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An­ders Ravn Sørensen

Associate Professor

Subjects
Nationalism Interest group Companies Business community History Culture

Primary research areas

Busi­ness His­tory and His­tory of Cap­it­al­ism
I in­vest­ig­ate the evol­u­tion of busi­nesses, mar­kets, and eco­nom­ic sys­tems from the early mod­ern era to today’s glob­al cap­it­al­ism. My work ex­am­ines how eco­nom­ic struc­tures, cul­tur­al con­texts, and in­di­vidu­al en­tre­pren­eurs have in­ter­ac­ted, ad­ap­ted, and some­times clashed over cen­tur­ies of change.
Or­gan­isa­tion­al Uses of His­tory
I ex­plore how or­gan­isa­tions act­ively en­gage with their past—through cor­por­ate storytelling, her­it­age brand­ing, an­niversar­ies, and archives—to shape iden­tity, build le­git­im­acy, and in­flu­ence stra­tegic de­cisions. This in­cludes study­ing how his­tor­ic­al nar­rat­ives are cre­ated, con­tested, and mo­bil­ised in prac­tice
His­tor­ic­al Meth­ods and Dis­sem­in­a­tion
I de­vel­op and ap­ply his­tor­ic­al re­search meth­ods, from archiv­al ana­lys­is to nar­rat­ive and au­to­eth­no­graph­ic ap­proaches. I also ex­per­i­ment with new ways of present­ing his­tory bey­ond aca­demia, us­ing books, ex­hib­i­tions, and au­dio storytelling to con­nect schol­arly in­sight with pub­lic audi­ences.

Dig­ging Up the Past to Chal­lenge the Present

I am a business historian exploring how the past shapes today’s business, organisations, and society. My work examines capitalism’s evolution, the role of historical narratives in organisations, and new ways of bringing history to broader audiences. 

Through research on business history and organisational uses of the past, I help companies and institutions understand how heritage, identity, and strategy connect. This knowledge supports better decision-making, communication, and public engagement. 

I also develop and apply innovative historical methods, from archival research to narrative and autoethnography, and work to share history beyond academia through books, exhibitions, and audio storytelling. 

My aim is to make history both relevant and accessible — showing how lessons from the past can inspire reflection, foster resilience, and inform the choices we face today. 

Recent research projects

Grøn­bech A/S – 200 Years Through Things and People

A his­tor­ic­al study of one of Den­mark’s old­est com­pan­ies, told through its products and the people who made, sold, and used them. The pro­ject ex­plores how ma­ter­i­al cul­ture shapes busi­ness his­tory.
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The Hunt for Christ­mas

A book fol­low­ing in the foot­steps of nav­al of­ficer and ad­ven­turer and en­tre­pren­eur Wal­ter Christ­mas. Blend­ing travel, archiv­al sleuth­ing, and nar­rat­ive his­tory, the pro­ject un­cov­ers his life and myths

Re­think­ing Meth­od in Busi­ness His­tory

An ex­per­i­ment­al pro­ject ex­plor­ing how new his­tor­ic­al meth­ods can open up fresh per­spect­ives in the writ­ing of busi­ness his­tory.

Outside activities

Historic consultant for Innopixel, 2024–2025

His­tor­ic­al con­sultancy in con­nec­tion with the re­build­ing of the Dan­ish Stock Ex­change.

Member of the Advisory Board, Magasin Museum

I serve as a mem­ber of the ad­vis­ory board for Ma­gas­in Mu­seum, which is run by the in­de­pend­ent com­mer­cial found­a­tion be­hind Ma­gas­in du Nord. The mu­seum ex­plores the his­tory of con­sump­tion and re­tail in a con­tem­por­ary per­spect­ive. As an ad­vis­ory board mem­ber, I con­trib­ute re­search-based in­sights on busi­ness and cul­tur­al his­tory and ad­vise on the mu­seum’s stra­tegic and schol­arly dir­ec­tions.
Magasin Museum

Consultant for the project Green Horizon 2030, 2024–2026

As an ex­tern­al con­sult­ant for Green Ho­ri­zon 2030, I col­lab­or­ate with the Dan­ish Design Cen­ter, CON­CITO, and the El­len Ma­cAr­thur Found­a­tion to de­vel­op a his­tor­ic­al and nar­rat­ive con­tri­bu­tion to the pro­ject’s vis­ion for the green trans­ition. My work fo­cuses on com­mu­nic­at­ing stor­ies of earli­er Dan­ish in­dus­tri­al suc­cesses to in­spire small and me­di­um-sized en­ter­prises to ap­proach the green trans­ition as an op­por­tun­ity-driv­en re­new­al rather than a reg­u­lat­ory con­straint.