The third contribution is about the border municipalities’ business strategies and focuses on both what the business strategies include about border regions and what the strategic cooperation looks like. The fourth contribution is about how cross-border trade in the border region has developed over time. In addition, it focuses on some special challenges for industrial policy on both sides of the border. To make the studies more relevant for practitioners, each contribution ends with a set of practical recommendations that will hopefully help to better address current and future challenges found in a border region. Now we hope you will enjoy reading the contributions