Ulrika Leijerholt

Ulrika Leijerholt is a researcher in the Traffic Analysis and Logistics unit and is part of the VTI initiative to strengthen the presence in the northern region.

She received her PhD from the Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics at Umeå University, where she continues to work 20%. Her dissertation explored branding in the public sector, with a focus on internal brand management, meaning how the brand is translated into organizational and employee behaviors. She has also conducted a study within public transport on how a brand is built within a network of public authorities and contracted private actors.

I don’t primarily view branding as a communication tool, but as an identity. It’s about the values and meaning that employees, citizens, partners, and other stakeholders associate with the brand. This enables the organization – or the policy, innovation, or offering – to be perceived as attractive and relevant, and a means to support changes in attitudes and behaviors and building legitimacy and credibility.

Ulrika is interested in how branding can support strategic development, not least in collaborations across organizations. Questions related to structures and systems, as well as organization and the human element, are central. Values, trust, engagement, and stakeholder relationships are areas she finds interesting. She mainly uses qualitative methods but has also conducted survey-based studies.

Regardless of whether the issue concerns sustainability, electrification, mobility, or resilience, she believes a brand perspective can contribute. She sees interdisciplinary collaboration as a major advantage of VTI, where researchers with different theoretical backgrounds and working with different sectors and methods can come together to create real societal value and change.

Ulrika’s motivation lies in practical relevance. She wants to work on issues that can contribute to meaningful change for organizations and people.