| 1. |
- Löfqvist, Lars
(författare)
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Product innovation in small established enterprises : Managing processes and resource scarcity
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis examines product innovation processes in small established enterprises. The research questions are: (1) what motivates small established enterprises to innovate, (2) how do small established enterprises perform product innovation, and (3) how do small established enterprises manage resource scarcity in their product innovation processes? To answer the research questions, a multiple case study approach was chosen with three small established enterprises as cases and different product innovation processes as embedded units of study. The data collection method used was observation during a period of five months, complemented by interviews and secondary data. Product innovation in small established enterprises seems to be motivated by solving existing customers’ problems and the need for a sustained steady cash flow. A steady cash flow is also found to be a prerequisite during the product innovation processes. Product innovation seems to occur when there is a risk of decreased cash flow and/or when existing customers can be satisfied with new products that increase their loyalty so as to secure future sales, cash flow, and the enterprise’s survival in the long run. Promising innovation ideas alone do not result in product innovation. An innovation idea must also have supportive existing customers for product innovation to occur.Product innovation processes in the studied small established enterprises are found highly context dependent, intertwined in operational processes and made possible by a small organic organization and closeness to existing customers. The product innovation processes are further found to follow a flexible and informal overall scheme optimized for decreasing market and technology uncertainty and risk, dealing with resource scarcity, and facilitating fast and easy commercialization to avoid or moderate dips in cash flow. The design processes within the innovation processes can be linearly structured or cyclical and experimental, depending on the experienced novelty.To manage resource scarcity during the product innovation processes, the studied small enterprises used many different bootstrapping methods in combination. These methods can be divided into three categories according to their overall functions: for using existing resources more efficiently, for increasing resources and to secure a fast payback on resources invested in NPD. The studied small enterprises were due to their resource scarcity further found to favor an innovation strategy, only involving new products done with known technology and targeting existing markets. This way to innovate, which creates new products in a resource-efficient way that are accepted by the enterprises’ existing markets, seems to prevent unsuccessful product innovation, while at the same time excluding technologically radical innovation and innovation targeting new markets.
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| 2. |
- Alieva, Jamila, 1987-
(författare)
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Digital Waste – misjudged element of value stream in lean manufacturing
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The increasing prevalence of digital technologies in manufacturing is aimed at enhancing and streamlining traditional lean processes. However, the rapid automation of manufacturing brings about challenges due to a limited understanding of production waste mechanisms by practitioners. There is growing concern about the potential emergence of digital waste as a result of the influence of digital technologies on lean manufacturing. This thesis aims to examine the role of digital waste within the overall waste in digitalized lean manufacturing, as well as the impact of technologies on lean waste and practices.The thesis is driven by three research questions and comprises five papers that stem from five individual studies. The initial study explores the potential classification of uncollected and unprocessed data as a novel manifestation of Muda, or digital waste. The subsequent study seeks to assess the capability of implementing ERP at a supply chain level to amplify latent lean efficiencies within entities. Lastly, the third study delves into the perceived impacts of soft management practices, employee behaviors, the integration of digital technologies in manufacturing facilities, and their connection to the emergence of digital waste. The fourth study delves into the digital waste generated by companies with automated lean practices, while the fifth study explores the factors contributing to digital waste within the European manufacturing sector.The findings uncover the existence of a novel type of waste, known as digital waste, which may originate from either the product itself or the production process. The findings reveal that the use of ERP technology has a significant impact on identifying hidden lean potential across three categories: unlocked hidden lean potential in an unconnected ERP system, unlocked hidden lean potential in a connected ERP system, and hidden lean potential in a shared ERP system. Furthermore, the study indicates that various aspects such as top management leadership, middle management involvement, employee education, corporate social responsibility focus, innovation, knowledge sharing, work-family balance, psychological capital, job satisfaction, and career commitment, which fall under soft lean management practices, are positively influenced by the digital transformation process. Conversely, soft lean management practices, such as employee training, creativity, discretionary effort, turnover intention, and proactivity, appear to be negatively impacted by digital transformation. Additionally, the final results suggest the existence of digital waste in supplier-related lean practices (specifically, automated JIT delivery) within product-oriented and service-oriented technologies, as well as in internally related lean practices (specifically, automated set-up) within process-oriented technologies. Furthermore, evidence of digital waste is observed in customer-related lean practices, particularly those involving digitally engaged customers, across product-, service-, and process-oriented technologies. Finally, the study reveals that a majority of European manufacturers collect and process data for multiple purposes.The research presented in this thesis adds significant value to the ongoing discourse surrounding lean waste by engaging in a theoretical discussion of both physical and digital waste in the context of technological advancements. This thesis contributes to the discourse surrounding the automation of lean methodologies across product, process, and system domains, while also examining the influence of digital transformation on lean management practices. Furthermore, it investigates the role and consequences of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in lean production. In practical terms, the thesis validates the presence of a novel type of waste that can impact the cost management of manufactured products, fosters transparency for digital collaboration, and advocates for increased investment in technologies and specialized personnel to offer analytical services in conjunction with manufacturing products.
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| 3. |
- Amsteus, Martin, 1972-
(författare)
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Managerial foresight and firm performance
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Purpose – To specify what defines managerial foresight and to assess the association between managerial foresight and firm performanceMethodology/Approach – First, previous research was reviewed and foresight was defined. Second, an instrument for measuring managerial foresight was developed. Third, an empirical case served as an illustration and as anassessment of validity. Fourth, managerial foresight was tested for association with firm performance.Findings – Foresight was specified as behavior with eight sub-components. A moderate and statistically significant positive relationship between managers’ foresight and firm performance was found.Research implications – The empirical evidence for the importance of managerial foresight provides a strong rationale for further studies. In distinguishing eight sub-components of foresight, and developing a managerial foresight measurement instrument, the dissertation makes relating foresight to various research fields possible, both on individual managerial andorganizational levels.Practical implications – Managers may consider whether foresight is important to them or to their organization. Managers, practical foresight tools, foresight programs et cetera, may now be assessed and compared in terms of foresight.Originality/Value – The dissertation provides empirical evidence of the importance of managerial foresight to firm performance. It conceives and advances foresight as a distinct construct. In developing and estimating aninstrument for measuring managerial foresight, the dissertation advancesforesight into a quantitatively measurable concept.
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| 4. |
- Bengtsson, Berit, 1960-
(författare)
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Kampen mot § 23 : Facklig makt vid anställning och avsked i Sverige före 1940
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to use a power perspective to describe the workers’ struggle for co-determination in the Swedish labour market during the period 1890–1939. The study explores how trade unions in general attempted to limit article 23, which asserted employers’ control over hiring and dismissal. At the same time the study clarifies differences in union power between various groups of workers. The prevalent historical view regarding the distribution of power in the labour market is thus questioned.The study shows that workers were not powerless before the Saltsjöbaden agreement in 1938. In certain areas workers, through their unions, already at the beginning of the 20th century had fairly good possibilities of influencing both hiring and dismissal. Collective agreements that were entered into before the defeat of the workers in the great conflict in the Swedish labour market in 1909, as well as collective agreements signed during the 1920s and 1930s, can make both the Saltsjöbaden agreement and present-day regulations look “hostile to workers”. In collective agreements workers achieved considerable limitations of employers’ arbitrary freedom to hire and dismiss workers. Certain unions could control their labour market efficiently by means of a labour exchange of their own. The development, however, varied over time and between different trade unions. Business cycles generally influenced how much power unions could exert. Access to power resources and other conditions varied between different workers’ groups. While some attained considerable power over hiring and dismissal, others had no possibilities of taking part in decision-making.
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| 5. |
- Bengtsson, Caroline, 1975-
(författare)
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Nasal obstruction – impact on insomnia symptoms and sleep-disordered breathing
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Nasal obstruction is very common in the general population, but the role of nasal obstruction in sleep quality is not clear. Nasal obstruction is also prevalent in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and may contribute to poor adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment.Aims: To investigate the impact of subjective nasal obstruction, as a single symptom or as part of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), in both objective and subjective sleep quality, in three different population based cohorts. Another aim was to investigate the usefulness of the Sinonasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) and peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) in the treatment of OSA patients.Methods and results: In paper I (the SHE-study), a community-based sample of 400 women were investigated with polysomnography and questions on sleep quality, daytime- and nasal symptoms. Women with nasal obstruction at night (n=30) had significantly higher prevalence of several night time symptoms and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), but the polysomnography was normal.In paper II (the GA2LEN study, n= 26, 647) and paper III (RHINE II and RHINE III studies, n= 5, 145) questionnaires on sleep quality, daytime- and nasal symptoms were used, and CRS was defined according to the epidemiological diagnostic criteria of the European Position Paper of Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps (EPOS). In paper II, sleep problems were highly prevalent in CRS, and there was a dose-response relationship between the disease severity of CRS and sleep problems. The addition of persistent allergic rhinitis to CRS further increased the risk of sleep problems.In paper III, 2.7% of individuals without nasal symptoms at baseline had developed CRS at follow-up 10 years later. Strong associations between incident CRS and impaired sleep quality and EDS were found. Three insomnia symptoms at baseline increased the risk for CRS at follow-up.In paper IV, 197 OSA patients initiating CPAP treatment were investigated before starting CPAP and at the follow-up 3-4 weeks later. SNOT-22 scores were generally high among all OSA patients indicating a large sinonasal disease burden, and improved among those with CPAP adherence ≥ 4 hours/night. A low PNIF value increased the risk for poor CPAP adherence.Conclusions: Subjective nasal obstruction at night impairs subjective sleep quality in women, but does not affect objective sleep quality. CRS impairs subjective sleep quality, and insomnia symptoms may be a risk factor for CRS. SNOT-22 and PNIF may be useful tools in the treatment of OSA patients.
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| 6. |
- Bengtsson, Jan Christer, 1945-
(författare)
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Peter Weiss filmer : från de korta små lekfulla kopparslagen till kommersiell långfilmsdebut: filmer - filmidéer - utkast
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This doctoral thesis deals with Peter Weiss’ (1916-1982) films and some of his never finished attempts. The focus is in general on Weiss’ film work activities in the 1950’s, when film held the very central place in his works of art. The intention has been to interrogate what short films Peter Weiss made and to find out the meaning and the role of film in the life of the artist Peter Weiss. The conclusion is that Peter Weiss fought with personal difficulties in expressing himself in a language — a language of words and a language of signs — because it is assumed that Peter Weiss carried a very strong will to become an author. In order to “conquer the words” Weiss exercised himself in describing all kinds of worlds — an interior one as well as an exterior one. That explains why he dealt with surrealist psychological subjects and documentary forms while making films.
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| 7. |
- Bengtsson, Lars, 1963
(författare)
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Embedded Measurement Systems
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The subject of Embedded Measurement Systems (EMS) is the merging of embedded systems and electrical measurement systems. This indicates that EMSs are hardware-software systems dedicated to measuring one or a few physical quantities. Applications are numerous; EMSs measure the temperature in refrigerators, freezers, irons, ovens and automobile combustion engines, they sense vibrations in tilt alarms and game consoles, they measure airflow in engines and ventilation systems, they measure shock impact in crash detectors and are used as shock and temperature loggers for transport goods, they measure air pressure in airplane cabins, humidity in air-conditioned environments, they measure liquid levels in fuel tanks, they detect smoke in fire alarms, they measure the viscosity of lubricant oil in engines, they measure the rotation speed of spinning wheels (in any engine), they measure torque in engines and are used as heart rate and ECG detectors in medicine etc. The commercial demand for ever cheaper products and worldwide environmental legislations force vendors to continuously look for more cost-efficient and less power-consuming solutions for their embedded measurement systems. This thesis is concerned most of all with the implementation of cost-efficient/low-power measurement systems in embedded controllers. This includes some novel ideas in voltage, time and resistance measurements with embedded controllers and it will demonstrate how these quantities, analog in nature, can be measured accurately and precisely by inherently digital embedded controllers.
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| 8. |
- Bengtsson, Lars, 1958
(författare)
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Large-Signal Modeling of Microwave Transistors
- 1999
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The development of computer aided design tools for microwave circuit design has increased the interest for accurate transistor models. The circuit complexity has grown as the CAD tools have been improved and the need to predict how non-linear circuits behave has also been increased. Thus the CAD programs nowadays can simulate non-linear circuits accurately; the research challenge is more into the modeling field. This thesis deals mainly with non-linear models for microwave transistors, field effect transistors as MESFET's, HFET's and LDMOS's, and bipolar transistors as HBT's. Different model approaches are discussed and different measurement techniques as well. In the appended papers, the empirical Chalmers MESFET and HFET model are developed to include thermal and dispersion effects. Moreover, the Chalmers model is also applied to an LDMOS device. A survey of widely used non-linear models and their capability to predict the DC and large-signal characteristics of an HFET device are presented. The standard Gummel-Poon model is first shown to be useful for large-signal simulations of an HBT by a power spectrum method and in a later paper is the model extended to include surface recombination effects in the base- emitter junction of HBT's. In the model development work for the silicon based LDMOS transistors the difficulties to de-embed the parasitic elements of the pad pattern were addressed. This was solved by a direct de-embedding technique, which took advantage of the algorithms developed for the calibration of the vector network analyzer. Long time measurements shown that the light sensitivity of a device can be important to consider, the daylight variation shown that for a probed HFET device the characteristics can be light sensitive and this is discussed as well. Finally, an 850 MHz class-E amplifier, which use a LDMOS as switching element is presented. Measured results shows state of the art performance for class-E operation in output power and efficiency in good agreement with simulations.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Bengtsson, Lars, 1958
(författare)
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REMAP-γ: A Scalable SIMD VLSI Architecture with Hierarchical Control
- 1997
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- While the clock speed of general purpose (uni-)processors has risen dramatically during recent years, this is not true for SIMD (Single Instruction stream Multiple Data streams) parallel processors. The reason is to be found in the structure of this type of architecture: long-range broadcasting of data, clock and control signals. Also, as syn- chronization in the architecture has traditionally been done using broadcasting of a global clock, clock skew has been one limiting factor to the clock speed. The advent of deep-submicron VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) technology, where interconnect delay dominates over gate delay, further emphasizes the importance of resolving this "broadcasting bottleneck" problem, since broadcasting normally implies the distribu- tion of signals using long resistive (high delay) wires. As a solution, this thesis presents and evaluates new principles for the organization of SIMD architectures, using a two-level hierarchical organization of the control path. A global Control Unit (CU) broadcasts instructions to all Processing Elements (PEs) in the array at the word-level. These instructions are then executed by local CUs (one in each PE) at the bit-level. An up-shift in clock frequency from the global CU (low speed) to the local CUs (high speed) is thus used, relieving the global CU from broad- casting the high fan-out control signals at high speed. Not only does this scheme enable the use of a high PE clock frequency, it also cre- ates the possibility for greater local freedom at the PE level, enabling very efficient "bit-level pipelined" instructions. These instructions permit various types of "global operations", e.g. data broadcasting, inner product calculations and minimum/maxi- mum searches, all done with very low latency. Introducing hierarchical control in SIMD architectures, also enables locally gener- ated phase-locked PE clocks to be used. This approach has the potential of offering a low (array size independent) clock skew between adjacent PEs. The simulation results of one such implementation ("connected ringoscillators") are presented and discussed. The REMAP-.gamma. SIMD architecture, using the hierarchical control organization, is presented and discussed. Basic matrix calculations (e.g. matrix by vector multiplication), which form the most basic parts in signal processing algorithms, are mapped and their performance discussed on the REMAP-.gamma. architecture. Also shown is how some frequently used sig- nal processing algorithms are performed: convolutions, FIR filtering and Discrete Fou- rier Transform. Two application domains in which the REMAP-.gamma. architecture may be used are pre- sented and evaluated: 1) Artificial Neural Networks, and 2) Phased array multi-channel radar signal processing. The results of a VLSI test prototype chip implementation are presented, together with an analysis of the delay in chip-to-chip interconnections using MCM-(Multi- Chip-Module) mounting technology.
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