Initiating Relationships in Destination Marketing A Case Study of the Wallander Film Production

Bachelor’s Thesis 15 hp Department of Business Studies Uppsala University Spring Semester of 2017

Date of Submission: 2017-01-13

Agnes Karlsson

Supervisor: Virpi Havila

! Abstract

This thesis focuses on the process of initiating relationships in destination marketing and includes an in-depth case study of the Wallander film series. Destination marketing is unique due to its dependency on relationship creation – typically, dynamic contacts have to be established between the film company, its financial sponsors and the stakeholders in the designated destination. In order to understand how these relationships are created and their dynamics, this thesis explores the factors that impact the process of initiating relationships, called converters and inhibitors. The results reveal that views differ between the film production company and the regional authorities tied to the destination as to which factors that act as converters and inhibitors. While both parties agree that striving for mutual understanding & social chemistry are important converters, the production company further adds a receptive attitude & motivated approach and creatively driven visionaries as vital converters. The regional authorities on the other hand highlight mutual respect, passion/courage-driven visionaries and structure, transparency & communication as key converters. As for the inhibitors, the production company points to lack of motivation, lack of resources and lack of open-mindedness, while the regional authorities highlight lack of mutual understanding & respect, bureaucratic layers and industry-related cultural differences.

Keywords: Destination Marketing, Initiation Process of Relationships, Business Relationships, Networks, Wallander, Film

Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude towards my supervisor Virpi Havila for her advice and support along the journey of writing this thesis. Further, I want to thank the following people for their time and expertise shared during the interviews made for this thesis: Ole Sondberg, Daniel Gylling, Ralf Ivarsson, Carl-Johan Korsås, Kent Mårtensson, Thomas Lantz & Petra Rundqvist.

Contents

1. Background ...... 3 1.1 Main Purpose ...... 4 1.2 Research Gap ...... 5 1.3 Research Question ...... 5 1.4 Structure of Analysis ...... 5 2. Theoretical Framework ...... 6 2.1 Overview of Research Field ...... 6 2.2 Initiating Business Relationships ...... 7 2.3 Networks ...... 9 2.3.1 Connected Relations & Business Networks ...... 9 2.4 Summary of Analysis Model ...... 10 3. Method ...... 11 3.1 Selection of Research Area ...... 11 3.2 Selection of Method: A Qualitative Case Study ...... 11 3.3 Choice of Film Production ...... 12 3.4 Selection of Informants ...... 13 3.5 Data Analysis ...... 16 3.6 Reliability & Validity of the Study ...... 16 4. Empiri: Results...... 17 4.1 The Initiation Process of the Relationships ...... 17 4.1.1 Yellow Bird approach Film i Skåne and Ystad Municipality ...... 17 4.1.2 Chasing Financial Funds Engages Actors Outside of Ystad Municipality ...... 19 4.1.3 Specifying the Terms of the Relationships ...... 20 4.1.4 The Project Up and Running – What Happens Next? ...... 21 4.2 Converters & Inhibitors in the Process of Initiating the Relationships ...... 22 4.2.1 The Process Facilitated due to Receptivity, Enthusiasm & Flat Hierarchies ...... 22 4.2.2 Structure, Trust & Mutual Respect: Impact on the Process ...... 24 4.2.3 Cultural Differences & Bureaucratic Layers Partly Complicate the Relationships 26 5. Analysis...... 27 5.1 Initiating the Relationships - Mapping out Converters & Inhibitors ...... 28 5.2 The Virtual Corporation & Network Functions ...... 29 Concluding Remarks ...... 31 References ...... 33 Appendix ...... 35

2 1. Background An increase in international travel and a growing entertainment industry have fuelled film tourism to become a growing phenomenon worldwide. Just as product placements will influence a consumer’s attitude towards a brand, so will films have an impact on how travellers view destinations, if the location plays a part in a popular film. Some argue that exposing a destination in a film may be the ultimate tourism product placement (Hudson & Ritchie, 2016, p. 387-388). Already in 2005, Hudson and Ritchie (2005) regarded film tourism as an exploding trend because of the concept’s evident benefits. Their definition of film tourism reads as; “(…) tourist visits to a destination or attraction as a result of the destination being featured on television, video, DVD or the cinema screen” (Hudson & Ritchie, 2005, p. 256). However, simply showing a location in a movie does not automatically mean that there is a destination marketing purpose involved. Hudson and Ritchie (ibid) claim that there are so called film-specific factors that will determine whether a film will result in destination marketing. For instance, the storyline needs to be clearly connected to the site, where the audience is emotionally engaged in the story, which they link to the destination. Further, the destination needs to be captured authentically in the film in order to generate marketing effects (Hudson & Ritchie, 2016, p. 257). A destination may, according to Soteriades (2012), be defined as; “(…) a ‘series of experiences’ achieved through the combination of a diverse range of products and services” (p. 108). Based on this definition, destinations may be regarded as providers of experiences (Hudson & Ritchie, 2005, p. 258). A case in which destination marketing has proved efficient is the production behind the Wallander film series. The case may be regarded as an optimal case to explore if aiming to gain a deeper understanding about the relational dynamics created when producing destination marketing through film. The Wallander series were produced in the municipality of Ystad and started shooting in the year of 2003. When an old military anti-aircraft hall was transformed into Ystad Studios, the small municipality in southern Sweden went from a fishing village to a film city (Adlander et al., 2016, p. 5). According to Ystad’s project developer Adlander, Ystad Studios represents the municipality’s base for creative infrastructure and might even be regarded as the engine of a film hub. Following the production of Wallander, more than 90 productions have been shot in the Ystad region between the years of 2004-2016 (Adlander et al., 2016, p. 6) – a project (the Wallander film series) generating revenues of around 50 million SEK for Ystad municipality (13 million SEK invested) (Adlander et al., 2016, p. 9). The Wallander-series are products of Swedish author Henning Mankell’s famous books. In 1991, the first of Mankell’s books was

3 released. Since then, a total of 30 million copies translated into 40 languages have been sold in 100 countries (Adlander et al., 2016, p. 8). Beside film-specific factors, destination marketing requires excellence in relationship initiation. A film company has to interact successfully with local authorities in order for the film to become a reality. Further, the financial sponsors that back up the project need to be kept in the picture. Film making is done in projects, pulling together team members for a specific period. These team members have to interact with local interests that represent the destination. This includes publicly appointed staff, meaning that elections suddenly can change who is representing the destination. This often leads to a rather fluid environment, where exceptional demands are put on relationship management. In order to understand as much as possible in terms of how relationship dynamics are created in destination marketing, the thesis has been limited to primarily explore the initiating phase of creating relationships. Given that the studied film production represents a project-based case, an understanding of the initiating phase of relationships may help in order to distinguish potential patterns in the relationships created. Limited research has been done when it comes to exploring which potential factors that impact the process of initiating relationships. In order to truly understand the initiating phase of a relationship, one may turn to drivers and drawbacks, later referred to as converters and inhibitors, as they represent the factors that ultimately impact the process of initiating relationships. Edvardson et al. (2008) state that three main conclusions can be drawn from previous studies dedicated to relationship-initiation; firstly, the initiation process in itself has not traditionally received too much attention, but has rather been depicted as the initiating step of the life cycle of a relationship. Secondly, little focus is directed to explaining why relationships moves from one phase to another, but rather on illustrating detailed descriptions of the separate phases in the relationship process. Thirdly, the time dimension of relationships as well as reasons behind change receive little focus in studies made so far on the subject (p. 341). Thus, they encourage further studies upon the subject of initiating relationships in a business context.

1.1 Main Purpose The main purpose of this thesis is therefore to investigate how the process of initiating relationships looks when creating destination marketing through film. The parties studied are the parties involved in the initiating phase of the relationships established when creating the Wallander film series. More specifically, the studied parties are the film production company

4 Yellow Bird as well as parties tied to the destination for the production, Ystad municipality and Film i Skåne, later referred to as regional authorities. The thesis will follow a case study of the production of the Wallander film series back in 2003. The thesis aims to capture the main converters and inhibitors in the process of initiating relationships when creating destination marketing, as these factors have not received much attention in previous research. By mapping out the factors affecting the initiating phase of relationships, this study may provide insights into the process of creating destination marketing through film. Given that this kind of marketing is expected to grow strongly, it is relevant to understand the underlying mechanisms that may impact the relationships created during the time of a specific project, as the success of the projects are believed to highly depend on the smoothness of initiating new relationships.

1.2 Research Gap This thesis includes points of contribution to theoretical concepts regarding the initiation process of relationships within a business context. I set out to contribute to Edvardsson et al.’s (2008) model of the relationship initiation process for business-to-business professional services by illustrating how the model may apply to a specific situation in a specific context. Currently, the model depicts a process between two parties, taking place in an abstract situation with an undefined context. By developing the concepts of converters and inhibitors in a defined, specific context, one may not only gain a deeper understanding of the factors’ meaning, but one may also increase one’s awareness of the relationships created when creating destination marketing. Most research made so far on business relationships carry out a wider, more extended research focus, whereas this study is limited to simply focus on the initiating phase of the relationship, initiated within a certain context at a certain time – the Wallander series, which started their productions in the year of 2003.

1.3 Research Question Serving this purpose, the following research question has been proposed: What converters and inhibitors may characterize the process of initiating relationships when producing destination marketing through film?

1.4 Structure of Analysis The results from the case study are based on seven in-depth interviews with key individuals of the case of the Wallander film productions. The informants represent the people who were

5 directly involved in the initiating phase of the relationships created in the production – both on the regional side and the film production company side. However, two key figures were impossible to get hold of since they are no longer alive – Henning Mankell and his agent Lars Björkman. It would have been most interesting to get their perspectives, in addition to those already given from the film production company’s side. In order to analyse the relational dynamics of the case, four theoretical concepts have been used. Firstly, Dwyer et al.’s (1987) model of The Relationship Development Process is used in order to get a basic understanding of how a relationship may be initiated. Secondly, Edvarson et al.’s (2008) model of The Process of Initiating Relationships, similar to the model presented by Dwyer et al. (1987), is used in order to understand what factors that might contribute in driving a relationship forwards, backwards, versus get the process stuck. These factors are referred to as converters and inhibitors, factors that will be frequently be referred to in this thesis. Thirdly, Andersson et al.’s (1994) thoughts on Connected Relations & Business Networks have been used in order to gain a broader perspective on a network perspective relevant to this case. Finally, Candance Jones’ (1996) report on “Careers in Project Networks: The Case of the Film Industry” is used in order to gain insight into project networks, which clearly characterize the relationships established when creating destination marketing.

2. Theoretical Framework In the following section, an overview of the theoretical framework is presented in section 2.1, two theoretical models on the process of initiating relationships are then described in section 2.2 and 2.2.1. In section 2.3, theoretical concepts on networks are presented, followed by more detailed descriptions of each of them in 2.3.1 and 2.3.2. Finally, the analysis model is presented in 2.4.

2.1 Overview of Research Field The research framework of this thesis is founded on two blocks of theoretical principles: the first block concerns the initiating process of relationships; the second block includes concepts regarding networks including a network perspective specific to the filmmaking industry. The theoretical concept that has acted as the main source of research and starting point for this thesis is represented by Edvardson et al.’s (2008) model of The Process of Initiating Relationships.

6 2.2 Initiating Business Relationships In this section, two main theoretical concepts have been used due to their relevance for this thesis as well as their extensive dominance and frequent referrals within the literature of the initiation process of relationships. The first reference, Dwyer et al. (1987), present a relationship development process - a theory that has been cited more than 1496 times from Business Source Premier’s (2017) data base. The second reference is Edvardsson et al. (2008) and their theory showing the process of initiating relationships – a theory that has stemmed from the theoretical principles presented by Dwyer et al. (1987).

2.2.1 Two Similar Views on the Process of Initiating Relationships According to Dwyer, Schurr and Oh (1987), most research made historically has treated buyer- seller exchanges as discrete events rather than as ongoing relationships, a perspective they claim is a vital omission in the development of marketing knowledge. Ongoing business relationships are expressed in many different ways (Dwyer et al., 1987, p. 11). Transactions must be regarded in light of their history and anticipated future, where conditions for future cooperation may be supported by assumptions, trust and planning (Dwyer et al., 1987, p. 12). Dwyer et al.’s (1987) theory proposes that relationships evolve through five stages or phases, where each phase is regarded as a substantial transition in how parties view each other. The five phases are; (1) awareness, (2) exploration, (3) expansion, (4) commitment and (5) dissolution (Dwyer et al., 1987, p. 15). The phase relevant to this thesis is merely the first phase – the initiating phase of the relationship, “Awareness,” which will be presented below.

Phase 1. Awareness: represents the first, initiating state of a relationship – a state that begins when party A recognizes that party B is a feasible exchange partner. Awareness is regarded as a unilateral, pre-exchange process (p. 20). Here, situational proximity is regarded as a facilitating factor – this could be in terms of localization but also frequent versus rare exposure in media. In phase 1, interaction has not transpired. However, parties may be positioning and posturing themselves to enhance their respective exclusiveness to potential partners (p. 15). Three factors appear especially important in the development process of relationships, mainly trust, commitment and disengagement (p. 22).

A similar perspective on the process of initiating relationships is presented by Edvardsson, Holmlund and Sandvik (2008), whose research indicates that relationships form in

7 many ways (p. 342). They explain how relationship initiation starts when the parties in a potential relationship recognize each other and ends when the business agreement has been reached. By the time the business agreement has been reached, the initiation process is ended and replaced by the start of a business relationship (p. 340). Edvardsson et al. (2008) proposed a model in 2008 illustrating the relationship initiation process for business-to-business professional services (see Fig. 1) (Edvardsson et al., 2008, p. 342).

Fig. 1. A model of relationship initiation process for business-to-business professional services

The model proposes that there are three different types of status in the initiation process of a relationship. The first type of status is referred to the unrecognized status, a situation in which the parties don’t know each other; the buyer doesn’t recognize the seller. This unrecognized type of status transforms into a recognized status as a one – or two-sided awareness has been established between the two parties, recognizing potential opportunities that the relationship can bring. Finally, the recognized status turns into a considered status when the parties co- develop and discuss the motives and extent of the task’s obligations (p. 343). The process’ dynamics is believed to develop and move between the three states, possibly forward and backwards, driven by Converters and Inhibitors (C/I). The arrows surrounding “C/I” show how the process may be driven in both ways, a movement called the converter effect (p. 342). These converters may speed up or slow down the process of initiating a relationship (p. 345). There is however also factors that may force the development process to get stuck from developing for an undetermined length of time, called inhibitors (p. 346). The process is not to be regarded as a life cycle since it may start wherever in the process and stick there in an unlimited amount of time – rather, the movements in the process will be determined by how well the communication and co-operation between the parties plays out (p. 347). In order to apply the initiation process of developing relationships to the project of the Wallander film production, it is essential to first understand the circumstances in which these relationships may be initiated. A film production represents a project in which many actors cooperate, usually involved in a network structure (Jones, 1996). Thus, it is relevant to understand the fundamental traces of

8 thoughts on what actually constitutes a network, and how networks usually form within the film industry in order to put the create context around the initiating process of relationships and understand their development.

2.3 Networks Below please find a brief description of relationships from the perspective of business networks.

2.3.1 Connected Relations & Business Networks When aiming to understand business relationships, Håkansson and Johanson (1994) claim that one must first direct attention towards the embedded contexts within which these relationships are initiated. Put more specifically, the authors are especially interested in highlighting the connections between a firm’s dyadic relations (a relationship between only two parties). One of the trends within this area of research is referred to as the “virtual corporation.” The term is used to explain a temporary network of parties organized around a certain business opportunity, which only lasts until the end of this opportunity. In order to explain trends such as these conceptually, Anderson et al. (1994) claim that one must change focus from dyadic business relationships to instead highlight business networks. Networks may in term be regarded as “(…) sets of connected relationships between firms” (Anderson et al., 1994, p. 1). The authors emphasize that one should not deny the interface between the firm and its environment (p. 2). To continue, Anderson et al. (1994) define business networks with the following words; “(…) a set of two or more connected business relationships, in which each exchange relation is between business firms that are conceptualized as collective actors,” (Anderson et al., 1994, p. 2). Further, connections within relationships may occur both directly and indirectly within a larger business network (Anderson et al., 1994, p. 2). The concept is further expressed in a Figure 1 in Appendix. If regarding a firm as an actor employing resources and performing activities, the purpose of business relationships may be explained with respect to three categories of components, namely; actors, activities and resources. Within this view, there are further primary and secondary (also called network) functions. By primary functions, Anderson et al. (1994) refer to the potential positive or negative impacts an interaction may have on the actors involved in the interaction of the focal dyadic relationship. Secondary functions on the other hand, refer to the indirect positive or negative impacts of a relationship. In a given relationship, the secondary functions may in fact play an equally important role as the primary functions in influencing the relationship (p. 2-3). Anderson et al. (1994) summarize their points made above

9 by stating; “Relationships are dyads, but the existence of the secondary functions means that they are also parts of networks” (p. 3). Another concept discussed by Anderson et al. (1994) is the notion of network horizons, which help portray how extended an actor’s view of the network is. This notion communicates that network boundaries are subjective and formed by previous experiences and perspectives (Andersson et al., 1994, p. 4).

2.3.2 The Film Industry – A Network Organization Candance Jones writes in her report “Careers in Project Networks: The Case of the Film Industry” (1996) how the film industry has long been organized around projects rather than circulated around traditional hierarchies and in-house human resource departments. Because of this, the film industry is usually referred to as a network organization. The film industry is created and re-created all the time – where people meet for specific projects, then diverge once the project is finished, when new connections are created for upcoming projects (Jones, 1996, p. 58). The industry can be seen as decentralized, coloured by social and boundary less careers, which is vital in order for the network organization to work smoothly. Jones (1996) clarifies that work is usually organized around a specific project rather than around a specific company (Jones, 1996, p. 59). Continuously, these project networks are regarded as having two main characteristics; firstly, the task is usually non-routinized and complex. This requires a high level of mutual responsibility, or “team interdependence” as well as horizontal information flows in order to help. Secondly, a project network often works in a dynamic, risky environment characterized by unpredictability. Here, the industry must focus on triggering product innovation and adaptation through using independent producers and networks where resources may be reallocated smoothly within a network (Jones, 1996, p. 60).

2.4 Summary of Analysis Model The analysis model for this thesis aims to capture how business relationships are initiated in film productions producing destination marketing. Three levels of relationships may be initiated in this context, all of which will be analysed in this thesis, namely: business relationships, business networks and social networks. All of the relationships are studied in a project-based environment. The aim is to identify which forces that act as converters versus inhibitors in the process of initiating relationships in a project of destination marketing.

10 3. Method In this chapter, the selection of the research area is introduced in section 3.1, the selected method is presented in section 3.2 and a motivation for the chosen film production in 3.3. The selection of informants is presented in 3.4, data analysis is presented in 3.5. The section ends with a discussion on validity and reliability in section 3.6.

3.1 Selection of Research Area In order to start exploring this thesis, articles focused on business relationship research have been used. Thoughts on the process of initiating relationships are represented in models presented by Dwyer et al. (1987) and Edvardson et al. (2008). The motivation behind these two references is that the articles represent strong, highly cited perspectives of research within this field. In addition, concepts on networks are presented by Anderson et al. (1994) as well as by Jones (1996). Although both of these articles were published two decades ago, they are still considered relevant to this thesis due to their frequent referrals and significant conclusions. While one perspective offers a broader concept on networks (Anderson et al., 1994), the other (Jones, 1996) provides a slightly more context-based perspective on networks that allows for a niche perspective to this thesis.

3.2 Selection of Method: A Qualitative Case Study The research question concerns how relationships are initiated between the film industry and regional authorities when creating destination marketing through film. More specifically, the thesis explores a case study where Ystad municipality and the Wallander film series are at focus. According to Saunders et al.’s definition (2016), a case study is a; “Research strategy that involves the empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, using multiple sources of evidence (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 711). The case study follows an exploratory approach, based on an inductive approach portraying a single case. Saunders et al. (2016) clarify that a case study is an in-depth inquiry into a phenomenon within its real-life setting. According to Saunders et al. (2016), a case study aims to understand the dynamics of a topic within its setting or context (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 184) – in this case to understand which converters and inhibitors that may characterize the process of initiating relationships when creating destination marketing. Understanding context is key in order to perform a case study. Though case study as a method has been criticized for the risk of misunderstandings regarding the possibility to generalise contributions to knowledge, though

11 several studies have responded to this criticism by showing otherwise (p. 185). An action taken in order to minimize this risk is represented by clear communication of the particulars of the context in which this thesis is explored (the Wallander film production), consequently being clear about the limitations for generalisations. Further, this case study follows a qualitative approach which, according to Saunders et al. (2016), may be defined with the following words: “Qualitative research studies participants’ meanings and the relationships between them, using a variety of data collection techniques and analytical procedures, to develop a conceptual framework and theoretical contribution” (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 168).

3.3 Choice of Film Production There are several reasons for the motivation behind the choice of studying the Wallander film production in particular. First, the fact that Ystad municipality represents a rather small town is believed to facilitate the process of studying the case. Not only are the consequences of the film productions evident in a small town like Ystad, but the relationships and people involved are believed to be fewer as well. When studying the production of the Wallander films from the municipality’s perspective, one need to know about two people initially – the two City Council candidates Thomas Lantz and Kent Mårtensson. Lantz is the representative for the Moderates (M) while Mårtenson is the representative from the Social Democratic party (S) – meaning that, along the years, the two of them have taken turns of guarding the post and have thus both been involved in the Wallander productions (Rundqvist, 2016). However, being a small town has enabled for a tradition where political nests within the municipality tend to cooperate across borders, which was the case for Mårtensson and Lantz (Lantz, 2016). A third person to know of when exploring this case is Ystad municipality’s Film Strategist Petra Rundqvist. Rundqvist works full time on aiming to attract new filmmakers to Ystad municipality (Rundqvist, 2016). Before Rundqvist was recruited, the regional director usually dealt with business relationships associated with filmmaking projects in the region. The regional director at the time when the first Wallander series were shot was Carl-Johan Korsås (Lantz, 2016). The fact that Ystad is a small town has facilitated the process of reaching these key people. Secondly, the CEO of the regional film fund for the production of Wallander has kept his position since the start of the Wallander productions. Getting access to the people who were actually directly involved in the start of the production back in 2003 was considered to be a key term in order to generate a relevant, correct perception of the relationships initiated at that time. The regional film fund relevant to this case is Film i Skåne. The fund has been operating

12 since 1995, though became the fund it is today in 2001. From that year, the fund started to support feature films with the aim to operate as co-producers for films and tv-series. Since the fund started, Ralf Ivarsson has been the CEO of Film i Skåne (Ivarsson, 2016). Thirdly, the fact that Yellow Bird as a production company was initially started based on the purpose of producing the first Wallander series was considered advantageous, as that fact was believed to indicate a high degree of commitment from the production company’s side, and add weight to the specific project of the Wallander production. The company was established in 2003 and the first series were shot in 2004. The company was founded by Danish producer Ole Sondberg, Swedish author Henning Mankell, and Mankell’s agent Lars Björkman. Of these three, only Ole Sondberg is still alive (Gylling, 2016). Sondberg was involved in all productions except for the last three (Sondberg, 2016). At the time of the start- up, Sondberg already had a company in Copenhagen called Earlybird Films, while Mankell in turn had his own company called Yellow Horse. So when the two partners decided to start their own production company, they chose to compromise and call their new firm Yellow Bird (Gylling, 2016). Along the years, Yellow Bird has built up to become a successful company, leading in what they do. After a few years of operation, Yellow Bird bought the rights to the renowned Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series and soon began the process of developing them into movies. After the success of the Millennium films, in the year of 2007, Yellow Bird was acquired by Zodiak Television. The Wallander series were finished shooting one year before the acquisition (Gylling, 2016).

3.4 Selection of Informants In order to perform this case study, data have been collected from primary sources through interviews, as well as from published articles. Informants have been chosen based on a snowball sample (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 619). Snowball sampling is a type of volunteer sampling and is commonly used when it is hard to identify members of the required population. An obvious difficulty when conducting snowball sampling is making initial contact. Once initial contact has been established, one can continue through guidance from your interviewees as for who you ought to contact next – a snowball effect is created (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 303). Using sampling techniques enables the researcher to simply consider the data relevant to the thesis rather than including all potential cases or elements (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 272). As suitable for case studies, the method follows a non-probability sampling method. Non-probability sampling, or non-random sampling, offers a wide range of potential techniques

13 to choose from when selecting one’s sample. Most of them include some sort of subjective judgement (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 295). In this case, the subjective judgement is made based on the degree of involvement in the initiating phase of the relationships established in the Wallander film productions. More specifically, the people who appeared to have been directly involved from the start of the film projects have been contacted and interviewed – resulting in seven, semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The minimum sample size for this nature of study is 5-25 people, according to Saunders et al. (2016, p. 297). The choice of using in-depth, semi-structured interviews derives from the fact that the study includes exploratory elements, where it helps to establish a personal contact with the interviewees, who most certainly will find the topic interesting and relevant to their work (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 394). However, due to limited resources in relation to the geographical spread of the respondents (most of them situated in the far southern parts of Sweden), all interviews except for one (Yellow Bird’s Co- Founder Ole Sondberg, who have been interviewed ‘face-to-face’) have been conducted through telephone interviews. Stated by Saunders et al. (2016), conducting in-depth, semi- structured interviews by telephone provides advantages such as speed, access and lower cost. However, there are also disadvantages associated with interviews conducted by telephone. For instance, the process of interpreting reactions and meanings is complicated since not getting the visual expression nor the personal, physical contact one might have experienced in a physical meeting. Thus, it becomes especially important to focus on establishing trust and an open climate in this exploratory discussion so that the interviewee feels comfortable with the interview format. If this trust isn’t established, one might experience issues of reduced reliability in the interviewees’ responses (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 421). In order to minimize this risk, the interviewees are first approached by a few introductory emails stating the purpose and structure for this thesis. This is later followed by a few, simple opening questions in the actual interview in order to “warm-up” the informant, aiming to make him or her feel comfortable in the interview format and establish trust. To facilitate the process of analysing the data acquired, the interviews have been recorded after approval from the interviewee. A short presentation of the participating informants is stated below.

Yellow Bird – Co-Founder & Producer Ole Sondberg Three people were founders of the production company Yellow Bird in 2003 – producer Ole Sondberg was one of them. Together with author Henning Mankell and Mankell’s agent Lars Björkman, they started the company with the purpose of producing the Wallander film series. Today, Sondberg is regarded as a highly respected and experienced producer, having produced

14 famous films and tv-series such as Beck, Irene Huss, Annika Bengtzon and Stieg Larsson’s Millenium series (Gylling, 2016).

Yellow Bird – (Executive) Film Producer Daniel Gylling Producer Daniel Gylling has worked as a producer at the Swedish production company Yellow Bird since the year of 2004, when the first Wallander production started shooting in Ystad. In other words, Daniel has been involved more or less from the start of the Wallander-productions, where he’s acted as producer for the Swedish productions of Wallander, and executive producer and the one responsible from Yellow Bird’s side on the British BBC version of the series. Gylling has held the closest day-to-day contact with Ystad municipality and Film i Skåne (Gylling, 2016).

Ystad Municipality – Current City Counsler Kent Mårtensson Kent Mårtensson was the City Counsler representing the Social Democrats in Ystad municipality at the time when Yellow Bird approached Ystad municipality – a position he currently possesses as well. Over the years of the Wallander film productions, Mårtensson shared this post with Thomas Lantz. Despite differing political views, the two candidates shared the interest and engagement in the projects, and cooperated over the years (Mårtensson, 2016).

Ystad Municipality – Former City Counsler Thomas Lantz Thomas Lantz acted as City Counsler representing the Moderates (conservatives) during the years of the start of the Wallander productions, a role he left in 2009. Together with the Social Democratic representative for the post, Kent Mårtensson, he shared the ultimate responsibility from Ystad municipality’s side in taking vital decisions regarding funds and terms for the production of the series. Lantz is currently positioned as the director of Ystad’s Theatre and has no political responsibilities (Lantz, 2016).

Ystad Municipality – Former Municipality Director Carl-Johan Korsås Before the year of 2009, when Ystad municipality hadn’t established the role of a film strategist (Petra Rundqvist’s position, see below), these errands went straight to the municipality’s City Director – Carl-Johan Korsås. Korsås acted as the municipality director between the September 2003-September 2006 and was thus the person who received the ultimate, first contact with Sondberg, Mankell and Björkman from the municipality’s side. Korsås left the position in 2006, and currently works as a City Director for the municipality of Jönköping (Korsås, 2016).

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Ystad Municipality – Film Strategist Petra Rundqvist Petra Rundqvist acts as Ystad’s Film Strategist – a role including responsibilities in upholding Ystad’s goal of being a film city. Rundqvist was the first person to be given this title seven years ago. The role was created when the municipality realized that they couldn’t catch up with all the film productions that took place in the municipality (Rundqvist, 2016).

Film i Skåne – CEO Ralf Ivarsson Film i Skåne is a regional film fund operating from Ystad since the year of 1995. Ralf Ivarsson was present from the start of the fund and has been the CEO, managing director and head of production of the fund since the year of 2001. In the year of 2001, the fund was introduced as a limited company – before then, the fund had been operating as a non-profit association. After the year of 2001, Film i Skåne got contributions with the purpose of supporting and being able to act as co-producers for feature films and tv-series. Since the year of 2000, Film i Skåne has been co-producers in over 80 feature films, 15 tv-series and 600 short/documentaries. When committing to the Wallander production, Film i Skåne decided to move their facilities from Malmö to Ystad (Ivarsson, 2016).

3.5 Data Analysis As the study has been conducted using qualitative data, analysis and interpretation of data has occurred during its collection as well as after it (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 619). The stories and responses shared in the interviews have formed the base of analysis for this thesis. However, the interviews have also exposed other, less evident factors that have been analysed as well. Examples of these include the tone used by the informant, what he or she can or cannot remember, if the informant’s attitude shifts when speaking of different people involved in the initiating phase of the relationships created and other factors requiring more subjective analysis.

3.6 Reliability & Validity of the Study In this section, issues of reliability and validity are discussed as they may impact on the level of quality for this thesis. By reliability one refers to consistency and replication, which essentially means that a thesis will be regarded as reliable as long as a researcher is able to replicate an earlier research design and end up with the same findings (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 202). In order to add reliability to this thesis, a thorough description of the methods used in

16 order to carry out this case study has been declared. Validity on the other hand, is defined as; “(…) the appropriateness of the measures used, accuracy of the analysis of the results and generalisation of the findings” (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 202). However, Saunders et al. (2016) further claims that while validity measurements are suitable for quantitative studies, they may be considered inappropriate for qualitative studies, following a more interpretive philosophy, where one views reality as something multifaceted and socially constructed. Qualitative studies may not always have the purpose of being replicated as they possibly aim to capture social constructions tied to a specific context at a specific time (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 205). Although this thesis is based on a qualitative approach including subjective measures, it might be that future researchers find interest in replicating the methods used in this thesis in order to carry out a similar study for a different case. It is thus considered relevant to provide an awareness of the concepts behind reliability and validity.

4. Empiri: Results A summary and overview of the empiric results gained from the case study and interviews are depicted in a graphic model in figure 3 below.

4.1 The Initiation Process of the Relationships 4.1.1 Yellow Bird approach Film i Skåne and Ystad Municipality In the year of 2003, Kent Mårtensson (S) acted as the City Counsler of Ystad municipality, Carl-Johan Korsås was Ystad Municipality Director and Ralf Ivarsson held his position as the CEO of Film i Skåne. After conducting the interviews, it appears that the CEO of Film i Skåne, Ivarsson, was the first person to be approached by Yellow Bird. As Film i Skåne’s CEO recalls, he starts by explaining that; “In 2002, we were involved in the production of a film called “Tinke,” a Danish/Swedish film, where the executive producer’s name was Peter Bose. It was Peter who gave me a call in the summer of 2003, because at that time he acted as one of the producers at Yellow Bird“ (Ivarsson, 2016). Film i Skåne’s CEO Ivarsson believes that Yellow Bird initially put Bose forward since he had worked with Ivarsson before – after cooperating in the production of Tinke, Bose and Ivarsson were already involved in a business relationship. In that call, Bose asked Film i Skåne’s CEO if he would be willing to help them kick off the regional financing for the Wallander project. A meeting was scheduled (Ivarsson, 2016). In terms of how a first meeting such as the one described usually go about, Yellow Bird’s Film Producer Gylling clarifies that it generally becomes the most important determining

17 moment in deciding whether or not one will proceed with the process of initiating a relationship or not; “It’s during the first meeting where you sort of ‘scan off’ the other party and try to get an impression of whether this person is positively engaged and receptive towards the project or not. You usually get a response to that feeling rather quickly” (Gylling, 2016). In this meeting, the production company sort of sell their project, pitch their idea, and clarify their financial needs to the other party. In the case of Ystad and the Wallander series, Yellow Bird’s Film Producer means that the pitching-process was slightly facilitated by the fact that Ystad already had experienced parts of the film tourism effects thanks to the books, and thus understood Yellow Bird’s selling points more quickly and saw potential in launching a film (Gylling, 2016). Yellow Bird’s Co-Founder Sondberg agrees, stating that author Mankell had already sold 30 million books in Sweden and 50 million books in Germany at this time, concluding that the success of the books clearly helped them at this stage (Sondberg, 2016). So, in the meeting that followed including Bose and Film i Skåne’s CEO, it soon became clear that Yellow Bird (through Bose) were asking for 15 million SEK in order to get started with the production – something that initially came as quite a shock to Film i Skåne’s CEO and the municipality (Ivarsson, 2016). Yellow Bird soon continued by contacting the people on top of the municipality’s hierarchy in order to get clarity in their financial funding situation (Sondberg, 2016). Though this time, they sent forward Mankell’s agent Lars Björkman accompanied by a man named Ulf Johansson – a politician from Simrishamn, who had experience of communicating with (and convincing) other politicians. Ystad’s municipality counsler Mårtensson remembers; “At the time, the municipality was in a slightly pressured position, we had a deficit… only the day before Björkman and Johansson came and knocked on my door, we had been discussing how to initiate savings plans and such,” Mårtensson chuckles. So when Yellow Bird expressed that they would need around 15 million SEK, Ystad’s municipality counsler Mårtensson’s initial answer was “Are you kidding me?” But Yellow Bird was not joking. So the municipality started discussing what they actually could offer, realizing the potential gains of initiating the projects; “We started asking if we could offer them (Yellow Bird) offices here in Ystad,” Ystad’s municipality counsler Mårtensson explains, and so the municipality initially helped Yellow Bird to establish themselves physically on the location (Mårtensson, 2016). At the time, Ystad’s former municipality counsler Lantz was a part of a cooperation committee surrounding Mårtensson (who acted as the current municipality counsler), and thus not primarily responsible from the municipality’s side of the relationship (Lantz, 2016).

18 As Ystad’s former municipality director Korsås tries to remember how it all started, he quickly recalls the politician Ulf Johansson. Korsås claims that Johansson influenced the two municipality counslers (Mårtensson and Lantz) greatly, and made it clear that in order for this to happen, all actors needed to be included in raising the co-financing. The former municipality director of Ystad recalls; “It was around here that I truly came into the picture. From my previous position at the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation I was used to negotiating, and saw directly that… this was a very new way of thinking in Ystad, one had never done anything like this before – co-financed this type of projects, it felt quite elusive in the beginning, ‘who were Yellow Bird’ and so on. (…) Today, the thought of co-financing film projects in Ystad is very natural and straight forward, but back then there were no previous experience of these type of projects” (Korsås, 2016). The former Municipality Director of Ystad explains that from his experience at the ministry, it possibly became more natural for him to see the bigger picture, and realized the actual potential in a project with such a strong concept to Ystad municipality. The former municipality director of Ystad clarifies that he contributed with his negotiating skills at the meetings that later followed, and says; “I contributed in getting people on the municipality side to realize that this was a huge opportunity” (Korsås, 2016).

4.1.2 Chasing Financial Funds Engages Actors Outside of Ystad Municipality Thus began the process of hunting financiers – Film i Skåne’s CEO Ivarsson explains that in the discussions that followed, all who could help were included; though Film i Skåne were the ones with the concrete responsibility in actually collecting the funds. At this time, Ivarsson remembers a cooperative committee called Southeast Skåne’s Cooperation Committee (Sydöstra Skånes Samarbetskommitté), also called “SÖSK” including the following Swedish regions: Skurup, Sjöbo, Tomellilla, Simrishamn and Ystad. Ivarsson explains; “After several discussions, I managed to convince all these regions to co-finance the project” (Ivarsson, 2016). All in all, SÖSK contributed with 2.75 million SEK. Next, Film i Skåne’s CEO went to the banking sector in the region. Here, the CEO wants to emphasize the importance of the actor “Sparbanken Syds Stiftelse” – the South Savings Bank Foundation – who, looking back, may be regarded as the great benefactor in financing the project. At this time, the foundation was driven by Anders Berglind, which was the person that Film i Skåne’s CEO approached. Berglind soon realized the huge potential in the project and acted by gathering representatives from all other savings banks in the region to a meeting in which Film i Skåne’s CEO explained the nature of the project. Soon, other banks were intrigued to contribute, and Film i Skåne’s CEO managed to clear another 4.5 million SEK from the foundation. In addition to this

19 contribution, Ivarsson was able to secure a final contribution of 1.75 million SEK from Skåne’s Project Support. Finally, Film i Skåne themselves contributed with a whole 9 million SEK, thus Film i Skåne’s CEO and the municipality of Ystad were able to offer Yellow Bird 13 million SEK - which appeared to be enough for Yellow Bird (Ivarsson, 2016). With funding in place, “That’s when the cooperation truly started,” Ystad’s municipality counsler Mårtensson claims (Mårtensson, 2016). Ystad’s Film Strategist Petra Rundqvist confirms to this fact as well, stating that; “Very few will film here (in Ystad) if it wasn’t for the money. The cooperation starts once the money is put on the table. It’s all about money,” Film Strategist Rundqvist states (Rundqvist, 2016). Two years after the relationship was initiated, the moderates won the Swedish election and Ystad’s former City Counsler Lantz replaced Mårtensson - now, Lantz became primarily involved in the project (Lantz, 2016). The 13 million SEK investment later gave Ystad municipality a payoff of around 50 million SEK through regional goods and services (Adlander et al., 2016, p. 9). Reports made by the municipality show that for each krona (SEK) invested, at least four came back in return (Adlander et al., 2016, p. 48) – for more specific figures, please see appendix.

4.1.3 Specifying the Terms of the Relationships In terms of what the actual agreements were made up of, Yellow Bird’s Film Producer Gylling clarifies that although there may be informal, more specific agreements in projects surrounding destination marketing, the deal between Yellow Bird, Ystad municipality and Film i Skåne turned out rather simple in its characteristics. The informal agreements that Yellow Bird’s Film Producer refers to could include discount offerings by the municipality on regional services (such as hotel costs) in exchange for the production company showing pieces of these services (ex a location) in the film. Though in the case of Ystad and Wallander, the movie was shot almost exclusively in Ystad and so there were no need to state agreements regarding how many minutes for a minimum that needed to be shot there in order for Yellow Bird to get funds. However, Yellow Bird’s Producer clarifies that as a production company, you will need to show that you’ve been in the region – you can not pretend to be some place else. Other than that, there are also agreements about spending – producer Gylling states; “(…) If you get one million funded, you might be required to spend 2-3 million in the region – so that money are placed within the region and no place else” (Gylling, 2016). The region is supposed to get money back through the production by buying services and employing their local personnel. The regional funds are to be seen as co-producers – meaning that they get parts of the movies’ revenues. Yellow Bird’s Producer summarizes the agreement from the perspective of a production

20 company as follows – there are three requirements usually involved in the deal; first, a certain amount of the movie need to be filmed within the region from which you get funded, secondly – you cannot pretend to be someplace else, and finally – let the regional fund be a co-producer of the movie. Conclusively, the project is to be seen as an investment from the region’s side. All parties are supposed to win on the cooperation (Gylling, 2016).

4.1.4 The Project Up and Running – What Happens Next? Soon the project was up and running. Thinking back, the former Municipality Director of Ystad remembers his first meeting with Yellow Bird’s Co-Founder Sondberg, explaining that; “Ole and I had a great relationship, we had a lot of confidence in each other.” After the series were launched, Yellow Bird’s Co-Founder Sondberg soon went to London to meet with BBC and discussed the potential development of a British TV version of the series. The former Municipality Director of Ystad remembers how Sondberg, when coming back, went straight to his office and said; “Now let’s do the same thing all over again Carl-Johan” (Korsås, 2016). Although, the former Municipality Director of Ystad (Korsås) is most proud over the fact that already before the productions were launched, he made sure that the Swedish tourism organization Visit Sweden were attached to the project. As opposed to for instance Film i Väst and their success when producing films in Trollhättan, the regional film fund over there never really managed to transfer that success into tourism visits since they didn’t establish a tourism strategy. The former Municipality Director of Ystad states; “Though in the case of Wallander, it felt important to have a marketing strategy in place,” in order to make the most out of the increased tourism. The former Municipality Director of Ystad wanted to make sure that Ystad were prepared. So he contacted the CEO of Visit Sweden, a person he knows personally since long, and went up to Stockholm to pitch the idea. However, Visit Sweden couldn’t offer Ystad municipality money, but they could offer co-workers and competence. Consequently, they reached an agreement in which The former Municipality Director of Ystad promised Visit Sweden to gather a few sponsorships and co-financing from the regions Southeast of Skåne, given that Visit Sweden prepared tourism activities upon launching the series. The tourism industry was prepared for a new kind of visits (Korsås, 2016).

21 Figure 3. The Initiation Process of Relationships when Producing the Wallander Films (2003)

The figure above represents the results given by the empirical results and simply serves to demonstrate the complex structure of the initiating process of relationships in the production behind the Wallander film series. The figure is meant to demonstrate the great amount of parties included in the process, as well as underline the importance of the regional film fund. As shown in the figure, the regional film fund may be regarded as a mediating party between the film production company and the municipality. This is largely due to the financial power the fund acquires, being the party that collects most of the financial funds.

4.2 Converters & Inhibitors in the Process of Initiating the Relationships 4.2.1 The Process Facilitated due to Receptivity, Enthusiasm & Flat Hierarchies As for converters and inhibitors driving the process of initiating the relationships forward, backward, or not at all, Yellow Bird states the following. Motivation and receptivity were vital factors when initiating the relationships to Ystad municipality and Film i Skåne. Yellow Bird’s Film Producer Gylling states; “When filming on a small location like Ystad, it’s incredibly important that you (the production company) have the municipality with you on board, that they are open and welcoming towards the project so that you can get help with things such as getting access to certain spots within the municipality and film on these locations – here Ystad made a great job in making us feel welcome“ (Gylling, 2016). The Film Producer explains how Yellow Bird, Film i Skåne and Ystad municipality had a lot of discussions with both political

22 sides of the board, stating that; “We have had both sides with us. So in that kind of sense it’s been quite a good municipality to deal with since the two political sides have been agreeing a lot with each other – we haven’t experienced too much drama… Both political sides have had a very positive attitude towards us filming in Ystad” (Gylling, 2016). Yellow Bird’s Co- Founder Sondberg agrees with Producer Gylling, expressing that the flat hierarchical structure helped a lot; “You would simply knock on their door,” Co-Founder Sondberg states, which facilitated the initiation process of the relationships greatly (Sondberg, 2016). Further, Yellow Bird’s Film Producer Gylling claims that striving for a mutual understanding was key in order to communicate well and create a positive energy towards the project. The Film Producer clarifies that in terms of initiating relations in such a small city, a great project such as the Wallander series actually becomes quite a big deal to locals, where they had to shut down streets and so on; “Here, Ystad was fantastic in keeping close communication with local businesses, landlords and companies in informing them about the benefits that these film projects may have to them, both directly and indirectly” (Gylling, 2016). Yellow Bird’s Film Producer Gylling claims that the extensive efforts in communication were key in order for the cooperation to work so smoothly; “It helps to have the local folks with you as well, not just the authorities,” Gylling states. So Ystad’s ability to get locals on board facilitated the process greatly for Yellow Bird (Gylling, 2016). Yellow Bird’s Co-Founder Sondberg agrees, and remembers; “There was such a great positivity among the locals… it wasn’t until after a few productions that they started to show less enthusiasm towards us shooting there.” (Sondberg, 2016). Further, Yellow Bird’s Film Producer Gylling claims that social chemistry and the existence of a visionary are further factors that affected the initiation process of the relationships associated with the Wallander production. The region will need to have an open mind in order to see the actual potential in a new project, to visualize its potential results – as Gylling states; “(…) if there aren’t a lot of resources, you need to have a creative mind and be a visionary in order to be open to these kind of projects.” (Gylling, 2016). Yellow Bird did a substantial job in making sure that the municipality grasped the potential benefits of the productions – but the effect turned out even better than their indications, which strengthened the municipality’s trust in Yellow Bird even more. Yellow Bird’s Co-Founder Sondberg claims that the success of the concept triggered attention; “It created a huge wave.” When asked if he believes that this wave has made it easier for production companies to create these kinds of productions today, he reflects, expressing that “In theory, it should. But you still have to explain the positive impacts to rather sceptical politicians. You basically start from scratch every time” (Sondberg, 2016). Co-Founder Sondberg further states that the projects also ended well and

23 were finished before the success of the series started to fade; “You should stop when you’ve still got it” (Sondberg, 2016). Yellow Bird has not had contact with Ystad municipality after the productions – Co-Founder Sondberg says; “Once it’s over, it’s over. And after almost twenty years in Ystad, it actually feel kind of nice to leave and close the chapter” Sondberg chuckles (Sondberg, 2016). Furthermore, Yellow Bird’s Film Producer Gylling clarifies that other factors that might have impacted the process of initiating relationships in the Wallander project were general conditions in the region, and access to resources. The Film Producer clarifies that a municipality need to be characterized by a fundamental harmony and stability in order to appreciate that they can afford directing focus to anything but the most essential – “Sometimes a municipality may ask themselves – are we going to recruit ten new nurses or invest in this movie?” Producer Gylling exemplifies, so the municipality needs to be in a position in which they can prioritize investing in film projects. Depending on these factors, the relationship may move backwards, forwards or not at all according to Film Producer Gylling (Gylling, 2016). Yellow Bird’s Co-Founder Sondberg adds to Film Producer Gylling’s list by stating that there are also other, more simple factors that will determine the tone of the initiating process of a relationship – such as the project’s success, and the amount of funds. He states; “There is no producer who will schedule a production in Trollhättan because Trollhättan is fantastic,” but rather it’s a funding decision, Co-Founder Sondberg means (Sondberg, 2016).

4.2.2 Structure, Trust & Mutual Respect: Impact on the Process Continuously, Ystad’s Film Strategist Rundqvist states that further factors that appeared to have acted as converters and inhibitors in the process of initiating relationships when producing the Wallander film series were the following. First, she underlines personal chemistry and the ability to be adaptive, structured and clear (Rundqvist, 2016). Ystad’s City Counsler Mårtensson also highlights the personal aspect by lifting the importance of participants getting to know each other a little bit, in order to establish trust. This trust could also be shown through commitment, Ystad’s City Counsler Mårtensson means; “They (Yellow Bird) were seriously involved in these projects,” Mårtensson states. He further claims that the municipality could offer resources in terms of facilities and so on, which also facilitated the process (Mårtensson, 2016). It is key that the production company has a clear understanding of how the municipality works and what they want. That there is mutual respect and that the actors keep their promises in achieving projects that are equally beneficial to both parties. Ystad’s Film Strategist Rundqvist expresses that they as a municipality sometimes have felt rather powerless when it

24 comes to accessing material and such once the production has left the sight – “I sometimes get the impression that we are sort of supposed to be thankful that our small town is shown on TV. It used to be enough, today it isn’t, only the production companies haven’t really understood this” (Rundqvist, 2016). Another key factor that will determine the smoothness of the process is whether all actors are moving towards the same goal or not. If there is a mutual understanding in that all parties may benefit from initiating these relationships, that “(…) it’s a give and take process. It should be a win-win situation, not a competition in guarding your own interests” (Rundqvist, 2016). Ystad’s Film Strategist Rundqvist further claims that there are many more actors on the production side, a factor that may complicate the process from the municipality’s perspective. On the municipality’s side on the other hand, there are only visible and clear authoritative layers. And so there may be surprises for the municipality in ways that the production company don’t get back. For instance, Film Strategist Rundqvist portrays an example of a situation in which the production company have received their money, the municipality have accessed the pictures, but suddenly the municipality is not allowed to view the movie because it must be screened on Gothenburg’s film festival (as an example) first – meaning a changed agenda that the municipality was not aware of when investing in the project (Rundqvist, 2016). The former Municipality Director of Ystad, on the other hand, expresses himself in the following way; “In order to make this work, I think it’s important that you have people who manage to both reconcile the ‘hunger’, the new who want something new, combined with experience.” Though the former Municipality Director of Ystad further expresses how it in this case also was vital to have politicians who dared to make decisions; “Both Thomas and Kent truly believed in this and pushed hard for the project, which was a deal-breaker. As a public official I can’t pursue projects if I don’t have the politics with me” (Korsås, 2016). Ystad’s City Counsler Mårtensson confirms that “We saw this as a tremendous opportunity to get our municipality’s name out there, that Ystad could become a small spot on the film map and attract new film creators… But it’s not an easy process” (Mårtensson, 2016). Film i Skåne’s CEO, on the other hand, pushes for the importance of communication and trust when initiating relationships in this type of context. “You also need to be clear and structured about what you want to get out of the project, and what you expect from your partner. That you have a rolling dialogue about these things…“ (Ivarsson, 2016). Ivarsson further underlines the importance of including a third, neutral party, a collecting agency who deals with all dividends once the money starts to roll in. “Otherwise, one might end up in legal disputes,” Ivarsson explains (Ivarsson, 2016). See Appendix for complete summary of informants’ thoughts.

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4.2.3 Cultural Differences & Bureaucratic Layers Partly Complicate the Relationships A key figure in order to make the project of the Wallander film series work was the regional film fund (Gylling, 2016). Ystad’s Film Strategist Rundqvist agrees, stating that; “Without Film i Skåne this cooperation wouldn’t have worked, they have completely paved the way for the municipality” (Rundqvist, 2016). Ystad’s City Counsler Mårtensson agrees with Ystad’s Film Strategist Rundqvist, stating that “The financial part that Film i Skåne contributed with was necessary in order for the projects to be launched” (Mårtensson, 2016). Film i Skåne’s CEO himself comments positively on the cooperation, stating; “The co-operation has been incredibly fruitful for us… But of course, it was a challenge.” To exemplify one of these challenges, Film i Skåne’s CEO remembers that he noticed a difference in negotiation cultures while dealing with Yellow Bird, referring to Yellow Bird’s Co-Founder Sondberg’s Danish approach. Film i Skåne’s CEO clarifies by stating that while the typical Swedish manner is usually characterized by a situation in which both parties strive to achieve a win-win-situation, the Danish approach appeared slightly more self-centered in a kind of sense, where; “You regard the negotiation more like a fight where you want to get out with as much as possible” (Ivarsson, 2016). Ystad’s Film Strategist Rundqvist clarifies how one ought to regard the project as being about relationships and people, rather than organizational units connecting with each other. She believes that she has gotten a great contact with Yellow Bird’s Film Producer Gylling personally – though Yellow Bird as a company has, from her perspective as the region’s film strategist, been rather difficult to cooperate with. The cooperation has been great in terms of personal relationships, but there have been issues regarding rights and access to pictures and moving media clips, Ystad’s Film Strategist Rundqvist explains. Bureaucratic layers on the production side have been complicating the process (Rundqvist, 2016). As for the relationships initiated, Yellow Bird’s Film Producer Gylling states that they may be regarded as rather long-lasting - many have been involved and been sitting on the same positions from the beginning until the end on the regional side. It was only for the last two series where a few new people got in, according to Film Producer Gylling. This means that once a relationship has been initiated, the relationship is more or less with the same people. Though when a few faces changed for the last two series, Film Producer Gylling expresses that he personally, and his team, experienced a few difficulties in terms of communication (Gylling, 2016). From Ystad’s Film Strategist Rundqvist’s perspective, the relationships initiated when creating destination marketing are usually rather periodic – some become long-lasting, but that

26 depends, she means. In terms of Yellow Bird, the relationship did turn out to be rather long- lasting. However, Film Strategist Rundqvist clarifies that there is some pressure added to the relationship in terms of making sure you get your part of the deal while the production company is present in your region – “If you haven’t solved something while the production company is present on the location, you are not likely to get attention if you for instance email someone later on. You need to make sure you get what you need while people are present on your location. It’s very project oriented in that kind of sense. People fade away” (Rundqvist, 2016).

5. Analysis Similar to Edvardson et al.’s (2008) formulation: “(…) the ability to initiate new business relationships is crucial for business survival” (p. 339), one may state that municipalities’ focus on initiating relationships with filmmakers may be crucial for their economic survival through tourism, and filmmakers’ ability to initiate relationships may be vital in order to secure enough funds for new movies. The analysis model for this thesis aimed to capture how business relationships are initiated in film productions creating destination marketing by studying three levels of relationships, namely; business relationships, business networks, and social networks. All of these relationships are formed in a project-based context, the aim was to identify which forces that act as converters versus inhibitors in the process of initiating relationships in a project of destination marketing. One may start by stating that the dynamics are interesting when a commercial cooperation (Yellow Bird) enters a project with parties connected to a destination (Ystad Municipality & Film i Skåne). The relationships initiated circulates around a project – a project that, although its uniqueness regarding the success in terms of destination marketing, may be regarded as just another project from the film production company’s side. For the municipality, on the other hand, the project meant much more. It seemed to have changed their whole perception of who they are as a municipality, creating a “huge wave” of new productions and established a film focus that is relevant for the region up until today. This perception was highlighted in the interviews; for instance by the fact that most informants from the regional side remembered every single name of the people involved in the project - while, on the film production company’s side, it was more blurry. It appeared as if time had passed much more quickly in their world, which disturbed their memory of this specific production. One may also reflect upon the differences in people attracted to these different industries – it is possible that the film production industry attracts a more genuinely project-oriented, energetic, dynamic,

27 impulsive type of crowd, whereas regional authorities attract people more drawn to structure, routines, transparency etc. Different people see different things, remember different things – and may thus be another explanation for diverging views between the three parties.

5.1 Initiating the Relationships - Mapping out Converters & Inhibitors As for the initiating process of the relationship, one may state that in line with Dwyer et al.’s (1987) thoughts on phase 1 in the start of a new relationship, situational proximity seems to have helped the process of initiating relationships. This proximity has been exemplified by for instance the fact that Yellow Bird’s Co-Founder Sondberg and author Mankell had regional roots and connections to the location Ystad – they weren’t simply Stockholmers aiming to secure an easy target for a financier, which potentially facilitated the communication with the regional authorities initially with regards to first impressions. Further, while Edvardson et al. (2008) map out three rather specific modes of status in the initiating phase of a relationship, the case study does not present such a concrete perspective. Rather, it seems as if the relational journey was a highly subjective journey, where parties unconsciously moved from one stage to another; “It’s essentially about people, ‘clicking’ with people, and establish the trust and direction necessary in order for you to move towards the same goal. Once that’s all there, you’re good to go” (Rundqvist, 2016). All informants agree on that a smooth process of initiating new relationships was key in order to create the Wallander film productions. Several have even stated that it was a main deal-breaker in that there came to be so many sequences made in the end. If the parties would have had to re-initiate fresh, functional relationships for every new film made, one party would probably have given up rather soon. What created this smoothness then? The production company and the parties tied to the destination (Ystad municipality & Film i Skåne) give slightly differing answers to this question. While all parties agree that striving for mutual understanding and the existence of social chemistry were important converters, each side also share their own perspective. The film production side highlight the existence of a receptive attitude, a motivated approach, as well as a creative visionary. The production company may be regarded as the party that brings the initial idea to the table. Thus, one might conclude that this party already possesses a receptive attitude, a motivated approach and creative visionaries – otherwise, how might anyone be convinced and motivated to take part in such an investment? Hence, the film production side will seek to find the same qualities in their cooperative partners – the collaborative partner need to possess certain similar characteristics in order to see what the production company sees.

28 As for the converters highlighted by the regional authorities (Ystad municipality & Film i Skåne), they add factors such as mutual respect, passion/courage-driven visionaries and structure, transparency and communication. It seems as if the mutual respect was put forward as a result of the potential imbalanced power structure that the municipality perceived to exist between the three parties. Further, given the municipality’s limited size, one might conclude that investing in such a large project – especially a creative, rather abstract one (initially), was regarded as a risky investment. Thus, it takes passion and courage amongst key people high up on the hierarchical municipality ladder in order for them to invest. People need to believe in the idea before being prepared to initiate relationships. And, in order to believe in the idea, the regional authorities need structure, transparency and thorough communication from the production company’s side in exchange. As for the inhibitors, the production company meant that the following factors may get the process of initiating relationships stuck; lack of motivation, lack of resources and lack of open-mindedness. If there is no motivation, no resources nor open-mindedness, the cooperation will soon get so slow that it becomes too expensive to run. The regional authorities highlighted trust, bureaucratic layers and industry- related cultural differences. The visionary from Ystad municipality may arguably have been the municipality’s former Municipality Director, who, thanks to his previous experiences at the ministry came in with a slightly different perspective and something of an “everything-is-possible”-attitude. This clearly played out in Yellow Bird’s favour. Continuously, Film i Skåne’s CEO seem to have contributed with the passion and engagement required in order to actually carry out the actual work necessary in order to realize the projects. Further, another converter in this case specifically seems to have been the already established and fundamental positivity and open- mindedness thanks to the books. With this in place already before the production of the series were initiated, Yellow Bird’s task in convincing Ystad was facilitated – financiers had an image to fall back to, which possibly made the project feel easier to grasp.

5.2 The Virtual Corporation & Network Functions As for translating the nature of the relationships initiated according to the theories presented, one might argue that the relationships created in this context may fit into Anderson et al.’s (1994) description of the virtual corporation. The relationships have indeed indirectly been described as a set of connected relationships established around a time-tied opportunity. The opportunity in this context is the project – the film production. Jones’ (1996) thoughts, when claiming that the film industry is created and re-created all the time, where individuals meet for

29 specific projects, then diverge once the project is finished, may also fit into the notion of the virtual corporation, presented by Anderson et al. (1994). If further applying Anderson et al.’s (1994) thoughts on the production of Wallander, one may state that the main actors investigated are Yellow Bird, Ystad Municipality and Film i Skåne. The activities may be regarded as all efforts made in the course of producing the Wallander series, such as informing locals about the production’s positive effects, the actual filming, and so on. The resources may in turn be interpreted as all tools used in order to realize the activities – such as Ystad Studios, the funding contribution, the employee residence and so forth. Further, Andersson et al.’s (1994) network functions and Jones’ (1996) notion of that the film industry circulates around projects and informal personal networks are descriptions that clearly seem to match the responses given through the case’s interviews. Jones’ (1996) thoughts that these networks usually include complex tasks, requiring high levels of mutual responsibility and team interdependence, do also correspond with the informants’ perspective. Instead of dyadic relations between simply two parties, networks form the key word in this case. Supportive locals, a positive attitude and resource accessibility may be regarded as the networks’ embedded context, acting in favour of the project. However, it is difficult to map out specific network horizons, given the case’s subjective tone. Discussing the nature of the relationships initiated, one might conclude that from Ystad’s perspective, it’s clear that power structures have had a certain impact on the relationship. Following the informants’ thoughts, one might argue that the production company had superior power compared to the regional authorities once the production company got their funds. However, following Ystad’s development and expanding aspirations in being regarded as a film hub, this structure doesn’t appear to be enough for Ystad municipality anymore. The amount of focus, time and money invested in the aspiration of becoming a film hub has made the whole project into a business for the municipality. However, the production side doesn’t seem to be equally aware of this significant change in attitude, and easily fall into old patterns of communicating, where they see themselves as more or less in charge of the cooperation.

30 Concluding Remarks This thesis aimed to explore which converters and inhibitors that may characterize the process of initiating relationships when creating destination marketing through film. The results found in this thesis are summarized in figure 4 below. It can be stated that views differ between the production company and the regional authorities (Ystad municipality & Film i Skåne) as to which factors acted as converters versus inhibitors in the process of initiating relationships. While all parties within the project agreed that striving for mutual understanding & social chemistry were important converters, the production company further added receptive attitude & motivated approach, and creatively driven visionaries as vital converters. The regional authorities on the other hand highlighted mutual respect, passion/courage-driven visionaries and structure, transparency & communication. As for the inhibitors, the production company pointed at lack of motivation, lack of resources and lack of open-mindedness, while the regional authorities highlighted trust, bureaucratic layers and industry-related cultural differences.

Figure 4. Summary of results: converters & inhibitors in the process of initiating relationships when creating destination marketing

Yellow Bird Converters Inhibitors Receptive attitude & motivated approach Lack of motivation

Striving for mutual understanding Lack of resources

Social chemistry & creatively driven visionaries Lack of open-mindedness

Ystad Municipality & Film i Skåne Converters Inhibitors Striving for mutual understanding & respect Trust

Social chemistry & passion/courage-driven visionaries Bureaucratic layers

Structure, transparency & communication Industry-related cultural differences

Following the results of this thesis summarized in the figure above, a simpler, more generalised model has been put forward below as a concluding contribution to future studies.

31 The purpose of this model is to act as a basic example of how one may regard the initiating phase of establishing relationships when creating destination marketing through film.

32 References

Adlander, Raluka, 2016, “An Inventory Project of Film Tourism”. Film and Literature-related Events, Products & Places in the Ystad & Österlen Region. Ystad Municipality. Document updated 2016 by Petra Rundqvist.

Anderson, James C., Håkan Håkansson & Jan Johanson, 1994, “Dyadic Business Relationships Within a Business Network Context”. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58 No. 4 pp. 1-15

Business Source Premier. 2017. EBSCO host Support Site: Developing Buyer-Seller Relationships. EBSCO Industries. http://mz8an8jm8e.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88- 2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF- 8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt% 3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Developing+Buyer- Seller+Relationships&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Marketing&rft.au=Dwyer%2C+F.+Robert&rft.au =Schurr%2C+Paul+H&rft.au=Oh%2C+Sejo&rft.date=1987-04- 01&rft.pub=American+Marketing+Association&rft.issn=0022-2429&rft.eissn=1547- 7185&rft.volume=51&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=11&rft.externalDocID=585054¶mdict=sv- SE [Retrieved 2017-01-11]

Dwyer, Robert F., Schurr, Paul H., & Oh, Sejo, 1987, ”Developing buyer–seller Relations”. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51 No 2, pp. 11-27

Edvardsson, B & Maria Holmlund & Tore Strandvik, 2008, ”Initiation of business relationships in service-dominant settings”. Industrial Marketing Management, Vol 37, p. 339-350

Gylling, Daniel; producer at Yellow Bird. 2016. Interview 2 December.

Hudson, S and J.R.B Ritchie, 2005, ”Film Tourism and Destination Marketing: the case of Captain Corelli’s Mandoln”. Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 12 No 3, pp. 256-268

33

Hudson, S and J.R.B Ritchie, 2016, ”Promoting Destinations via Film Tourism: An Emperical Identification of Supporting Marketing Initiatives”. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 44, pp. 387-396

Ivarsson, Ralf; CEO, Film i Skåne. 2016. Interview 21 December.

Jones, Candace, 1996, ”Careers in Project Networks: The Case of the Film Industry”, The Boundaryless Career. pp. 58-75

Korsås, Carl-Johan; former municipality director (Ystad). 2016. Interview 12 December.

Lantz, Thomas; former city counsler, Ystad municipality. 2016. Interview 9 December.

Mårtensson, Kent; city counsler, Ystad municipality. 2016. Interview 20 December.

Rundqvist, Petra; film strategist at Ystad municipality. 2016. Interview 7 December.

Saunders, Mark., Philip Lewis & Adrian Thornhill. 2016. Research Methods for Business Students. 7. Harlow: Pearson

Sondberg, Ole; producer & co-founder of Yellow Bird. 2016. Interview 13 December.

Soteriades, M, 2012, ”Tourism destination marketing: approaches improving effectiveness and efficiency”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 107-120

34 Appendix

Figure 1: Andersson et al. (1994) Connected Relations & Business Networks

35 Interview Questions Given the informants’ different roles, some of the questions have been adapted in order to fit the informant’s profile. Below please find a general presentation of the questions asked.

TO CREATE A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING 1. What is your role today? What was your role back in 2003? How did you contribute to the Wallander production specifically? 2. Who did you contact/who contacted you regarding initiating the Wallander projects in 2003? What do you remember from that meeting? First impressions? Who were present? 3. What was included in the contractual agreements? How would you describe the nature of the exchange (formal/informal)? 4. Please map out the chain of events of the production. With regards to beginning new relationships within the production, how much were strategy and how much were natural developments? 5. How would you describe the nature of the established relationships (active, long-term, periodic, genuine, superficial, etc..)? 6. Assuming an active focus of initiating new relationships – do you perceive a difference in this focus today versus back then? What has changed? Why do you think this is? 7. When do you perceive a relationship to be fully initiated? And in the context of starting up the Wallander production? 8. What makes establishing new relationships hard? Why? 9. What facilitates the process of establishing new relationships? Why? 10. What gets the process stuck? 11. What is important in order to make this type of cooperation work, from your perspective? 12. Once a relationship is established, do you perceive the relationship that follows to be dynamic or static? Can a relationship move forward and backwards or just forward versus not at all? 13. Have you perceived certain patterns when initiating new relationships within this context? 14. When establishing a new relationship, what conditions need to be in place in order for it to be possible to move on into a serious commitment?

36 15. If you were to map out a spider net of relationships around this production – what clusters do we have? 16. How would you describe the flows of information between Yellow Bird, Film i Skåne and Ystad Municipality? 17. Looking back – how do you perceive the cooperation? 18. What has the cooperation meant to the municipality of Ystad? To Film i Skåne? To Yellow Bird? 19. How does the exchange work? What is usually included in these kinds of deals, when creating destination marketing through film? 20. Where does the funding come from? Where do they in turn get their money from? 21. How much of the success was pure strategy, and how much just simply happened?

More specifically about relationships, converters & inhibitors

22. How important is the ability to initiate new relationships in your industry? Has it always been like this? 23. How would you define the type of relationships usually created in this context? (episodic/intense/proactive/interactive etc). 24. How many people change along the process? How has that affected the process of establishing new relationships/contacts? 25. When do you perceive a relationship in this context to be fully initiated? Is there some sort of formal/informal expression portraying this? 26. What conditions need to be in order before one can commit to a new relationship? Have this changed? 27. What helped you to create new relationships around the production? What facilitated this process? 28. What was difficult? What problems may arise? What problems did arise? 29. How would you say that the future looks for this type of relationships? 30. Do you recognize certain patterns whenever a new relationship is initiated? 31. If so – are there particular stages in the relationship? 32. If not – can you try to distinguish different states/which would they be? 33. How are these stages (if they exist) – are they states or stages – do they progress with a certain speed or can you move backwards and forwards etc?

37 34. Are there forces that may push you backwards in the process of establishing a new contact? Are there forces may push you forward? Which are these? 35. Has the process of initiating a relationship suddenly ended abruptly, in the middle of the process? What happened?

38 Overview: region’s investment versus regional ROI

(Adlander et al., 2016, p. 48)

An extraction from a power point presentation used by Film i Skåne around the year of 2003 (Ivarsson, 2016).

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Summary of the informants’ thoughts on the initiation process of the relationships created

Daniel Gylling Motivation & receptivity, a positive approach & shared political agenda, communication, Film Producer, Yellow Bird commitment, creative visionaries, striving for mutual understanding

Ole Sondberg Accessible politicians, welcoming atmosphere, successful results, commitment, access to Film Producer & Co-founder, resources, problem-solvers Yellow Bird

Petra Rundqvist Project oriented mentality, need for structure & clear communication of expectations, Film Strategist, Ystad unpredictability, bureaucratic layers, social chemistry, mutual respect & a shared agenda Municipality

Kent Mårtensson Commitment, offering resources, potential to see opportunities City Counsler (S), Ystad Municipality Thomas Lantz Commitment, offering resources, structure, offering resources Former City Counsler (M), Ystad Municipality Carl-Johan Korsås Passionately driven visionaries, courage, thinking outside the box, experience Former Municipality Director, Ystad Municipality

Ralf Ivarsson Cultural differences in negotiating techniques, communication, trust, structure, clear CEO, Film i Skåne communication of expectations, include third neutral parties

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