| 1. |
- Gunnarsson, Pierre Erik, 1964-
(författare)
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Ancillary actor relations : The case of EU’s leading defence primes
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This longitudinal research project in industrial marketing seeks to understand ancillary actors, specifically what they are, their characteristics, relations and impact on focal relations based on the empirical case of the cross-border relations of EU’s largest defence equipment producing firms (called “primes”). Ancillary actors are approached on four arenas: i) the political setting for EU defence equipment production, ii) the “primes” business relations, e.g. their market, iii) an issue community for setting up a single EU defence company and iv) a collaborative project, the Eurofighter.Ten analytical propositions with potentially common attributes for ancillary actors are that ancillary actors 1) have a role flexibility, where they may simultaneously act within a business and political setting assuming supportive, coercive, adaptive and influential roles, 2) emerge from focal actors’ legitimacy and commitments, 3) help to support, organise or mitigate collaboration between business and political actors, 4) create, facilitate and support cross-border political and business ties on political and protected markets that help to overcome market impediments, 5) may project actor strategies into other markets and settings, 6) may balance political actors’ control, transfer of knowledge and work share distribution, 7) are often more lasting than business actors and political actors, bridging time, 8) may seek to expand and move into the focal relation, 9) need to be transparent, which risks hampering efficiency and 10) risk being inefficient and ineffective. Empirical observations are that after more than half a century of political integration, EU has established legitimate ancillary actors for defence equipment. New protectionism and disintegration however risk being underestimated in this setting. Although the EU defence equipment market is frequently characterised as fragmented, EU defence business actors are intertwined by stable cross-border relations since decades, where primes may project influence of states into foreign markets. Ancillary actors for EU defence equipment have been criticised for being costly and ineffective, yet they promote common values, standardisation and knowledge sharing. Within ancillary actors, there are however risks, such as bleeding through, knowledge tapping and lack of innovativeness. Ancillary actors may foster integration and permanent bodies, in business as well as politics.
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| 2. |
- Käfling, Åsa, 1977-
(författare)
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The Chinese Volvo : Sino-Foreign Joint Ventures and Perceived Performance
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation describes and analyzes the perceived performance of Sino-foreign joint ventures. The dissertation is based on an in-depth qualitative longitudinal real time case study of the joint venture known as Jinan Hua Wo Truck Corporation (Hua Wo), between Volvo Trucks and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co. Ltd. in China. The purpose of the dissertation is to contribute to the understanding of Sino-foreign perceived performance by suggesting an elaborated model, which captures situated and dynamic features. Perceived performance is defined as the joint venture executives’ assessment of strategic goal achievement and overall satisfaction.Findings from the study of the Hua Wo joint venture indicate that what determines perceived performance is the outcome of activities initiated in order to achieve or to facilitate goals. The dissertation presents an analytical model of Sino-foreign joint venture perceived performance which comprises the four concepts: goals, stakeholder relations, political influence and control. The conclusion of the dissertation is that in order to understand what decides perceived performance, it is necessary to assess system size, in other words, the number of stakeholders able to influence goal achievement, and also the intended duration of the activities. It is proposed that the configuration of the suggested model of perceived performance will be dependent upon these two dimensions. For activities taking place in a restricted system over a restricted time period, perceived performance depends primarily on the goals of the activity. The perceived performance of activities of a restricted system carried out over an extended period of time is more influenced by control. On the other hand activities carried out in an extended system over a restricted period of time are mainly determined by stakeholder relations for perceived performance, whereas activities which take place in an extended system for an extended time period are vulnerable to political influence.
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| 3. |
- Rasmussen, Josefine, 1988-
(författare)
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Management control for sustainability : Activities and procedures for energy management in industrial companies
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The thesis takes its point of departure in the important role of the industrial sector in mitigating climate change through a reduced energy use. There is a lack of understanding for how energy management should be organised and implemented in industrial companies. The aim of this thesis is therefore to analyse the management control activities and procedures used by energyintensive industrial companies for energy management and one of its key elements—energy efficiency investments. The thesis also examines how so-called non-energy benefits are considered for energy efficiency investments and their role in driving these investments. The thesis consists of a cover essay and four appended papers, one of which is based on a systematic literature review of benefit concepts applied in the context of energy efficiency investments. The remaining papers build on three empirical studies in Swedish manufacturing and process industries with a particular focus on the pulp and paper industry.Energy management is an important aspect of sustainability for the industrial sector. This thesis advances the understanding of management control for energy management by bridging the theoretical domains of energy management and sustainability management control. The thesis acknowledges both the strategic and operational dimensions of energy management, going beyond the predominating operational perspective, and illuminates the way in which both dimensions are reflected in management control practices. The role of established organisational arrangements spanning different functions and levels is identified. A framework for categorising non-energy benefits is also developed, which may facilitate their inclusion in the investment process. However, the configuration of management control activities and procedures applied for the investment process is essential for the extent to which non-energy benefits can be acknowledged during investment decision-making. Through its emphasis on management control activities and procedures for energy management, this thesis contributes to the managerial path of sustainability management control, providing both theoretical and managerial contributions. Altogether, the four studies constituting this thesis illuminate the need for adequate tools and methods in the transition to a sustainable industrial sector and the role of management control configurations in this endeavour.
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| 4. |
- Andersson, David E.
(författare)
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The Emergence of Markets for Technology : Patent Transfers and Patenting in Sweden, 1819–1914
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is concerned with the emergence of markets for technology and studies the evolution of patent transfers and its determinants, patent agencies and independent versus firm patenting in Sweden during the 19th century and the turn of 20th century. It explores how and why markets for technology emerge and under what circumstances by investigating the evolution of Swedish patent legislation and the patterns of patent transfers between individuals and firms. It presents a three-pronged framework studying: structure and actors, technology and transactions.Using a new and unique database covering every Swedish privilege and patent over the 1819–1914 period the empirical analysis reveals that although the transferability of intellectual property goes all the way back to the 18th century patent transfers did not start to increase significantly until the first modern Swedish patent law was passed in 1884. Along with the new law a market for patenting services also emerged where actors such as patent agents and the firms they founded, patent agencies, functioned as intermediaries in the market for patents and international networks of patenting. A few older patent agencies managed to create an oligopolistic setting where they introduced price controls through special interest groups.The thesis also questions the current dichotomous classification of independent and firm patenting. The methodological contribution lies in showing that research that depend too much on patent statistics run the risk of underestimating the importance of the firm when patents granted to individuals actually cover inventive activities that has taken place inside the boundaries of firms.Finally, the study shows that special marketplaces for the sale of patented and unpatented technology were created to help inventors find buyers and financiers for their invention and to help firms find new technology. The patent law of 1884 made it possible to trade in several submarkets of technology where the right to patent a certain invention could be bought, ideas could be financed, pending patent applications or the priority right to foreign markets could be bought and sold.The results lend support to the research emphasizing the role of intellectual property as a disclosure and diffusion mechanism for new technology.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Tell, Fredrik, 1968-
(författare)
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Organizational Capabilities : A Study of Electrical Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturers, 1878-1990
- 2000
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Organizational capabilities of large industrial firms constitute a pillar in Alfred Chandler's theory of the emergence of managerial capitalism. Science based firms represent one important sector within such an economic context. This dissertation describes the evolution of the large electrical manufacturers and their involvement in the power transmission equipment business between 1878-1990. In electrical power transmission technology, there was an initial "battle of the currents" regarding the choice of alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) technology. This battle was won by AC. However, after World War II, an alternative technology was developed in high voltage DC (HVDC). Concurrent with this technological evolution, the electrical manufacturing industry was characterized by increasing concentration. In electrical manufacturing the largest firms diversified and grew into corporate giants. However, by the end of the 1980s, several of the initial giants had exited the power transmission equipment business, while some of the smaller, more focused, firms had amalgamated into new transnational giants. Departing in aknowledge-based theory of the firm, it is suggested that organizational capabilities can be analyzed in terms of management-based, technology-based, and market-based activities. Using this framework, these activities are discussed as knowledge-based and related to properties associated with organizational learning and path-dependency.
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| 7. |
- Yakob, Ramsin, 1975-
(författare)
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The Problem with Errors : Solution Search in Platform Development
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation is concerned with problem-solving in platform development. A problem isconceived of as an obstacle that needs to be overcome in order to reach a desired outcome,whereas a solution is denoted by the set of activities required to reach such an outcome. Aplatform is conceived of as the technological foundation made up of a number of elements thatare purposely planned and developed to form a common structure from which a stream ofderivative products can be developed. Problem-solving in platform development is a non-trivialtask since platforms need to cater for both commonality and distinctiveness across a number ofderivative products. Further, several design architectures are intertwined in the development ofplatforms, giving rise to increased complexity. The purpose of this dissertation is to exploreplatform development from a problem-solving perspective, with the purpose of answering whatproblem-solving activities are carried out in platform development processes, how are differentapproaches to the search for solutions related to problem-solving in platform development, andhow can problem-solving in platform development be conceptualized? This dissertation is basedon two empirical studies of platform development processes from the telecommunication andautomotive industry, and draws upon a qualitative research methodology. The result of this studyis an iterative and dynamic model of solution search in problem-solving. This dissertationimplies a distinction between problems and errors in platform development. Solution searchemerge as a matter of choice of whether to engage in problem-solving activities and/or errorcorrection activities during the development of platforms. Solution search also surface as anintermingled process of search for required inputs, outputs, or governing laws (i.e. solutions) forreaching a desired goal. In this process, analytical search, directional search, and synthesizedsearch and the facilitation and management of both feed-back and feedforward is important.
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| 8. |
- Malmberg, Lisa, 1982-
(författare)
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Building Design Capability in the Public Sector : Expanding the Horizons of Development
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Public sector organizations are in need of new approaches to development and innovation. There is a need to develop a capability to better understand priorities, needs and wishes of public sector service users and become more proactive, in order to meet the demands on keeping costs down and quality high.Design is increasingly put forward as a potential answer to this need and there are many initiatives taken across the world to encourage the use of a design approach to development and innovation within public sector. In relation to this trend there is a need to improve the understanding of how public sector organizations develop ability to exploit design; how they develop design capability. This is the focus of this thesis, which through an exploratory study has observed the two initiatives aiming to introduce design and develop design capability within healthcare and social service organizations.One main contribution of this work is an understanding of the design capability concept based on a structured review of the use of the design capability concept in the literature. The concept has previously been used in relation to different aspects of designs in organizations.Another important contribution is the development of an understanding for how design capability is developed based on interpretations founded in the organizational learning perspective of absorptive capacity. The study has identified how different antecedents to development of design capability have influenced this development in the two cases. The findings have identified aspects that both support and impede the development of design capability which are important to acknowledge and address when aiming to develop design capability within a public sector organization.In both cases, the set up of the knowledge transferring efforts focus mainly on developing awareness of design. Similar patterns are seen in other prior and parallel initiatives. The findings however suggest that it is also important to ensure that the organization have access to design competence and that structures like routines, processes and culture support and enable the use of design practice, in order to make design a natural part of the continuous development work.
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| 9. |
- Melander, Lisa
(författare)
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Supplier Involvement in New Product Development under Technological Uncertainty
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis addresses the challenges that firms are faced with when collaborating with suppliers in new product development (NPD) projects under technological uncertainty. A critical observation that is made in this context is that technologies are evolving faster, making products more complex. At the same time, firms become more specialized. Due to increased complexity and specialization, firms do not possess all the necessary technologies in-house and therefore need to collaborate with external organisations to incorporate new technology into their products. Common collaborators are suppliers who become integrated into the buying firm’s NPD project. However, finding suppliers and collaborating with suppliers in NPD can be problematic. In addition, external collaborations also impact the buying firm internally, since it often needs to coordinate its departments. The purpose of this thesis is to explore supplier involvement in NPD under technological uncertainty. Challenges in supplier selection are concerned with the issues of involving new suppliers or relying on old acquaintances, managing uncertainties, the dilemma of whether to commit to long-term relationships or to maintain flexibility, and deciding on which department that is responsible for evaluating and selecting the supplier. The present study of buyers and suppliers in NPD, shows the challenges that are involved in balancing control, reaching goal alignment, and managing transactional and relational governance. Internal challenges investigate the coordination between the R&D department and purchasing in NPD projects where suppliers are involved. The present findings may be of value for firms who engage in collaborative NPD, or for firms who aim to involve suppliers in their development of new products.
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| 10. |
- Niss, Camilla, 1972-
(författare)
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Project Becoming and Knowing Trajectories. : An Epistemological Perspective on Human and Nonhuman Project Making.
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In our ‘projectified’ and ‘knowledge-intensive’ society, industrial projects have been proposed as important “journeys of knowledge creation” or “places for knowledge integration”. To date, such perspectives have mainly used traditional cognitive and contextual theories of knowledge and have thus mostly been focused on human actors and their interaction. However, other research suggests that a) knowledge can be seen as a process (knowing) and b) that projects can be seen as actor networks made by human as well as nonhuman elements. Combining these two insights, a complementary epistemological perspective is created in this thesis. Drawing from the processual ontological notion of ‘project becoming’ and the actor-network theory notion of ‘heterogeneous engineering’, the processual concept of heterogeneous project making is suggested here. The purpose of this thesis is then to create a processual and interrelational perspective on how knowing is shaped through heterogeneous project making. The empirical basis of this thesis consists of a six-month ethnographical study of an industrial project in the telecom industry that was set up to develop and manufacture a radio base station. The perspective presented in this thesis suggests that heterogeneous project making can be seen as the continuous shaping of past, present, future and context (knowing dimensions) which in turn shape and relate to a knowing trajectory. The notion of a knowing trajectory implies movement, a path, which is suggested here as elusive, fluent and influenced by the work of many heterogeneous actors, rather than being the result of a (socially or technologically) deterministic process. The perspective developed also conceptualises and illustrates how such a knowing trajectory takes shape. Finally, theoretical and practical implications of this perspective are suggested.
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