Philipp Jonas Kreutzer

I am a PhD student in Economic History at Lund University. I research the transition to a bioeconomy in the Swedish forest sector.

The project is supervised by Josef Taalbi and Astrid Kander and is embedded in the research project SWINNO 3.0: Significant new products and processes in Sweden 1970 to present, financed by VINNOVA (Sweden’s Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems).

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Education

Ph.D. in Economic History
Lund University, Sweden
August 2021 - now

M.Sc. in Innovation and Global Sustainable Development
Lund University, Sweden
August 2019 - June 2021

B.Sc. in Business Psychology
University of Applied Sciences Europe Iserlohn, Germany
2015 - 2019

Work experience

Climate Finance Unit Intern
UNEP
February 2024 - April 2024

Innovation Management Working Student
Innoloft
April 2019 - February 2020

Business Development Intern
Bridgefy
March 2018 - April 2018

HR Development, Training and Internal Communication Intern
Lufthansa
February 2017 - August 2017

Research

My research interest are sustainability transitions. In my PhD project, I investigate the directionality of transitioning to bioeconomies.

The Swedish forestry sector makes for a great case study, as it is at the national and international forefront of transitions to a bioeconomy. I use SWINNO data to understand which vision of a bioeconomy (technological, resource, or ecology) the forest sector worked towards from 1970 onward.

Together with an evaluation of the effects of these significant innovations, the first part of my thesis therefore analyzes which shade of green the bioeconomy transition takes on.

In the second part of my thesis, I dig deeper into the innovation system of the forest sector. By analyzing the networks of innovators within the sector, I research how exactly the transition to a bioeconomy spreads and if technological lock-ins to any single vision exist.

Want to know more about my research plans? Have a look at my research plan.

Teaching

I teach at a master’s and bachelor’s level on sustainability and innovation topics at the Department of Economic History, Lund University.

To help students and practitioners gain a deeper understanding of innovation systems, I have designed a teaching game to simulate an innovation system. Participants allocate resources, negotiate research goals and discover innovations, while balancing collective and individual goals. It is available for free and open source: Innovation Systems for Sustainability.

Outreach

For Researchers

Together with other PhD students at Lund University, I organized a workshop to bridge social sciences with social activists. We had a great day of discussions and insightful presentations. You can read about the programm here.

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For Organizations

Building and improving organizations is tough, especially if resources are limited. For almost ten years, I have worked in and for organizations on topics ranging from improving daily operations to long term strategy.

If you are a non-profit, student, social or other type of organization that tries to contribute to a better society, please feel free to get in touch!

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For Schools

I have talked to various classes of high school students about economic history, innovation and sustainability.

If you are a teacher or student and would like to have a chat, you are very welcome to reach out!

Talks