| 1. |
- Windahl, Charlotta, 1973-
(författare)
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Integrated Solutions in the Capital Goods Sector : Exploring innovation, service and network perspectives
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- With varying degrees of success, a number of firms in the capital goods sector are experimenting with different ‘integrated solutions’ initiatives. Integrated solutions include product innovations which enable increased process control that allows the optimisation of the customers’ processes, as well as business innovations which change the firms’ business models and customer approach. It is not always easy to develop and commercialise these new offerings, especially for firms that have traditionally focused on developing and selling products. Integrated solutions challenge these firms to shift the focus from physical products, spare parts and support services to emphasis on delivery of performance optimisation and productivity.This thesis is a compilation of five papers and five supporting chapters that discuss and analyse the challenges with developing and commercialising integrated solutions in the capital goods sector. The research builds on case studies of firms experimenting with integrated-solution offerings. The firms produce complex, expensive industrial machinery to customers in the process and manufacturing industries. The main case is based on a five-year, in-depth longitudinal study of Alfa Laval, and more specifically of the developments within the wastewater industry. Other case studies include ITT Flygt and Atlas Copco.The thesis shows that the development and commercialisation of integrated solutions represent a multifaceted, iterative and complex process for the firms under study, who need to combine product, service and business innovations, create new business structures, and create new relationships with customers and possible partners. Consequently, the development of integrated solutions is not confined to or explained by one theoretical field in this thesis, but is linked to innovation, service and network perspectives.The thesis also shows that the three activities of innovating, organising and building relationships are dependent on changing market structures, customer demands and business cycles. Therefore it becomes important to manage the coexistence of different types of offerings, such as products, services and integrated solutions.
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| 2. |
- Ambrutyte, Zita, 1972-
(författare)
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Accounting for cooperation : case study of swedish vertical supply relationships
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the last decades a combination of business trends has caused companies to rely increasingly on relationships with other firms. Despite the popularity of inter-organizational relationships, evidence shows that many inter-organizational relationships fall short of meeting the expectations of their participants or fall for other reasons. It has been claimed that the degree to which efficiency is created is dependent on the information availability to the decision-makers; in order to assess the benefits and the results of the cooperation, there should be some arrangements by the parties done. The purpose of the study is therefore to provide an empirical evidence of the existing management accounting practice in vertical company relationships, how parties in the relationships use management accounting systems and financial information to determine effective and efficient use of resources through planning, co-ordination and evaluation.When this project started, it was expected that in practice this approach would result in systems that support the relationships and provide the foundations for realising the benefits. The findings provide unexpected results, i.e. the parties in the case rarely use management accounting knowledge or systems in managing relationships. However, the use of management accounting related decisions is almost a daily responsibility for the parties involved in relationships management. The reasons for such a situation might be the prevailing technical culture of most companies. This focuses on quality and processes and treats accounting and control as a staff function that is unnecessary in relationships management. Due to the shortage of funds and initiative the supplier companies often lack expertise and management information systems. However, the case investigated as well as other research evidence shows that decision-making based on management accounting information is becoming more common in managing the relationships and even more benefits could be achieved from improved accounting knowledge use.The mismatch between the empirical data and the expectations could possibly be influenced by two factors. First, it is possible that the case analysed represents a practical example which does not match the ideal case, and therefore the management practices illustrated might have room for changes. The second possibility is that the theories referred to in the thesis, do not represent exactly the likely practical scenarios, and accordingly these theories could be enhanced to better explain inter-organisational practices.
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| 3. |
- Ambrutytė, Zita, 1972-
(författare)
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Management Control : Linking Strategy with Inter‐Organisational Relationships
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The alignment of strategies and control systems is believed to affect the chances for firms to successfully achieve competitive edge. Contemporary business trends like globalization, vertical disintegration, the reduction in supplier bases, the focusing of operations and outsourcing of non-core activities, have caused companies to rely increasingly on relationships with other firms. These trends strengthen the awareness of the fact that a company’s success is also built upon the contribution from other players in the total supply network. It is recognised that management control systems play an important role in the management of interdependencies between organisations; yet, there has not been much research into strategy and control systems in interorganisational relationships. The relationship between strategy and control systems in purchasing as an interface towards interorganisational relationships has not received attention in the strategy-management control literature either. Moreover, discussions on inter-organisational control seem often to be divorced from the internal process in the companies concerned.In this thesis, an attempt is made to relate strategy with intra- and inter-organisational controls. The overall purpose is to describe and analyse the effects of strategy on those management control systems used within the purchasing function and to control relationships with suppliers, and further, to propose a framework for understanding how strategy impacts purchasing management control systems and the control of inter-organisational relationships. Two research questions are developed for this purpose, i.e. to examine 1) how a business unit strategy affects management control in purchasing, and 2) how a business unit strategy affects the pattern of management control for inter-organisational relationships. The ideas behind the strategy-structure paradigm are thus extended towards understanding the effects of strategy on the use of controls in inter-organisational relationships. The fieldwork is based on twenty nine interviews with employees at two manufacturing and ten supplier companies, and the data was collected during two periods of time, i.e. 2002-2003 and 2006-2007.This thesis began with the assumption that two companies pursue different business strategies which could be classified by using Porter’s (1980) typologies. It was expected that these different strategies would result in the different use of management control systems in purchasing and in controlling relationships with suppliers. The contribution of this thesis is twofold: firstly, it establishes the pattern of the alignment of business strategy, functional strategy, functional control systems and control of interorganisational relationships, and secondly, it suggests the possible directions towards the refinement of this pattern.
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| 4. |
- Andersson, Karolina, 1975-
(författare)
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Suppliers in collaboration : the impact on the strategies of the individual firm
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The general purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse how collaboration in supplier network influence the individual supplier. The focus is the influence on the supplier's strategic development and how it influences the customer relationship. The empirical data in the study is seven cases, which includes the supplier network Trä 50, five of the participating companies, and their common customer Ikea.The collaborating companies are SME in the furniture manufacturing industry, primarily active on the Swedish furniture market dominated by furniture retailers such as Ikea, Em and Mio. The suppliers are in a weak position and collaboration is often argued as a way to change the situation. During the past decade, large amounts of money have been spent by the EU and the Swedish government to encourage and support collaboration projects, in the furniture manufacturing industry and also in other industries. However, argumentation for collaboration is seldom underpinned with data on the actual outcome for the individual participating company. Therefore is the benefit from collaboration for the individual company central in this thesis.The research questions are based on the view that there is three elements that can influence each other when suppliers collaborate: the supplier, the customer and the supplier network. All influences between these elements are studied in this thesis to understand the collaboration's total influence on the individual supplier. To achieve this was the development of the five suppliers studied, the customer's purchasing strategy and the supplier network's activities.Trä 50 was a collaboration project, founded to reduce the lead-time by 50 percent for the participating companies. The participating companies had high goals and saw collaboration as an opportunity. It was especially exchange of experience and knowledge that attracted them. Trä 50 turned out to become much more than one project. Bonus agreements in purchasing, study tours abroad, a market oriented project, and study visits at each other's companies were some of the activities in Trä 50 during the approximately ten active years. The participants consider Trä 50 as a successful collaboration.Ikea was not a member of Trä 50, but the company was involved in the founding of Trä 50 and different representatives from lkea were often invited to seminars and discussions. Partnerships between Ikea and the individual suppliers were for instance discussed.One conclusion of this study is that collaboration can have significant influence on the individual company, but also not any influence at all. The result depends on factors such as the company's involvement in the activities, the management's attitude to and goals with the collaboration and the fultilment of the goals.All the participating companies did not reach the goal 50 per cent reduction of the leadtimes, but they did improve the production processes, and increased the production capacity. The over aU result from Trä 50 for the participants were improved knowledge development, and personal development for the managers. An additional contact channel to the customer was established through the network. Business negotiations were still held on the single company level, and knowledge development on the network level - a kind of Meta relation to the customer emerged. The knowledge development led among other things to a "fine-tuning" of the companies strategies. The collaboration led to few new customer, but larger volumes at Ikea.The reasons for the success of Trä 50 were many, but some are more noticeable. A friendly and trusting atmosphere emerged among the representatives from the companies. They also worked hard on the projects though, to stay competitive among each other. Furthermore, the companies' had similar problems and the relation to Ikea. The large customer meant many possibilities, but its power was also a threat. The suppliers shared a love-hate feeling toward the customer. The active part that Ikea did take in the collaboration by attending meetings, seminars, and discuss issues such as partnership was another reason to the success.The individual company's relation to the customer Ikea was also influenced. The companies got a broader net of contacts at Ikea. The collaboration made them more visible at the customer, and this led to an improved position for the supplier and the customer-supplier ties were strengthened.
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| 5. |
- Bengtsson, Marie, 1977-
(författare)
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The Art of Replicating
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Fokus för den här avhandlingen är företag som växer genom replikering, det vill säga genom att skapa och driva liknande enheter på många olika platser, så som t.ex. McDonald’s och Starbucks. Replikerande företags livscykel beskrivs normalt i termer av en initial utforskande fas, följt av en exploateringsfas där standardisering är en hörnsten i företagets strategi - vad som därefter följer är emellertid oklart. Varsamt åldrande innebär dock vanligtvis att man måste anta de utmaningar som följer i kölvattnet av stabilitet och förändring.Modeindustrin kan beskrivas som oberäknelig och föränderlig, och har varit så i århundraden. Konkurrensen är stenhård och efterfrågan är svår att förutse då mode och trender hela tiden förändras. Med tanke på det beroende av standadisering som finns i replikerande företag kan man fråga sig hur ett företag i modebranschen kan hantera en replikeringsstrategi. Den trade-off som finns mellan fördelarna av standardisering och fördelarna av lärande och anpassning ställs på sin spets i ett sådant företag.Renässansen stora konstnärer mötte en liknande utmaning om än i lite annan form. Baserat på kollektivt arbete skapade renässansens verkstäder såväl replikor som nya verk i mästarens namn. För verkstaden betydde det att de skulle replikera mästarens stil till den grad att enskilda bidrag från lärlingar inte gick att skilja från mästarens eget arbete. Nya lärlingar var tvungna att lära sig att “emulera” mästarens stil och fungerar som en förlängning av hans hand och öga.Den här avhandlingen tar därför avstamp i konstens värld, mer specifikt i Renässansen, för att utforska hur ett konstinspirerat förhållningssätt kan öka vår förståelse av replikeringsprocesser i erfarna företag som är verksamma i starkt föränderliga branscher och vars strategi bygger på replikering. Det empiriska underlaget för avhandlingen är en djupgående fallstudie av den svenska modekedjan Hennes & Mauritz, och bygger på deltagande observation såväl i etablerade butiker som under öppningen av nya.
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| 6. |
- de Paula, Andes, 1968-
(författare)
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Dynamics of corporate strategy from a value chain perspective : A study of the Swedish telecom and construction industries during the 90’s
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Changes in sectors and industries have brought new challenges to corporations as well as been important driving forces for the dynamics in strategy at the corporate level. With the dramatic developments of the 1990’s in mind, such as multilateral free-trade agreements, liberalization, privatization, sharp industry growth/decline, increased competition and globalization, in particular within the telecom and the construction industry, this study contributes to describing and understanding strategic change at the corporate level as well as changes in the division of work within value chains. Strategy is defined as intentions, decisions and actions that relate to bundling and unbundling at different strategic levels, aiming to establish and reestablish a value chain position. Thus, outsourcing, M&As, modularization and systems development and sales are important strategic components which are examined from a value chain perspective. From a value chain perspective, the purpose of this study is to describe and understand strategic change at the corporate level in the telecom and construction industries during the 1990’s. More specifically this study shall contribute to describing and understanding (i) the dynamics of and between M&As, outsourcing, modularization and systemization, as well as (ii) industrial and financial drivers to strategic change.The conclusions describe strategic change from a value chain perspective using three descriptive patterns, including an increasing degree of specialization and need for interorganizational coordination across the value chain. In addition, outsourcing and modularization of systems and an increased scope of offering through systemization and BOT-projects, result in the fact that due to M&As the horizontal boundary of the firm sometimes goes beyond the industry scope while the vertical scope is often narrowed through outsourcing. The conclusions also focus on understanding the content of strategic change, that is to say the dynamics of and between mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, modularization and system sales. These findings are summarized in nine explanatory patterns. These patterns show that the strategic decisions of bundling and unbundling at the corporate and functional level through mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, systemization and modularization are guided by an industrial as well as a financial logic. By considering the descriptive and explanatory patterns found this study, the conclusions also include what to expect during the next decade with regard to corporate strategy from a value chain perspective in five predictive patterns.
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| 7. |
- Elmhester, Karolina, 1975-
(författare)
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Små företag i strategiska nätverk : hur påverkas det enskilda företagets utveckling?
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse the impact collaboration in strategic networks has on the individual company’s development. The particular focus is especially on whether the collaboration has contributed something to the individual company, which in the long run can help to improve the possibilities for a better outcome. The study is based on three research questions: 1) what happens on the network level respective the company level during collaboration; 2) what is the link between the activities of the strategic network and the individual company, and 3) what is the reason why the individual company is affected.The empirical data in the study consists of four strategic networks, and eleven participating companies. The study began in late spring 2004 and ended in spring 2008. Data was collected on several occasions during the study period. The companies that participated in the strategic networks were small and belonged to the wood product manufacturing sector. All four strategic networks participated in Nutek’s “Träklusterprogram” (Wood cluster program) which ran 2003-2005, but they all continued being active after the program ended. There are previous studies on strategic networks, but by studying both the strategic networks and the participating companies, this thesis adds new dimension, a discussion as to how collaboration could affect the participating companies’ strategies and development.The thesis shows that collaboration in strategic networks, which in reality is a relatively small part of a company’s operations, could have a significant strategic importance for example on the production process, marketing and external relations.Interesting findings from the study include indications that there may be a clear difference in how the individual company is affected, depending on whether the strategic network has market or competence related goals. Moreover, collaboration in strategic networks can improve a business executive’s self-confidence and infuse him or her with inspiration, with the result that he or she will dare to invest and take on more challenges. Among other things, this can have the effect that the company’s strategies are implemented and goals reached.For the strategic network, the results indicate that an enthusiastic, committed leader of the collaboration seems to diminish the importance of a well-structured organization, that is to say that a leader with drive is more important than a formal organization. The thesis also stresses the importance of a socialization process in strategic networks in order for them to be successful, in the sense that the participants should get to know each other and their respective companies. Finally, the company representatives’ commitment to the collaboration and their attitude to it tend to overshadow the importance of other factors.
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| 8. |
- Enberg, Cecilia, 1976-
(författare)
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Knowledge Integration in Product Development Projects
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Denna avhandling handlar om kunskapsintegration i produktutvecklingsprojekt. Med kunskapsintegration avses processer av mål-orienterad interrelatering med syfte att dra fördel av de kunskapskomplementariteter som finns mellan individer som har differentierade kunskapsbaser. Förmågan att integrera specialiserad och distribuerad kunskap är betydelsefull för många företag då den bidrar till att förklara skillnader i produktutvecklingsframgång. Dock saknas det detaljerade, empiriska, studier av kunskapsintegration. Mot denna bakgrund är syftet med denna avhandling att undersöka vilka kunskapsintegrationsmekanismer som är lämpliga att använda i olika projektkontexter.Avhandlingen är baserad på två longitudinella realtidsstudier av produktutvecklingsprojekt. En detaljerad redogörelse av projektarbetet, tillsammans med en analys, presenteras för respektive projekt. Därefter görs en komparativ analys, i vilken såväl likheter som olikheter mellan de två fallen och deras respektive projektkontext diskuteras. En iterativ modell för kunskapsintegration förslås som ett resultat av studierna. Den iterativa modellen har ett flertal egenskaper som kan bidra till att öka vår förståelse för kunskapsintegration i empiriska projektkontexter. För det första visar den på vikten av att förstå i vilken utsträckning som kunskapsproblematiken i ett specifikt projekt medför behov av såväl ”aktion” som ”interaktion” och hur dessa kompletterar varandra i en iterativ process. För det andra indikerar den betydelsen av artefakter och hur dessa kan bidra till såväl aktion som interaktion. För det tredje tar den hänsyn till det faktum att aktion och interaktion medför olika kostnader för kunskapsintegration.
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| 9. |
- Fransson, Daniel, 1978-
(författare)
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Outsourcing strategies for wood product manufactering firms : driving forces and strategic development
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this thesis outsourcing in the wood product manufacturing sector (WPM) is studied. More specifically, the study aims to describe and analyse outsourcing strategies for firms in the WPM industries (door, floor and window). Firms in the WPM sector have previously not dealt with outsourcing to any large extent and have usually handled all manufacturing activities in-house. Recently, however, firms in the WPM sector seem to more and more considering outsourcing parts of their manufacturing. Using frameworks developed in other business contexts, this thesis will focus on these firms' outsourcing strategies. A multiple case study research strategy based on six case companies is employed.This study confirms that WPM firms are focusing increasingly on outsourcing, which means that all manufacturing of components and products will not (and does not need to) be handled in-house. The case companies have a varied degree of outsourcing experience. When there is a need for strategic development by increasing customer orientation outsourcing becomes an inevitable ingredient for the companies studied. Today, the manufacturing of many types of wood components (often at the beginning of the value chain) is no longer considered as a core competence and creates little added value for the customer. This creates a strong driving force for outsourcing the manufacturing of these items. Instead, the companies' focus is on those activities that enable differentiation on the market, as it is now these that are considered as core competencies of the corporation. Four major driving forces for initialising outsourcing can be identified: (1) increasing customer orientation for strategic development, (2) optimising the balance-sheet to achieve fmancial effectiveness and focus resources on core activities, (3) strategic flexibility by not handling everything in-house and (4) minimising costs to achieve operational effectiveness and improve relative cost position.The firms studied define outsourcing strategies on the basis of components and products, not certain activities. The primary focus is on component outsourcing, but in the future outsourcing will also include more products. Outsourcing strategies seem to enable more focus factories and in the future more component manufacturing will be outsourced to suppliers in low-cost-countries, where both labour and raw material costs are lower. Outsourcing strategies for products involve the outsourcing of products where little contribution to competitiveness can be obtained by manufacturing in-house. Thus, the products suitable for outsourcing are considered more as non-core products that are needed to keep or expand product diversity. The outsourcing of wood components is becoming an important strategy and, in line with product outsourcing strategies, the WPM firms' focus will be on those components that create differentiation, other components will be considered for outsourcing. In this way the firms studied intend to go from buying sawn timber, considered as a bulk commodity, to a component strategy. Components considered for outsourcing are not regarded as any major determinant of competitive advantage but are not viewed as problematic either. The component outsourcing strategy includes decreasing the supplier base to have some major first tier suppliers. However, the companies that have been studied are not likely to apply a single sourcing strategy. The suppliers will take over this initial manufacturing, and this development also places more responsibility on these suppliers and entails higher demands on supply reliability.The former resistance to not working closely with the primary wood industry seems to have decreased and the WPM firms seem less need of having in-house processirlg of the raw material and component manufacturing. However, a recurring theme is the need to reduce the risks of dependency and to ensure supplier competence, when considering the outsourcing of components.A fundamental requirement for outsourcing must be that there is a developed market to outsource to. However, the companies studied intend to outsource wood components even though they realise that there is no well developed supplier market as today there are not necessarily any or only a few companies that can manage a supplier role in an outsourcing agreement. What the case companies have in common is the difficulty to outsource to a supplier market where the firm needs to find suppliers that have the competence to handle the outsourcing of components, and also the scale and the fmancial possibilities to offer comparative advantages. There seem to be very few suppliers available who have sufficient capacity and competencies and the companies studied instead intend to develop their suppliers, but the strategy for this varies. Three ways for handling supplier uncertainty and development when outsourcing components can be identified: (1) wait for a market to develop, (2) proactive development of suppliers and ensure reversible outsourcing (3) partnering with larger supplier with sufficient size, competence and financial possibilities.
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| 10. |
- Henningsson, Markus, 1975-
(författare)
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Retail trade demands on distributors : strategic and operational implications
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The global trend of consolidation holds true also within the British Do-It-Yourself (DIY) retail trade and Builders Merchants (BM), resulting in inter alia the rise of 'mega-retailers' such as B&Q. The manufacturers and suppliers of wood products have been slow in the adaptation to the changed market situation. The suppliers' limited adaptation can to some extent be blamed on low levels of knowledge on the actual demands from the reshaped retail trade landscape.Wood based products. are from a retail trade perspective, a strategically important product which often represents from 4% to 20% of the retailers total turnover. Due to the products' relatively low-valued and bulky character, the retailers normally refuse to distribute them through their internal distribution centers, hence requiring the supplier to provide that service. Very low academic interest has been placed on this phenomenon. Thus, the purpose of my thesis is to describe and explain the demands of retail trade on suppliers of wood based products and explore what consequences these have on a strategic and operational level within a supplying company. The study is commissioned by SCA Timber, whereby the focus is not placed on theory generation, but rather on bridging theoretical gaps and increasing the knowledge in the area.To meet the purpose of my thesis, a case study has been conducted in the UK including three cases; first the supplier and also focal case company SCA Timber Supply UK (SCATS), followed by the DIY and BM segments described as two separate cases.The analysis shows, that the British DIY retailers and national BMs can be divided into three groups reflecting their demand profiles (DIY, BM1 and BM2). These demand profiles can be translated into corresponding offers building upon three parts; the core offer, augmented supporting services and long-term relations. In the later part of the analysis, different strategic options are discussed and their consequences are analysed against three perspectives; the marketing channel, customers and competitors.Distribution is a critical part of the core offer to the groups DIY and BM1. On the well-consolidated British distributor market, the distribution service needed acts as a strong entry barrier to competing suppliers with no own distribution solution. The entry barriers are raised further due to the close channel partnerships developing between supplier and buyer, where the latter can be seen as outsourcing some traditional gatekeeping functions to the supplier in order to increase the competitiveness in the whole marketing channel. Further my study stresses the importance of a high dynamic effectiveness within the supplier's organisation in order to have and maintain a high flexibility towards changes in the customers' demand profiles, and to provide its customers with individually adapted offers.
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| 11. |
- Johansson, Pontus, 1974-
(författare)
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Adapting manufacturing strategy to industrial after-sales service operations
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation is initiated from an increased awareness within industry of the importance of services in general and of after-sales services in particular. The scope of this research is to analyse how the specific characteristics of after-sales services affect a company’s manufacturing strategy, which in effect should become an operations strategy not only considering the manufacturing of goods. Considering the after-sales service as a product, consisting of both good and service characteristics, the objective of this dissertation is to develop conceptual models for an improved long-term management of operations where production of both new goods and after-sales services are competing for the same or similar resources. Specifically, the structural decision categories of a manufacturing strategy, process technology, capacity, facilities, and vertical integration, are adapted to include the demands of after-sales service products.The research result is an extension of the existing manufacturing strategy framework, which is transformed towards a more general operations strategy framework capable of providing managerial guidance for a larger set of products than just pure goods. Tools are developed for analysing what processes would be suitable for the after-sales services, and whether the after-sales processes should be merged with, or separated from, the new goods process. An extended long term service capacity framework is also introduced, looking specifically at the needs of after-sales service operations. Through seven case studies as well as a survey of 45 Italian providers of both manufactured goods and services, the after-sales supply chain is mapped and classified with respect to vertical integration and facilities.
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| 12. |
- Jönsson, Petter, 1977-
(författare)
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Modular Innovation in Mature Structures : a study of barriers and drivers between young and established organizations
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The field of interest in this study is modular innovation. This type of innovation replaces an old parr of an existing product or adds new functionality to an existing product. Modular innovations are important to increase the performance of an existing product and retain the competitiveness of the product. The purpose of this thesis is to: suggest some explanatory factors that can influence how and if modular innovation, which adds new functionality to an existing product, can become adopted within a mature industry. To achieve this purpose the analysis has been divided in two levels. The first level analyses how the modular innova· tion firs with the product architecture of the final product. The second level analyses how the industrial structures within the industry affects the possibilities for an entrant firm to establish oneself as a new supplier. The empirical data is collected from the automotive industry. The study is based on in-depth interviews.The study illustrates that there is a difference between modular innovation that replace an existing module and modular innovation which adds new functionality to an existing product. In addition, the driving forces for replacing and adding innovation are different. The driving force for modular innovation which adds new functionality is linked with recognition of new needs. In contrast, replacing modular innovation is driven by competitive forces based on well-known parameters and the search for new technical solutions which can improve the performance of the existing module.The study shows how industrial structures affect the possibility for entreating firms to introduce new modular innovation. Although the innovation in technical terms very well fits the final product it is far from certain that the innovation will become adopted. Aggravating circumstances for new entrants is the lack of organizational resources. Due to the lack of resources, entreating firms can benefit from having owners active within the target industry. Moreover, the imerdependences between the established firms in the industry obstruct the possibilities of established firms to adopt innovations from new suppliers.
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| 13. |
- Kihlén, Tobias, 1976-
(författare)
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On Logistics in the Strategy of the Firm
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse the role of logistics in the strategy of the firm. Leading to this purpose are empirical observations of firms that manage to grow under sustained profitability, by the means of logistics.The clothing retailers H&M and Inditex manage to pursue strategies of growth under sustained profitability. Both H&M and Inditex acknowledge that logistics is used in achieving these strategic goals. The competitive environments are similar for the two retailers. However, the strategy content, i.e. the what of strategy, differs greatly between H&M and its Spanish competitor. H&M focuses on economies of scale in their operations to allow for low logistics costs and a cost-efficient geographical expansion. Inditex focuses on flexibility and speed, being able to quickly respond to changes in demand, which calls for a more agile logistics platform.From this background, two cases are studied as regards the role of logistics in the strategy. The case companies Ahlsell and Bergman & Beving, two wholesalers of industrial goods, display growth under sustained profitability and have an outspoken focus on logistics in their strategies. The cases are described in terms of the content and the context of logistics in the strategy of the firm. The content is the what of strategy whereas the context is the where of strategy. The context is further divided into inner and outer context, where inner context is the firm and outer context is its environment.The theoretical basis of this research is found in logistics and in strategy: Logistics research on the relation between logistics and strategy from a logistics perspective, and strategy theory ranging from the resource-based view of the firm, or the inside-out perspective, to positioning theory, or the outside-in perspective. A pattern-matching methodology is used to establish an appropriate description of the logistics content and context in the strategy of the firm. In the content-dimension, the opposing views of the resource-based view and positioning theory are tested on the cases. In the context-dimension, the cases and their environment are described with a stance taken in the contingency approach to the organisation of logistics.The research shows that the role of logistics in the strategy of the firms in the scope of this study is most appropriately described using a resource-based view of the firm. Further, the two firms under study serve as examples of two different ways to use logistics in the strategy:- Bergman & Beving manages to integrate a decentralised group of product companies in one logistics platform.- Ahlsell achieves synergies in acquisitions by moving logistics and administration of the acquired firms into their centralised logistics platform.The cases also serve as examples of that the logistics solutions need not be optimal in terms of the lowest cost and the highest service level to be used successfully in the strategy of the firm to reach growth under sustained profitability. The firms in the scope of this research act in similar outer contexts but interpret these contexts in different ways depending on their manner to use logistics in the strategy. The research shows that similar outer contexts can be approached successfully with strategies with different logistics content.The logistics organisations in the firms in the scope of this thesis display robustness towards changes in the outer context of the firm, i.e. the logistics organisations can encounter considerable changes in the environment without altering their position in the firm. It is concluded that in order to make the role of logistics in the strategy more comprehensible, a bridge between the abstract strategy theory and the role of logistics needs to be established. A possibility to attain this can be found in the application of a business model framework to the relation between logistics and strategy, which is suggested as an area for further research.
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| 14. |
- Kindström, Daniel, 1974-
(författare)
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The integration of e-business into mature and established companies : a business model approach
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose ofthis dissertation is to explore and analyse the implications of the integration of e-business into mature and established companies and how e-business can contribute to business development. Changes in general and e-business in particular have the potential to penetrate different areas of a company and thus we ought to analyse how e-business is integrated into the entire company (both strategically and operationally) if we aim to understand how this happens. By using a holistic business model framework it is argued that we get a more complete picture and understanding of the integrating e-business.The study is based on three case studies of mature and established, so-called bricks-and-mortar, companies that use e-business in various ways and to various extents.Traditionally e-bus iness has primarily been used for cost reduction purposes especially regarding transaction costs. These relatively simple solutions, "low-hanging fruits", have all but been exhausted and thus companies turn their attention to more complex and value-adding solutions and ideas. As e-business becomes more complex it also becomes more integrated into the companies and the day-to-day activities. This also demands more interaction and integration with business processes as well as external actors such as customers. E-business has the potential to intluence companies in all dimensions of the business model framework forwarded here; in the Operative platforms, in the Offering. and regarding the Market positions. Furthermore. it is argued that much of companies' contemporary business development has a clear e-business ingredient.
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| 15. |
- Kohn, Christofer, 1977-
(författare)
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Centralisation of Distribution Systems and its Environmental Effects
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Many believe that the current application of modern logistics solutions in general and centralisation of distribution systems in particular is damaging from an environmental perspective. The reason for this claim is that when a distribution system is centralised, products need to be shipped over greater distances. This causes an increase in transport work, which in turn is believed to cause an increase in emissions. Further, the decision to centralise distribution can be characterised as a structural decision and earlier research has helped illustrate how such decisions have greater impact on the overall performance of a distribution system than decisions taken at subsequent levels (tactical and operative). The reason for this is that structural decisions help create new opportunities to make other logistical decisions that are beneficial for the performance of a distribution system, as measured in terms of costs and service.It is also acknowledged that there is a lack of research illustrating the actual environmental effects of centralisation. This area is the theme of this thesis and the overall purpose is to describe and analyse how centralisation of a distribution system can affect the environment. This purpose has been divided into two research questions, where the first one reads:- How does physical centralisation of a distribution system influence the environment?This question aims at investigating what effect centralisation has on the amount of emissions that are caused by transport in a distribution system. One of the main advantages with a centralised distribution system is that emergency deliveries are expected to decrease. This type of transport is often performed by airfreight, which is a mode of transport that is regarded to cause the largest amount of environmental stress among the four most commonly used transport modes. The argument that is made is that even though centralisation causes an increase in transport work, this must not necessarily mean that emissions increase.As indicated above, earlier studies on structural changes in distribution systems have shown that this type of decision creates new opportunities to make other decisions that are beneficial for the performance of a distribution system, albeit in terms of costs and service. The aim of the second research question is consequently to study this issue, but from an environmental perspective. This question therefore reads:- How do structural decisions in logistics create new opportunities to improve on the environmental performance of a distribution system?The results of the study show that it is not sufficient to only consider transport work and emergency deliveries when the environmental effect of a centralisation is to be evaluated. It has also been concluded that centralisation creates an opportunity to make improvements within the distribution system that can prove beneficial from an environmental perspective. In summary, three characteristics besides transport work and emergency deliveries were identified as being of importance when considering the environmental effects of a centralisation. These included centralised flow, modal change, and bargaining power.This model (see full pdf) does not aim to include all characteristics that can be relevant in an environmental evaluation of a centralisation, but rather those that have been found significant in this study. However, the model helps illustrate that there are many aspects that need to be considered in such an evaluation and that depending on the characteristics of the distribution system at hand the results can vary quite extensively.
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| 16. |
- Kollberg, Beata, 1976-
(författare)
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Performance Measurement Systems in Swedish Health Care Services
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the quality management literature, measurements are attributed great importance in improving products and processes. Systems for performance measurement assessing financial and non-financial measurements were developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The research on performance measurement systems has mainly been focused on the design of different performance measurement systems. Many authors are occupied with the study of the constructs of measures and developing prescriptive models of performance measurement systems. There is a need in the research to shift focus from studying the construct of measurements to how they are used in real face-to-face situations in specific contexts.The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the development, i.e. the design, implementation and use, of performance measurement systems in Swedish health care services. The study aims to increase the understanding of the role of performance measurement system in Swedish health care and thereby support health care improvements in general. Three research questions have been derived from the purpose. (1) How and why are performance measurement systems being developed in Swedish health care services? (2) What problems can be identified in the development? (3) What enabling factors can be identified in the development? A qualitative research strategy was selected for the research. The research is based on a multiple case study design conducted within two research projects. Information has been gathered through interviews, documents and observations.The idea of performance measurement systems develops through several tracks when implemented in health care and the development follows a purposeful process of activities. The development was initiated when major changes occurred in the organisation or its environment. Performance measurement systems are primarily used to support a dialogue between management and employees regarding organisational improvement. Problems experienced are related to struggles to reach national consensus for measures, involving management, and the clarification of various end-users’ needs. Enabling factors are the frequent interaction with people developing the system, management’s involvement, the use of multi-skilled teams, and visual displays.The research contributes to several insights to the research area of performance measurement system and health care practitioners. The research shows that the development process is far from straight forward and is formed by the influence of factors in the organisational context, which cannot always be predicted. By seeing the development as an innovation process, the focus is broadened from being technological towards the organisation as whole, which contribute to the existing research on performance measurement systems.
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| 17. |
- Kowalkowski, Christian, 1978-
(författare)
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Enhancing the Industrial Service Offering : New Requirements on Content and Processes
- 2006
-
Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse how capital goods manufacturers can enhance their industrial service offering.The theoretical basis of this research is found in services marketing, recognising co-creation of value, that the service process is an open production system and that the customer determines value as the manufacturer can only offer value propositions.The empirical basis is a multiple case study of service management at BT Industries, Electrolux Laundry Systems, ITT Flygt, and Saab. The four companies operate within different industries, have different service offerings and they are facing different internal and external conditions, which affect their service organisation and offering.It is becoming increasingly important for capital goods manufacturers to offer services and there are further growth and profit opportunities on the market for industrial services. It is suggested that there is major improvement potential and financial gains possible to achieve if more resources are allocated to services. Moreover, utilisation of new technological means leads to increased dematerialisation and enable manufacturers to enhance existing service offerings as well as enable new ones.Depending on whether the services have a traditional product-orientated focus or a customer-centric process-orientated focus, and depending on the scope of the offering, there are different critical factors to consider. Process-orientated services require knowledge about not only how to service the installed base but also how to improve the customer’s industrial production process.Generally, bundled services require a modular structure with standardised, formalised processes and integration between local and central organisation. Extensive bundled offerings require that both customer and provider have relational intent and a long-term relationship is regarded as a condition for successful customer involvement in service development. Long-term relationships also enable the company to act proactive and develop offerings with a customer-centric approach, instead of having a product-centric approach and internally-focused innovation.To conclude, operational service processes and interfaces, internal and with the customer, are critical to manage both from a cost-efficiency and revenue-effectiveness perspective. Furthermore, it is argued that customer relationships and development of the service offering must be managed strategically.
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| 18. |
- Kowalkowski, Christian, 1978-
(författare)
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Managing the Industrial Service Function
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the past decade, growing attention has been given to industrial service offerings in the marketing literature as well as in many manufacturing firms. This phenomenon is often described as a goods-services transition, in which companies increasingly turn to the provision of industrial services in order to achieve competitive advantage, such a closer customer relationships and higher profit margins. Industrial services span a wide range of offerings, from basic after-sales services to process-orientated solutions consisting of both services and capital goods. With industrial service offerings receiving increased attention as their importance is understood, the ability to manage the service business in a manufacturing context becomes ever more vital.The overall purpose of this doctoral thesis is to describe and analyse how capital equipment manufacturing firms strategically manage their industrial service offerings in order to achieve long-term competitive advantage. This includes analysing how to organise the firm for the development and production of service, and, depending on the type of industrial service offering, what the requirements on the service processes are. Furthermore the role of information and communication technologies as enablers for new offerings and processes is analysed. The thesis consists of a compilation of five papers, two case descriptions and an extended summary. The research builds on a multiple case study of the service organisations of market-leading manufacturing firms. The main cases are based on in-depth studies at ITT Water & Wastewater and Toyota Material Handling Group.The results suggest that, as the division between goods and services becomes ever more blurred, there is an increasing need for cooperation between the service and the product organisations. Applying a service logic means that the traditional division between goods sales and after-sales services becomes outdated. Instead, the customer relationship becomes the centre of the offering regardless of its combination of services and goods. Further, the infusion of service in manufacturing firms means that more service processes and interfaces have to be managed simultaneously.Theoretically, this research contributes mainly to the fields of industrial marketing and service as a business logic. One contribution is the proposed typologies for industrial service offerings which make it possible to better understand the dynamics of service processes. Another important contribution of this research is the service function concept. Industrial services must not be equated with the activities of the industrial service organisation only. Although the service organisation most likely is the key entity, it is only one subset of the service function; sales product development, manufacturing, senior management, and other organisational entities, as well as external service providers and customers, are to be seen as part-time service functions that influence the offering. Compared to previously, competitive advantage through industrial service offerings is to a greater extent based on factors outside the service organisation, i.e. in other parts of the service function.
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| 19. |
- Norrman, Charlotte, 1968-
(författare)
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Entrepreneurship Policy : Public Support for Technology-Based Ventures
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The subject of this thesis is entrepreneurship policy and the focus is on public support programmes directed to early stages technology-based ventures. It advocates that a broad view should be taken with regard to the type of policies for entrepreneurship that aim at supporting the facilitation of the supported ventures’ ability to link to their surrounding innovation system, in which they can secure their access to crucial external resources. Taking the departure in the perspective that early stages technology-based ventures are vulnerable, this thesis shows that publicly financed entrepreneurship supporting programmes can be motivated because small and newly started ventures have got limited resources, and because the risks, with which they are associated, generally make them unattractive in the eyes of private actors.Among the practical implications of this thesis, the following findings are emphasised: Public support, directed to the very earliest stages of venture development benefits from broadness, for the latter stages, specialisation and a higher degree of selectiveness could be an advantage. Moreover, it is important that the support provided take into account the whole process of business development, i.e. both the issues concerned with product/service and the issues connected to the market. A long-term commitment, cooperation between different actors and information about what support is available, are other aspects that are important for policymakers to consider in their design of public policies to support entrepreneurship. Finally, the importance of evaluative awareness must be emphasised from the very start.
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| 20. |
- Norrman, Charlotte, 1968-
(författare)
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Publicly Funded Support of Technology-Based Ventures
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is about publicly funded support of technology-based ventures. These ventures are regarded as solutions to create growth and societal development. They are commonly originated from universities, institutes or other firms and their products or techniques are commonly new or at least different from the ordinary. They are therefore considered as being of higher risk than generic new firms, but if successful they may also give higher returns. Hence, a range of efforts has been undertaken to support them. However, concerning the issue of public support, gaps of research have been exposed.This thesis aims to give some answers on the question of what characterizes the public support given to technology-based ventures in Sweden. It elucidates two types of public support, the “configuration-type” and the “process-type” The first is studied by using statistical databases built upon the conditional loans and the innovation subsidies that were offered by Sweden Innovation Centre during the years 1994-2003. The second type concerns incubator support, and investigates how best practise incubators can be evaluated. Among the results, it can be mentioned that different support actors use different selection criteria depending on their goals, however the credibility of the applying venture is crucial for approval. Furthermore, a framework for best practice evaluation is developed.
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| 21. |
- Nouira, Semir
(författare)
-
Early-stage finance : exploring the financial context of small and young knowledge-intensive firms
- 2005
-
Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis essentially explores early-stage finaneing of small and young knowledge-intensive finns. The three studies underlying the thesis deal with the entrepreneurs' attitudes to financing and the creation of spin-affs in a corporate venture capital setting. The major questions posed in the thesis embrace:What variables underlying the business creation process govern the elementary logic behind the entrepreneur's perceived importance of different actors as financiers?Do cognition elements of risk and contral influence the entrepreneur's attitudes towards financing?What is the strategic and financial logic behind a large public corporation initiative to continuously create internal and non-strategic ventures?In the pursuit of answering the above research questions two survey studies and one case study were accomplished. Interesting findings cornprise the significance of the business context, the novelty of the venture idea, existing financing, the entrepreneur's extent of self-efficacy and expectations on externai financiers in determining the entrepreneur's attitudes towards financing.Another insight uncovered in this thesis is the delicate balance between generating short-term financial gains through the creation of non-strategic internal ventures, and at the same time sustaining overall business strategy. In certain conditions, it might even be possible that such venturing activities might function as a strategic trash can reinforcing the business strategy pursued, and at the same time generate short-term profits.
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| 22. |
- Olausson, Daniel
(författare)
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Project Closure is not the End : A Study of Interaction between Design and Manufacturing in Product Development
- 2006
-
Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Tidigare forskning har påvisat att ett företags produktionsförmåga påverkar förmågan att utveckla nya produkter. Faktum är att de företag som är duktiga på att producera ofta även är duktiga på att utveckla nya produkter, då flertalet produktionsaktiviteter såsom prototypframställan är viktiga i utvecklingsprocessen. Detta, i kombination med att mer än 70 % av en produkts kostnad bestäms under utvecklingsfasen, innebär att det är av yttersta vikt att samspelet mellan utveckling och produktion hanteras effektivt.En begräsning med tidigare forskning är antingen att den tenderar att endast titta på interaktion under utvecklingsfasen eller på hur företag kan förbättra produktionsförmågan. Därför är avhandlingens syfte att vidga analysen av interaktion mellan utveckling och produktion genom att studera interaktion under såväl utvecklings- som produktionsfasen. Detta görs genom att studera hur interaktionen påverkas av viktiga kontextuella faktorer såsom organisatoriskt och geografiskt avstånd samt uppgiftens karakteristika. För att uppnå syftet studerades flertalet företag genom intervjuer, vilket utmynnade i fyra papper samt en kappa som sammanfattar och drar slutsatser utifrån dessa papper. De två första papperen fokuserar på interaktion under produktionsfasen, medan de två sista papperen behandlar interaktion under produktutvecklingsfasen.Syftet med Papper 1 är att klargöra möjligheter och begränsningar med olika ansatser för produktionsförbättringar. Totalt studerades sju företag: två som saknade ett systematiskt förbättringsarbete och fem som jobbade systematiskt. Resultaten visar på tydliga skillnader mellan olika ansatser. De företag som lyckats bäst är de som har ett systematiskt arbetssätt, men även bland dessa företag finns det vissa skillnader. Företag där framförallt produktionstekniker är ansvariga för förbättringsarbetet har förvisso lyckats att implementera förändringar, men avsaknaden av förankring hos operatörerna har inneburit visst motstånd. Framförallt kan detta vara en nackdel i föränderliga miljöer där operatörerna kan ge stora bidrag med sin spetskompetens. Generellt sett tycktes det vara svårt att involvera operatörerna. Bredare ansatser där såväl produktionstekniker som operatörer bedrev förändringsarbetet var således svårare att införa men de som hade lyckats fick god utväxling. En faktor som tycks vara viktig för att införa en sådan bred ansats var att ledningen stödjer arbetet.Papper 2 fokuserar på tre av de sju fallföretagen från Papper 1 för att se hur produktionsförbättringarna kan användas för att förändra och förbättra produkten. Mer specifikt syftar detta papper till att undersöka hur interaktion under produktionsfasen påverkas av samverkan mellan förbättringsansats och geografiskt avstånd mellan utveckling och produktion. Resultaten visar att systematiska förbättringsansatser ger fler möjligheter till produktförbättringar än vad osystematiska ansatser gör. Tillvaratagandet av dessa möjligheter påverkas negativt av ett längre geografiskt avstånd mellan avdelningarna, då det ofta är nödvändigt för konstruktörer och produktionspersonal att diskutera ansikte mot ansikte för att utröna vilka möjligheter som finns och hur de kan förverkligas. Det kan således konstateras att kombinationen systematisk ansats och närhet skapar de mest gynnsamma förutsättningarna för att produktionsförbättringar skall leda till produktförbättringar.Istället för att studera interaktion under produktionsfasen vänder Papper 3 på myntet och studerar interaktion under utvecklingsfasen. Syftet med papperet är att undersöka hur interaktion under utvecklingsfasen påverkas av det geografiska och organisatoriska avståndet mellan utveckling och produktion. Totalt studerades två företag, ett företag utan egen produktion och ett med. Resultaten visar på att utvecklingsavdelningen behöver besitta relativt avancerad produktionskompetens för att kunna utveckla nya produkter effektivt. Utvecklarna behöver med andra ord jobba målmedvetet för att bibehålla och utveckla denna kompetens, vilket underlättas om de två avdelningarna är placerade i närheten av varandra. En nackdel med närhet tycks dock vara att interaktion domineras av informationsutbyte ansikte-mot-ansikte trots att mer kostnadseffektiva media såsom e-post ibland kan nyttjas.Syftet med Papper 4 är att bredda den föregående studien genom att studera en större mångfald av företag och produktutveckling (dvs. produktutveckling baserat på föränderlig såväl som mer mogen teknologi). Mer specifikt är syftet att se hur interaktion mellan utveckling och produktion påverkas av samverkan mellan geografiskt/organisatoriskt avstånd och uppgiftens karakteristika. Totalt studerades sju företag där fyra av dem baserar sina produkter på mogen teknologi (tre med egen produktion och två utan) och två företag utvecklar högteknologiska produkter (ett med egen produktion och ett utan). Resultaten visar att olika kombinationer av avstånd och uppgift skapar olika utmaningar som måste hanteras med hjälp av olika interaktionslösningar:(1) i en turbulent miljö utan egen produktion är utmaningen att säkerställa att utvecklarna har tillgång till relevant produktionskompetens.(2) i en stabil(are) miljö utan egen produktion kan utvecklarna enklare förstå produktionsprocessen. Utmaningen ligger snarare i att få feedback från leverantörerna så att produkten kan tillverkas till lägre kostnad.(3) i en turbulent miljö med egen produktion har utvecklarna hög kompetens. Utmaningen är att utnyttja spetskompetensen inom produktionsenheten.(4) i en stabil(are) miljö med egen produktion är utmaningen att formalisera interaktionen till en högre grad. Det tycktes som att dessa företag nyttjar ansikte-mot-ansikte interaktion fastän billigare media såsom e-post kunde nyttjats.De fyra papperen studerar således såväl utvecklings- som produktionsfasen. Genom att vidga analysen av interaktion och studera båda faserna visas på vikten av att styra och hantera interaktion under båda faserna. Det konstateras att effektiv styrning av interaktion under utvecklingsfasen leder till effektivare produktion medan den under produktionsfasen ger möjligheter till produktförbättringar. Således bör vi inte se projektavslut som slutet för interaktion mellan utveckling och produktion. Det är troligtvis inte ens början på slutet utan möjligen slutet på början.
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| 23. |
- Ouchterlony, Johan, 1974-
(författare)
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Project-based E-procurement : towards strategic purchasing in the Swedish construction industry
- 2007
-
Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this study is to describe and analyse the use of E-procurement and the development towards Strategic Purchasing in the Swedish Construction Industry.The rationale behind this study is to bring out the potential for large decentralized finns, such as large construction companies, to exercise strategic purchasing which I have chosen to define as a more centralized approach to the purchasing function in order to enhance all relative benefits for large organizations. Firms that operate in the construction industry focus their activities in projects of various sizes. It is natural in the construction business that most production operations must be undertaken by local markets with the use of local resources. The business logic in the local activities is centred around construction projects and in the couplings with local players. Local units and project managers have a strong influence in decision-making and have traditionally been left to manage production and purchasing as long as individual projects show profitability. The difficulties in the centralization of purchasing activities are likely affected by the specific characteristics that local project intensive operations entail. Under these circumstances, it is interesting to in particular study the impact of E-procurement in the purchasing arena and how this new phenomenon influences the potential for strategic purchasing. In order to further investigate the main purpose with this study the following research questions were developed:What characterizes purchasing on local levels in the firms and how is it related to the local context?What characterizes purchasing development on the central level in the firms and how is it related to the strategic context?How does E-procurement affect local and central level purchasing and how does E-procurement affect the interrelation between them?What forces affect the Construction firms' purchasing strategy and purchasing organization?How can Construction firms be developed from local purchasing to strategic purchasing?How does E-procurement affect large construction firms towards Strategic Purchasing?The first empirical results of E-procurement projects are now available to use in the research. I have used the empirical results from two major players in the Construction Industry; Bravida and NCC. Both firms have gained substantial experience in the implementation of E-procurement projects. This thesis containes two indepth case studies, describing Bravida's and NCC's purchasing activities on both the central level and the local level as well as the use of Project-based E-procurement.The two cases were found to have both differences and similarities in their characteristics. However, after a case comparison and theoretical synthesis the main conclusions I found were that construction firms must find ways to create more permanent networks that last over time and over multiple number of construction projects. A strict central organization for purchasing coordination and governance is not the ultimate model due to the prevailing complexity in construction projects and the local market dominance. Instead, large construction firms should apply a balance between central govemance and local governance which for instance involves a purchasing strategy based on Continuous (in every project repeatedly purchased) Items and Discontinuous (selldom project based purchased) Items. This approach also indicates the importance that being a large player on the market must pay-off and that not just the contrator tier in the construction supply chain must change, but also the suppliers must change in accordance to their customers.My research will demonstrate how E-procurement can be a very useful tool for the central purchasing management to fulfill the strategic approach of the purchasing activities. E-procurement as a phenomenon constitutes an information plattform creating value for the integrated business units and suppliers as well as act as a catalyst for change of the process itself.
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| 24. |
- Parment, Anders, 1972-
(författare)
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Car distribution organization : strategic issues in four configurations
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study is concerned with car distribution organization, a context characterized by overcapacity, intense competition, and manufacturers heavily focusing on brands. In the study, different distribution solutions are investigated through applying a framework of four strategic issues. First, the pressure to keep distribution costs low while conveying a clear brand message gives rise to decisions on solus or multi franchising; second, the choice of either selling through one channel that is likely to be committed to the brand, or through multi channels competing with each other; third, the choice of selling the products through own outlets or through independent dealers, the latter giving rise to conflicting interests; fourth, the choice of mechanisms for coordinating channel members' efforts and knowledge exchange.The empirical part of the study contains slightly more than 100 interviews with manufacturers, importers, dealers and experts in Sweden, Germany, the UK, Spain and Australia.The study reveals that, among other forces in the distribution setting, industry overcapacity appears to undermine efforts to create constructive relationships between channel members. Order-to-delivery systems and systems to feed back market knowledge are superseded by the pressure to sell pre-produced cars. Particularly volume brands suffer from fierce competition, while a premium brand provides some protection from competitive forces.The findings of the study are synthesized as four distribution chain configurations. In the brand-based chain, channel members' efforts create a consistent brand experience throughout the chain. The efficiency-based chain is focused on keeping costs low without neglecting other demands, e.g. the ability to handle industry overcapacity. The flexibility-based chain is led by a powerful dealer group who manages a portfolio of brands and dealerships. As new opportunities in the market emerge, the dealer group restructures the portfolio accordingly. The premium aspiration chain, finally, represents an inferior strategy by trying to be a premium brand while lacking an attractive product, thus creating a situation of confused customers and excessive distribution costs.
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| 25. |
- Rosén, Thomas, 1967-
(författare)
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Open Source Business Model : Balancing Customers and Community
- 2008
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Free and Open Source Software has not only increased researchers’ interest about community-driven software development, but lately, interest from commercial actors increased as well. In addition, some scientists have claimed that Open Source Software has entered a new phase: OSS 2.0. Even so, a coherent way of analyzing commercial Open Source ventures is still missing.Commercial Open Source firms’ strategies are often described using the term “business models”. However, these models often lack stringent structures and have been used primarily to describe the firms’ offerings and methods to earn revenue.Through the adaptation of an existing, firmly theoretically-based analytical business model framework, this thesis suggests a new analysis model for studying for-profit Open Source companies. In addition, the framework is generically constructed, ensuring its usability for other industries as well. The model consists of three elements: market positions, operational platform and offering.This particular study concerned four software product vendors, all of which base their products on Open Source Software. When analyzing their business, insights were made about how these firms operated. The result show that there are certain key elements and factors that determine if a company has a sustainable business or not. From the analysis framework, three elements were refined. The main Open Source Software project connects the market positions and the operational platform; and from the offering, the product and service and the revenue model were very important.The study identified eight key factors which influenced the elements: brand for the product, the company and the Open Source Software project; community, that is the sum of the non-paying users and developers connected to Open Source Software projects; resources, which are community-based resources such as development and testing; legitimacy, the perceived legitimacy regarding licenses and the revenue models; control, i.e. the control the firm has of the software; ability to charge, or how the company can charge for its services; customers, the paying users; and finally volume, which is the number of paying customers.The findings also indicate that companies interested in working with the open-source community have to be able to balance the demands from both their customers and the community in order to benefit and gain competitive advantage.
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| 26. |
- Sandberg, Erik, 1978-
(författare)
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Logistics Collaboration in Supply Chains : A Survey of Swedish Manufacturing Companies
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to describe logistics collaboration in supply chains. During the past two decades, a new trend towards integration and collaboration in supply chains has been recognised among researchers as well as among business practitioners. This philosophy is called supply chain management and has received enormous attention in logistics research. Collaboration based on supply chain management is expected to reduce total cost and improve service towards the supply chain’s end customers at the same time.The argumentation in existing literature is however seldom underpinned by more rigorous empirical material and becomes therefore conceptual and superficial. Furthermore, it is incongruous about what actually is done when companies collaborate and what more specific effects are achieved. Therefore more research, especially survey based, is needed in order to verify existing literature. In this thesis the perspective of a focal company is taken in order to concretise the ideas from supply chain management and investigate what it means for an individual company.Based on supply chain management literature, a questionnaire was constructed which focused on the content of the collaboration and its driving forces, barriers and effects. Furthermore, differences between triadic collaborations, i.e. collaborations where both the supplier and customer of the focal company are involved, and dyadic collaborations (collaboration with either a supplier or a customer) were investigated.The questionnaire was mailed to 482 Swedish manufacturing companies which had a turnover of more than SEK 100 Million per annum and with more than 100 employees. This population was considered as a typical target group for the supply chain management literature. 177 usable answers were received which gives a response rate of 37.8%.The results from this study are summarised in five propositions. It is proposed that the content of logistics collaboration in the Swedish manufacturing companies’ supply chains is rather operative in its character and does not reach the strategic level that is advocated by the literature. In particular, the degree of process approach in the collaborations is low. This area has a great potential for improvements.The results also indicate that the intensity of the collaboration, i.e. frequency of information sharing, degree of joint operative planning of involved supply chain activities, and process approach, are positively related to the effects experienced of the collaboration. The relation between joint strategic planning and the operative collaboration issues is however weak and does not seem to influence the effects experienced as a consequence of the collaboration.Furthermore, engagement from top management is recognised as an important driver for successful collaboration. Top management involvement means an increased internal focus on the collaboration and facilitates more intensive collaboration.Finally, differences in attitude and behaviour are recognised depending on whom the collaboration partner is. The study shows that the traditional way of managing supply chain relations still dominates, where the focal company “demand what he wants” upstream much more than in the case for downstream relations. Such differences according to SCM literature should not exist and can be considered as a serious threat for SCM based collaboration.
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| 27. |
- Sandberg, Erik, 1978-
(författare)
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The Role of Top Management in Supply Chain Management Practices
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Supply chain management (SCM) has been discussed by researchers as well as business practitioners for more than two decades now, but still surprisingly little of this philosophy can be seen in today’s business practices. One important enabler for taking the SCM philosophy from theory into practice that is often mentioned, but not investigated in-depth, is top management support. The role top management plays in a company’s SCM practices could be an important piece of research that is not yet in place in the big SCM puzzle. The purpose of this dissertation is therefore to describe and explain the role of top management in a company’s supply chain management practices. The purpose is approached with the aid of two studies, where the second is partly built upon the findings from the first. The first study is an explorative, broad survey study aimed at investigating how companies’ SCM practices, here limited to include a focal company’s logistics collaboration with suppliers and customers, are performed. In the second study, which is an explanative, multiple case study, the role of top management is investigated more in detail.The empirical foundation for the survey study is a questionnaire that was constructed based on SCM literature. The questionnaire was sent in November 2004 to 482 logistics managers at Swedish manufacturing companies and a response rate of 177 usable questionnaires (37.8%) was achieved. Apart from purely descriptive statistics such as mean values, standard deviation and frequencies, other tests were used such as factor analysis, cluster analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and cross tabulations with χ-square tests. The results are summarised into five major findings, concluding that (1) existing collaborations are mainly performed at an operational level in the companies, (2) there are differences in the focal company’s attitude and behaviour depending on if the collaboration partner is situated downstream or upstream in the supply chain, (3) increased intensity in the collaboration results in more positive effects, (4) top management involvement is an important driver for increased intensity of the collaboration, and (5) top management involvement in a dyadic collaboration is an important driver for increased collaboration with supply chain members on the other side of the focal company.The empirical basis for the multiple case study is three companies considered to be best practice within SCM. In total 15 focused, open-ended interviews with members of the top management teams were conducted during winter 2006-2007. All interviews were typed and transcribed, and objective case descriptions with citations were thereafter written. The analysis includes separate analysis of each case as well as cross case analysis. The SCM framework that was used in the first study was complemented with a framework on business strategy theory in the second study. More specifically, the analysis incorporates the positioning perspective, the resource based view, and Mintzberg’s view on the strategy formation process.The theoretical contribution of this dissertation is mainly given to the SCM field. In short, the results include a more thorough explanation of top management’s role in a company’s SCM practices. Six archetypes of this role are presented; the supply chain thinker, the frame setter, the process designer, the relationship manager, the controller, and the organiser for the future. Other implications for SCM literature being discussed in the conclusions are that (1) a systems approach should be considered separate from collaborative thinking, (2) the interdependencies in the investigated supply chains are mainly serial, (3) a systems approach is not the same as having a pure process orientation, (4) the responsibility for logistics issues is shared among members of the top management team, and (5) top management is not directly involved in the company’s distinctive logistics capabilities.
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| 28. |
- Serbin Wikner, Sarah, 1971-
(författare)
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On customer value : a study of the IT supplier Atea and three of its customers
- 2007
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- At the turn of the twenty-first century, the PC company Dell was known for its "famous direct method" (Afuah and Tucci, 2003), which alludes to the direct business model. Dell created a tightly aligned business model that enabled it to manage away the need for its component inventories (Jonathan Bymes, 2003). In order to do that, the company eliminated retailers, wholesalers and distributors in its supply chain (Chopra and Meindl, 2004). Rapid deliveries of tailor-made computers and competitive price were the result of an efficient build-to-order strategy that outdid many IT competitors.(First paragraph of the introduction. No abstract available)
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| 29. |
- Svensson, Peter, 1974-
(författare)
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Capitalizing on science : a case study of a Swedish microelectronic university research program
- 2007
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Science is accepted as a part of the economic growth miracle of the Western world from late 18th century and onward. In Europe there is increased expenditure on strategic research and applied research, because policy-makers want science to become an even more important factor for economic growth.However, the roadmap between science and innovation is still blurry. It seems as if it is not a linear process between discovery of a research finding, the creation of a technology and the market introduction of a product, service or process. Instead, innovation, technology and science interact. The actors, i.e. the scientist, the engineer, and the entrepreneur or the intrapreneur, are involved in random processes facilitated by social networks.This study is based on an in-depth case study of the Swedish university research program m microelectronics called "Eproper". The research program consisted of three research groups that aimed at an engagement in knowledge and technology transfer activities. The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze critical issues for capitalizing on science from a university research program such as Eproper.Some of the most important conclusions of this thesis are:The innovation processes commence when a research program is initiated; especially because of the creation of networks between different actors at university and industry are institutionalized at the start.The "academic loop" between science and technology comes natural to a university researcher; meanwhile the "commercial loop" between technology and innovation involves completely new sets of skills and assets in order to bridge between technology and innovation.Both university generated start-ups and licensing of new technology are important vehicles for commercialization; but the two vehicles are in need of different social networks and sets of skills which might be managed for.
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| 30. |
- Zhu, Bo, 1970-
(författare)
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The common customers on wheels : interaction between Swedish authority and vehicle industry in traffic safety product realisation
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall goal of this thesis is to explore the possibilities to improve the interaction between the authorities and the vehicle industry in traffic safety product realisation. The difference between human traffic safety needs, road users' traffic safety needs and their traffic safety demands are highlighted. The process from human traffic safety needs to traffic safety product market is discussed. The interaction between The Swedish Road Administration (SRA) and the vehicle industry in Sweden is characterised according to four issues: goals and motives, dependence and power, conflicts, and knowledge exchange. The empirical study includes 15 in-depth interviews that were done during the spring of 2004. The SRA and the vehicle industry in Sweden agree on the road users' traffic safety needs. They also agree each others' role in traffic safety management and the strategy of the SRA to switch its approach. The SRA and the vehicle industry also have conflicts due to the incompatibility of their organisational goals and expertise.
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| 31. |
- Öberg, Christina, 1970-
(författare)
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The Importance of Customers in Mergers and Acquisitions
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of the thesis is to identify categories and patterns of how customers impact and are impacted by an M&A. In M&A (merger and acquisition) research the focus is traditionally on the M&A parties alone, and while customers are important elements of the motives behind M&As, they are rarely seen as actors affecting and being affected by an M&A.This thesis researches M&As from M&A parties’ and customers’ perspectives. It categorises and connects M&A parties’ activities related to expectations and activities of customers, with customers’ activities at the acquisition point and at integration.Based on findings from eight M&As, the thesis concludes that customers may be the reasons why companies merge or acquire. Customers may react to the M&A announcement if it involves companies the customers do not want to have relationships with, or based on the fact that customers perceive the M&A as turbulent, for instance. Customer actions, and M&A parties reconsidering their initial intentions, affect integration strategies. The realisation of integration is in turn impacted by customers’ resistance to buy according to M&A parties’ intentions and by customers actively objecting to integration.In short, customers impact M&As through: (i) being a reason to merge or acquire, where the M&A aims at acquirer’s or acquired party’s customers, or markets/positions, and where the M&A is a responsive activity to customers’ previous activities or is based on expectations on customers; (ii) customer reactions or changed buying behaviour; (iii) M&A parties’ pre-integration reconsideration; and (iv) post-integration difficulties, whereby customers impact integration realisation through not seeing the benefit of the M&A and thereby continue to buy as previously, through objecting to integration or through dissolving relationships.Customers are impacted by M&As through: (i) the M&A as possibility for change; (ii) ownership changes, which may lead to changes in competition structures; and (iii) forced integration.This means that the impact that customers have on M&As are both results of their own actions, and also of the expectations that the M&A parties have on customers.Important findings from this thesis concern adjustments of initial M&A intentions, how integration may be resisted so as not to challenge ongoing relationships, and how customers (often) make it difficult to achieve initial M&A goals and integration as the customers do not act in accordance with the integration intentions of the parties involved in the M&A.
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