Peter Hugoson Interregional Business Travel and the Economics of Business Interaction Jönköping International Business School P.O.Box 1026 SE-551 11 Jönköping Telephone number: +46 36 15 77 00 E-mail:
[email protected] www.jibs.se Interregional Business Travel and the Economics of Business Interaction JIBS Dissertation Series No. 009 © 2001 Peter Hugoson and Jönköping International Business School Ltd. ISSN 1403-0462 ISBN 91-89164-27-X Printed by Parajett AB Acknowledgements I was accepted as a doctoral student at Jönköping International Business School (JIBS) at the beginning of 1996. Now finally, is the time that my wife, Elisabeth, and my children, Charles and Vilma, as well as my dog, Pepsi, have waited for so long. No more broken promises of summer holidays or weekend family activities. The greatest gratitude has to be addressed to my family that has persistently supported and encouraged me. This also includes my father, Anders, and mother, Margareta, as well as my father-in-law, Tor Vesterlund, who showed such great hospitality during my seven-month visit in Toronto. Besides my thesis writing, I have had the privilege to teach at JIBS and to follow its development to the well-known international business school that it is today. During this time my supervisors, Börje Johansson and Charlie Karlsson, have stimulated me to take part in international as well as local assignments. I would like to thank them for doing this and for all their help in my research. Altogether, my years at JIBS have made me a much more experienced person in applying economic thoughts to problems of a businessman’s weekday.