Lára Jóhannsdóttir

@hi.is

Environment and Natural Resources
University of Iceland



                    

https://researchid.co/larajoh

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Strategy and Management, Social Sciences, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

67

Scopus Publications

4120

Scholar Citations

26

Scholar h-index

47

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • Key success factors for implementing strategy in the Icelandic fisheries industry
    Kristján Vigfússon, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Snjólfur Ólafsson, and Mehmet Ali Köseoğlu
    Emerald
    PurposeThis study focuses on the key success factors (KSFs) for strategy implementation in the fisheries industry in Iceland identified by chief executive officers within the industry. The purpose is to provide a comprehensive categorization of KSFs that influence how strategy is mobilized. The secondary aim is to uncover the level of priority that companies place on the dimensions of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThe methodology involves qualitative case studies based on in-depth elite interviews with nine chief executive officers of Icelandic fishing companies.FindingsThe research indicates strategy implementation can be improved in four main areas. First, by engaging and involving all employees in the implementation process. Second, by enhancing bottom-up innovation and communication. Third, through alignment of the corporate strategy and the UN SDGs, and fourth, by following rigorous action plans with clear, measurable and prioritized objectives and timeframes for the managers to follow. These improvements have both theoretical and practical implications for the fishing industry. Consequently, a conceptual framework for integrated strategy implementation in the fisheries industry is proposed.Research limitations/implicationsA limited number of in-depth elite interviews were conducted since access to the chief executive officers of the country’s largest fishing companies proved challenging. However, the nine companies collectively hold nearly 50% of the country’s total quota, thereby proving a deep understanding of the topic relevant to the industry. The research uncovered a substantial cross-section of viewpoints, and as such, the results are relevant for both academia and practitioners alike.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the debate on KSFs relevant to strategy implementation within a specific industry but also aligns with the UN SDGs by proposing a dedicated framework for implementing strategies in the fisheries industry. Overall, this study can help managers achieve strategy implementation.

  • Current and future research in environmental sustainability: Synthesise of the role, responsibilities, and opportunities for the business sector
    Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson, Stefan Wendt, Mauricio Latapí, and Ali Kharrazi
    Elsevier BV

  • Integrating resource-based and market-based views in the fisheries industry – CEO perspectives
    Kristján Vigfússon, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Snjólfur Ólafsson, and Mehmet Ali Köseoglu
    Elsevier BV

  • Proposed paradigm shift from shareholders and stakeholders to future successors
    Lara Johannsdottir and Brynhildur Davidsdottir
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC

  • India’s ancient philosophy on holistic education and its relevance for target 4.7 of the United Nations sustainable development goals
    Shilpa Khatri Babbar and Lara Johannsdottir
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC
    AbstractThe paper's objective is to study one of the world´s early living civilizations, i.e., India, focusing primarily on its rich ancient philosophy with specific reference to holistic education to understand how it may act as a prototype for target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The study uses Interpretive sociology to understand the meanings contextually from the insider's perspective. Extensive and intensive usage of symbolism in Indian philosophy is studied through social constructionism and phenomenology. India’s ancient philosophy on holistic education has a relevance to modern approaches to address sustainability issues such as by addressing specific aspects of the SDGs, or the SDGs holistically, given the goals interconnects, and potential synergies and trade-offs, thereby serving as a prototype for target 4.7 of SDG 4. The findings also revel a lack of connection to higher power of spirituality. The originality of the study is the effort enabling comparative analysis across contexts, by placing the SDGs in the context of India’s ancient philosophy on holistic education, befitting the expectations of SDGs, specifically target 4.7. Authors are aware of the tendency of the “book view” (Indological Approach) to homogenize but this is in tune with the papers objective as the intention is to draw an ideal–typical proto-type of holistic education.

  • Systematic literature review on system dynamic modeling of sustainable business model strategies
    Agusta Thora Jonsdottir, Lara Johannsdottir, and Brynhildur Davidsdottir
    Elsevier BV

  • Hydrogen fuel cells in shipping: A policy case study of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden
    Mauricio Latapí, Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir, David Cook, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Andrea Marin Radoszynski, and Kenneth Karlsson
    Elsevier BV

  • A qualitative inquiry into sustainable transitions and business models in Icelandic energy-related companies
    Cary Kincaid Corcoran, David Cook, and Lára Jóhannsdóttir
    Elsevier BV

  • Social, environmental, and economic value in sustainable fashion business models
    Thorey S. Thorisdottir, Lara Johannsdottir, Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen, and Kirsi Niinimäki
    Elsevier BV

  • Diverse methodological approaches to a Circumpolar multi-site case study which upholds and responds to local and Indigenous community research processes in the Arctic
    Gwen K. Healey Akearok, Ay’aqulluk Jim Chaliak, Katie Cueva, David Cook, Christina VL Larsen, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Lena Maria Nilsson, Miguel San Sebastián, Malory Peterson, Ulla Timlin,et al.
    Informa UK Limited
    ABSTRACT This paper outlines the methodological approaches to a multi-site Circumpolar case study exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on Indigenous and remote communities in 7 of 8 Arctic countries. Researchers involved with the project implemented a three-phase multi-site case study to assess the positive and negative societal outcomes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Arctic communities from 2020 to 2023. The goal of the multi-site case study was to identify community-driven models and evidence-based promising practices and recommendations that can help inform cohesive and coordinated public health responses and protocols related to future public health emergencies in the Arctic. Research sites included a minimum of 1 one community each from Canada (Nunavut,) United States of America (Alaska), Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland. The approaches used for our multi-site case study provide a comprehensive, evidence-based account of the complex health challenges facing Arctic communities, offering insights into the effectiveness of interventions, while also privileging Indigenous local knowledge and voices. The mixed method multi-site case study approach enriched the understanding of unique regional health disparities and strengths during the pandemic. These methodological approaches serve as a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and healthcare professionals, informing future strategies and interventions.

  • COVID-19 and local community resilience in the Westfjords of Iceland
    Lara Johannsdottir and David Cook
    Informa UK Limited
    ABSTRACT Remote Arctic communities have often been depicted as being particularly vulnerable to the challenges of disasters, with their location and lack of infrastructure exacerbating risk. This study explores the characteristics of local resilience in the Arctic using the case study of the communities of the north-western Westfjords. A total of 42 semi-structured interviews were carried out with various community members, seeking to uncover the features of inbuilt resilience that contribute to successes and vulnerabilities. These were transcribed, coded, and categorised in relation to an integrated framework for assessing community resilience in disaster management, which groups topics via the themes of environmental, social, governance, economic, and infrastructure. All themes played a role in the success of local coping strategies, with easy access to the natural environment central to physical and mental well-being. Despite this, vulnerabilities of the community were evident, including insufficient local healthcare workers during a severe COVID-19 outbreak in a care home, the absence of a local quarantine hotel, and insufficient information in foreign languages for non-natives of Iceland. The general trend of following rules and expert advice was demonstrative of strong social capital, with locals trusting those in charge, nationally and locally, to manage the pandemic.

  • Extended producer responsibility’s effect on producers’ electronic waste management practices in Japan and Canada: drivers, barriers, and potential of the urban mine
    Mika Kaibara Portugaise, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, and Shinsuke Murakami
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC
    AbstractElectronic waste is the fastest-growing domestic waste stream globally, continuously outstripping projections. With increasing ubiquity of complex computing, many non-renewables are contained in end-of-life electronics, creating a vast urban mine, potentially hazardous, depending on treatment. The aim of this study is to compare how Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy is applied in two case countries, Japan and Canada, the practical implications of EPR policy design on producer operations, and how EPR affects electronic waste management improvements in each case. These cases share international obligations for electronic waste management but employ contrasting EPR policies. These policies are widespread in both cases, yet are not presided over by larger, regional obligations. Therefore, country-level interviews with electronic waste management stakeholders focusing on how EPR regulation affects producer practice were conducted. The physical application of EPR, as seen in Japan, drives design changes by producers intending to simplify downstream treatment, while financial responsibility in Canada, creates greater concern with cost-savings for producers, complicating end-of-life processing. EPR implementation, along with specific geographical factors, also create contrasting resource recovery results between countries. Regulation primarily drives EPR implementation in both countries, which is consistent with the literature. This study presents new drivers and barriers, namely pre-emptive legislation, and no incentive to improve, classifying the Japanese and Canadian systems as suffering from externalities on an insular system, and lack of harmonization, respectively. This research addresses a gap in comparative studies across regions of physical and financial EPR effects on producer practice.

  • Private–public collaboration in Iceland: battling COVID-19 with deCODE genetics
    Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson, Lara Johannsdottir, and Svala Gudmundsdottir
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC

  • Benefits and opportunities of zero-emission shipping in the Arctic
    Mauricio Latapí, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, and Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir
    WORLD SCIENTIFIC (EUROPE)

  • Drivers and barriers for the large-scale adoption of hydrogen fuel cells by Nordic shipping companies
    Mauricio Latapí, Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir, and Lára Jóhannsdóttir
    Elsevier BV

  • The National Theatre of Iceland: Culture in Survival Mode in Time of Crisis
    Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson, Lara Johannsdottir, and Svala Gudmundsdottir
    Springer International Publishing

  • Klappir Green Solutions: Maintaining a Focus on Sustainability Throughout the Pandemic
    Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson, Lara Jóhannsdóttir, and Svala Gudmundsdottir
    Springer International Publishing

  • The University of Iceland: Shifting Learning and Research in Time of Covid-19
    Lara Johannsdottir, Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson, and Svala Gudmundsdottir
    Springer International Publishing

  • How Iceland Tech Firms Controlant and Sidekick Saw Opportunity in the Covid-19 Pandemic
    Svala Gudmundsdottir, Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson, and Lara Jóhannsdóttir
    Springer International Publishing

  • COLLABORATION FRAME WORK FOR REGIONAL CIRCULAR ECONOMY TRANSFORMATION



  • Public health restrictions, directives, and measures in Arctic countries in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
    Malory Peterson, Gwen Healey Akearok, Katie Cueva, Josée G. Lavoie, Christina VL Larsen, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, David Cook, Lena Maria Nilsson, Arja Rautio, Ulla Timlin,et al.
    Informa UK Limited
    Beginning January of 2020, COVID-19 cases detected in Arctic countries triggered government policy responses to stop transmission and limit caseloads beneath levels that would overwhelm existing healthcare systems. This review details the various restrictions, health mandates, and transmission mitigation strategies imposed by governments in eight Arctic countries (the United States, Canada, Greenland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and Russia) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, through 31 January 2021s31 January 2021. We highlight formal protocols and informal initiatives adopted by local communities in each country, beyond what was mandated by regional or national governments. This review documents travel restrictions, communications, testing strategies, and use of health technology to track and monitor COVID-19 cases. We provide geographical and sociocultural background and draw on local media and communications to contextualise the impact of COVID-19 emergence and prevention measures in Indigenous communities in the Arctic. Countries saw varied case rates associated with local protocols, governance, and population. Still, almost all regions maintained low COVID-19 case rates until November of 2020. This review was produced as part of an international collaboration to identify community-driven, evidence-based promising practices and recommendations to inform pan-Arctic collaboration and decision making in public health during global emergencies.


  • COVID-19 and Well-Being in Remote Coastal Communities—A Case Study from Iceland
    David Cook, Lára Jóhannsdóttir, Sarah Kendall, Catherine Chambers, and Mauricio Latapí
    MDPI AG
    This study utilizes a recently developed framework for the well-being economy to evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 in the sparsely populated Westfjords region of northwestern Iceland. A total of 42 semi-structured interviews were conducted with a broad spectrum of local community members, nearly all undertaken in October 2021. Local impacts to human and social capital were very evident, whilst economic consequences to individuals and business were largely mitigated through national economic packages. The remoteness of the Westfjords and pre-existing challenges, such as exposure to nature disasters, a harsh climate, and limited infrastructure, provided a bedrock of resilience with which to tackle the pandemic. This underpinned the sustainability of the communities, and flexible approaches to work and education constrained some of the worst potential effects of social distancing and isolation. Nevertheless, some socio-demographic groups remained harder hit than others, including the elderly in nursing homes and non-Icelandic speaking foreigners, who were marginalized via isolation and lack of information provision in the early, most severe outbreaks of COVID-19. The study demonstrated the coping mechanisms and solutions that were adopted to sustain subjective and community well-being, whilst reinforcing the importance of utilizing local community strengths in tackling the many challenges induced by a pandemic crisis.

  • Strategy implementation obstacles: Iceland fishery CEO perspectives
    Kristjan Reykjalin Vigfusson, Lara Johannsdottir, and Snjolfur Olafsson
    Elsevier BV

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Current and future research in environmental sustainability: Synthesise of the role, responsibilities, and opportunities for the business sector
    L Jhannsdttir, TO Sigurjonsson, S Wendt, M Latap, A Kharrazi
    Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, 100282 2025

  • Key success factors for implementing strategy in the Icelandic fisheries industry
    K Vigfsson, L Jhannsdttir, S lafsson, MA Kseoğlu
    Journal of Strategy and Management 18 (1), 32-56 2025

  • Integrating resource-based and market-based views in the fisheries industry–CEO perspectives
    K Vigfsson, L Jhannsdttir, S lafsson, MA Kseoglu
    Marine Policy 171, 106454 2025

  • Diverse methodological approaches to a Circumpolar multi-site case study which upholds and responds to local and Indigenous community research processes in the Arctic
    GK Healey Akearok, AJ Chaliak, K Cueva, D Cook, CVL Larsen, ...
    International Journal of Circumpolar Health 83 (1), 2336284 2024

  • COVID-19 and local community resilience in the Westfjords of Iceland
    L Johannsdottir, D Cook
    International Journal of Circumpolar Health 83 (1), 2311966 2024

  • Proposed paradigm shift from shareholders and stakeholders to future successors
    L Johannsdottir, B Davidsdottir
    Discover Sustainability 5 (1), 194 2024

  • Systematic literature review on system dynamic modeling of sustainable business model strategies
    AT Jonsdottir, L Johannsdottir, B Davidsdottir
    Cleaner Environmental Systems, 100200 2024

  • Hydrogen fuel cells in shipping: A policy case study of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden
    M Latap, B Davsdttir, D Cook, L Jhannsdttir, AM Radoszynski, ...
    Marine Policy 163, 106109 2024

  • A qualitative inquiry into sustainable transitions and business models in Icelandic energy-related companies
    CK Corcoran, D Cook, L Jhannsdttir
    Sustainable Production and Consumption 46, 208-222 2024

  • India’s ancient philosophy on holistic education and its relevance for target 4.7 of the United Nations sustainable development goals
    SK Babbar, L Johannsdottir
    Discover Sustainability 5 (1), 51 2024

  • Social, environmental, and economic value in sustainable fashion business models
    TS Thorisdottir, L Johannsdottir, ERG Pedersen, K Niinimki
    Journal of Cleaner Production 442, 141091 2024

  • Business model development for inclusive transition of future generations interests
    L Johannsdottir
    Mondragon Unibertsitatea 2024

  • Business a Cause, Victims, and Solution to the Climate Crisis
    L Jhannsdttir
    Studies in Risk and Sustainable Development, 1-13 2024

  • Public health restrictions, directives, and measures in Arctic countries in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
    M Peterson, GH Akearok, K Cueva, JG Lavoie, CVL Larsen, ...
    International Journal of Circumpolar Health 82 (1), 2271211 2023

  • Climate change adaptation and green finance: The Arctic and non-Arctic world
    G Arruda, L Johannsdottir
    Routledge 2023

  • How Iceland Tech Firms Controlant and Sidekick Saw Opportunity in the Covid-19 Pandemic
    S Gudmundsdottir, TO Sigurjonsson, L Jhannsdttir
    Cross-Driven Institutional Resilience: Case Studies of Good Governance in 2023

  • The University of Iceland: Shifting Learning and Research in Time of Covid-19
    L Johannsdottir, TO Sigurjonsson, S Gudmundsdottir
    Cross-Driven Institutional Resilience: Case Studies of Good Governance in 2023

  • The National Theatre of Iceland: Culture in Survival Mode in Time of Crisis
    TO Sigurjonsson, L Johannsdottir, S Gudmundsdottir
    Cross-Driven Institutional Resilience: Case Studies of Good Governance in 2023

  • Klappir Green Solutions: Maintaining a Focus on Sustainability Throughout the Pandemic
    TO Sigurjonsson, L Jhannsdttir, S Gudmundsdottir
    Cross-Driven Institutional Resilience: Case Studies of Good Governance in 2023

  • Building Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Knowledge in the Arctic Through Preparedness and Contingency Practices
    GM Arruda, L Johannsdottir
    Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience: Climate Change and Disaster Risk 2023

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • A literature review of the history and evolution of corporate social responsibility
    MA Latap Agudelo, L Jhannsdttir, B Davdsdttir
    International journal of corporate social responsibility 4 (1), 1-23 2019
    Citations: 1593

  • Embracing the variety of sustainable business models: A prolific field of research and a future research agenda
    N Dentchev, R Rauter, L Jhannsdttir, Y Snihur, M Rosano, ...
    Journal of cleaner production 194, 695-703 2018
    Citations: 248

  • Corporate social responsibility influencing sustainability within the fashion industry. A systematic review
    TS Thorisdottir, L Johannsdottir
    Sustainability 12 (21), 9167 2020
    Citations: 209

  • Embracing the variety of sustainable business models: social entrepreneurship, corporate intrapreneurship, creativity, innovation, and other approaches to sustainability challenges
    N Dentchev, R Baumgartner, H Dieleman, L Jhannsdttir, J Jonker, ...
    Journal of cleaner Production 113, 1-4 2016
    Citations: 191

  • Sustainability within fashion business models: A systematic literature review
    TS Thorisdottir, L Johannsdottir
    Sustainability 11 (8), 2233 2019
    Citations: 178

  • Drivers that motivate energy companies to be responsible. A systematic literature review of Corporate Social Responsibility in the energy sector
    MAL Agudelo, L Johannsdottir, B Davidsdottir
    Journal of cleaner production 247, 119094 2020
    Citations: 169

  • Measuring countries’ environmental sustainability performance—The development of a nation-specific indicator set
    D Cook, NM Saviolidis, B Davsdttir, L Jhannsdttir, S lafsson
    Ecological Indicators 74, 463-478 2017
    Citations: 93

  • Measuring countries׳ environmental sustainability performance–A review and case study of Iceland
    S Olafsson, D Cook, B Davidsdottir, L Johannsdottir
    Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39, 934-948 2014
    Citations: 93

  • Barriers to using ESG data for investment decisions
    B Jonsdottir, TO Sigurjonsson, L Johannsdottir, S Wendt
    Sustainability 14 (9), 5157 2022
    Citations: 89

  • Leadership role and employee acceptance of change: Implementing environmental sustainability strategies within Nordic insurance companies
    L Johannsdottir, S Olafsson, B Davidsdottir
    Journal of Organizational Change Management 28 (1), 72-96 2015
    Citations: 85

  • Drivers of sustainability practices and contributions to sustainable development evident in sustainability reports of European mining companies
    A Ivic, NM Saviolidis, L Johannsdottir
    Discover Sustainability 2, 1-20 2021
    Citations: 78

  • Systemic risk of maritime-related oil spills viewed from an Arctic and insurance perspective
    L Johannsdottir, D Cook
    Ocean & Coastal Management 179, 104853 2019
    Citations: 73

  • How can financial incentives promote local ownership of onshore wind and solar projects? Case study evidence from Germany, Denmark, the UK and Ontario
    J Curtin, C McInerney, L Johannsdottir
    Local Economy 33 (1), 40-62 2018
    Citations: 66

  • Transforming the linear insurance business model to a closed-loop insurance model: a case study of Nordic non-life insurers
    L Johannsdottir
    Journal of cleaner production 83, 341-355 2014
    Citations: 51

  • Developing and using a Five C framework for implementing environmental sustainability strategies: A case study of Nordic insurers
    L Johannsdottir, C McInerney
    Journal of Cleaner Production 183, 1252-1264 2018
    Citations: 46

  • Drivers that motivate energy companies to be responsible. A systematic literature review of Corporate Social Responsibility in the energy sector
    MA Latap Agudelo, L Johannsdottir, B Davidsdottir
    Journal of Cleaner Production 247, 119094 2020
    Citations: 44

  • Obstacles to strategy implementation and success factors: a review of empirical literature
    K Vigfsson, L Jhannsdttir, S lafsson
    Strategic Management 26 (2), 12-30 2021
    Citations: 43

  • Drives of proactive environmental actions of small, medium and large Nordic non-life insurance companies–and insurers as a driving force of actions
    L Johannsdottir
    Journal of Cleaner Production 108, 685-698 2015
    Citations: 43

  • Effectiveness of EMAS: A case study of Polish organisations registered under EMAS
    A Matuszak-Flejszman, B Szyszka, L Jhannsdttir
    Environmental Impact Assessment Review 74, 86-94 2019
    Citations: 39

  • Drivers and barriers for the large-scale adoption of hydrogen fuel cells by Nordic shipping companies
    M Latap, B Davsdttir, L Jhannsdttir
    International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 48 (15), 6099-6119 2023
    Citations: 34