The Hamrin Foundation grant will fund research time in the new position, which combines teaching and research. This recruitment opportunity enables the Department of Business Administration to attract a promising international early-career researcher while strengthening the long-term research environment in marketing.
'The support from the Hamrin Foundation enables us to invest in the long-term development of research expertise. This kind of initiative is crucial for building strong academic environments and creating the conditions for research with both international impact and societal relevance,' says Professor Benjamin Hartmann, at the Department of Business Administration.
Introducing the concept of 'imagination work'
This new area of research will focus on how companies, brands and other market players construct narratives about the past and the future. The project introduces the concept of 'imagination work' to examine how markets create meaning by evoking memories, nostalgia, hopes for the future, and ideas about how we should live.
In an era characterised by technological progress, climate challenges and geopolitical uncertainty, companies are playing an increasingly prominent role in public discourse. Through advertising, brand communication, news media and social media, market actors influence people's perceptions of the future.
Companies create narratives
'The project aims to understand how markets influence our collective ideas about the past and the future. They do more than just sell products and services; they also help to create narratives about the future, sustainability, innovation, and societal development. The aim is to increase understanding of how cultural and societal ideas are created, disseminated, and normalised through market communication,' says Benjamin Hartmann.
This initiative will strengthen the School’s research at the intersection of consumption, markets and society, while also contributing to the development of knowledge relevant to researchers, policymakers, companies and the general public.
Support from the Hamrin Foundation therefore enables an important research project and a long-term investment in future research and academic expertise at the University of Gothenburg.