The award is organised by EBHA (European Business History Association).
EBHA is the leading association for historians and others working with business history, primarily in Europe but also in other parts of the world.
– I must admit that I think it is a great honour to receive such recognition. It strengthens my academic confidence and increases my motivation to continue researching at this level, Tine Petersen Malonæs says to inn.no.
EBHA organises an annual conference where the academic community gathers, and it was during the meeting in Lisbon in July that the award was presented.
Many contenders
EBHA only awards this prize for the best thesis in Business History every other year.
A criterion for participating in the competition is that your thesis must have been submitted at a European university or college within the last two years. The purpose of the award is to showcase the work of young researchers in the field and highlight one who has made a significant contribution to the discipline.
Theses from across the field are submitted. These are assessed by a dedicated committee, and selected judges rank the theses according to the criteria. The committee then selects three finalists
– I competed against two very sympathetic men in the final; a Greek and a German, both of whom had submitted solid theses!
Tine works daily as an associate professor at the Faculty of Education, but defended her doctoral thesis at BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo in August last year. The thesis is about a large Norwegian industrial company.
– I wrote a thesis on how Kongsberg Gruppen succeeded with innovation in the Norwegian defence and maritime industries during the period 2000-2015, she explains
Nervous, but fun
The three selected finalists had to compete one last time to determine the winner.
All three were given 20 minutes to present their research in front of the participants at this year's conference in Lisbon.
– I was very nervous before the presentation. It felt a bit like a new defence, but this time in front of a much larger audience and several of the researchers I myself have built upon and referred to in my work, says Tine.
After the presentation, time was allocated for questions from both the committee and the audience.
– I felt it went well during the presentation. It was clear that the thesis and its findings sparked interest, as I received almost all the questions from the audience after the presentations were over. It was fun! All the nervousness disappeared, and I really enjoyed myself, Malonæs shares
Tine Petersen Malonæs's thesis stood out from the other finalists as it was article-based, which is still uncommon in history.
The winner was announced during the gala dinner in the evening.
– It was incredibly exciting when the committee leader called out my name!
The winner receives a diploma, 500 euros and the opportunity to promote the thesis in the EBHA newsletter.
- Read Tine Petersen Malonæs's entire thesis here: Creating room for innovation - a business history study of innovation in the Kongsberg Group, 2000-2015
Contact information:
- tine.malonas@inn.no
- Phone
- +47 61 28 74 43