| 1. |
- Ratkić, Adrian
(author)
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Avvikelsens konst : metod och analogiskt tänkande
- 2004
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- I denna avhandling presenteras en fallstudie vars studieobjekt är dialogseminariemetoden tillämpad inom forskarprogrammet KTH Advanced Programmein Reflective Practice. Dialogseminariemetoden kan ses som ett sätt att iscensätta dialog genom en systematiserad och disciplinerad procedur.Metoden utvecklades i Bo Göranzons och Maria Hammaréns samarbete med företaget Combitech Systems, mellan 1996 och 1999, i syfte att underlätta reflektion kring erfarenhetsgrundad kunskap. Sedan dess har metoden tillämpats i en rad andra situationer och i olika syften.Varför är just denna metod värd att studera? Enligt min mening löper många trådar från forskningsområdet yrkeskunnande och teknologis nu tjugoåriga metodutveckling ihop i dialogseminariemetoden. Inte minst uttrycker metoden en genomtänkt hållning i frågan om vad som förbinder litteratur, filosofi, idéhistoria och konst med yrkeskunnande och vetenskap.Denna hållning uttrycks i sättet att föra dialog; olika teman utforskas i samtalet genom associativa förbindelser, utvikningar och avvikelser. Detta kallas för analogiskt tänkande, till skillnad från tänkande som bygger på induktion eller deduktion. Att tänka analogiskt innebär att reflektera kring likheter och skillnader mellan olika företeelser. Analogiskt tänkande dominerar i omdöme och handling och är av stor betydelse i bland annat utvecklingsprojekt,inom konstnärligt arbete, all slags problemlösning, samt de faser i forskningsarbetet som kräver uppfinningsrikedom och fantasi.Dialogseminariemetoden utgör ett exempel på det som filosofen Tore Nordenstam kallar ”tillämpad humaniora”, och min beskrivning av hur metoden använts vid KTH kan ses som ett inlägg i den offentliga diskussionenom humanioras plats inom högre utbildningen.
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| 2. |
- Abid, Muhammad, 1981-
(author)
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Global Supply Chain Design : Exploring configurational and coordination factors
- 2015
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis addresses the topic of global supply chain design. One major challenge concerns how to manage the tension between separation and integration pertaining to the localization of business activities. In this regard Ferdows (2008) worked to create two new production network models (rooted production network and footloose production network). Earlier studies have highlighted the choices that are involved in the network of facilities but lack in providing a comprehensive picture in terms of both configurational and coordination factors that govern the design of global supply chain. There is a need for a conceptual model where factors affecting the design process of a global supply chain can be applied. Two main research questions have been addressed in this study. First, exploring and identifying the factors affecting global supply chain design. Second, investigating the factors that influence the position on the spectrum of rooted and footloose supply chain design. A literature review analysis and multi-case studies have been performed for this study in order to explore the factors. The companies were selected in order to reflect upon the two types of network, i.e., rooted and footloose. The primary data were selected through interviews with the managers.This study highlighted that there are many factors that affect configurational and coordination decision areas within a global supply chain. This study categorized the factors and the configurational/coordination decision areas with two main competitive priorities, i.e., cost and differentiation in the form of a “conceptual model.” The study also highlighted the factors in a matrix, which showed their position on the spectrum of rooted and footloose network configurations. For instance, the coordination factors that drive towards a footloose network include: high orchestration capabilities, need access to new technology and knowledge, proximity to suppliers, etc. The configurational factors that drive towards a rooted network include: economic stability, proximity to market, concerns for sustainability issues, high transportation cost, need for high proximity between key functions, need for intellectual property rights protection, etc.
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| 3. |
- Aghasi, Keivan, 1983-
(author)
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Predicting who stays or leaves after the acquisition: : Target’s top manager turnover
- 2015
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In acquisition of high-tech and knowledge intensive firms, scholars have paid special attention to top managers’ status after the deal. Literature suggests that these managers in particular CEOs if kept in post-acquisition provide coordination capacity for the acquirer to transfer the knowledge and technology from the target to the acquirer while minimizing the disruptive effect of post-acquisition integration process. In addition, the acquirer benefits from human capital embedded in target’s managerial resources; especially in high-tech and knowledge intensive firms where top managers are founders or patent holders. Although the above mentioned argument have been validated by empirical studies showing that top manager’s turnover reduces the post-acquisition performance for the acquirers, multiple empirical studies have reported abnormal managerial turnover shortly after the acquisition. This thesis made an attempt to explain this puzzling phenomenon by investigating on the determinants of the top manager’s turnover of the target in the post-acquisition period. The study finds that in case of CEOs, acquirers do not rely always on coordinating capacity provided by them in post-acquisition. Indeed, the acquirer’s choice of provision of coordination is beyond the target’s CEO retention. The choice of coordination depends on the existing level of coordination capacities and the acquisition’s motivation. In addition, founder-CEOs are more likely to stay after the acquisition because of their valuable firm-specific human capital for the acquirer. However, this value diminishes by the maturity of the target. In addition, similarity in demographic characteristics of the two CEOs (of the acquirer and target) causes social attraction, collaboration and cooperation which ultimately increases the chance that the target’s CEO retention. Finally, diversity within the target’s top management team (TMT) directly increases their chance of departure after the deal. The diversity engenders social frictions, conflicts and coordination inefficiencies.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Alsterdal, Lotte, 1958-
(author)
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The Duke of Uncertainty -Aspects of Professional Skill
- 2001
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The Duke of Uncertainty - Aspects of Professional Skillis a dissertation whose title is a literary metaphor designedto draw attention to encounters with unforeseen problems anddilemmas at work.The first part of the dissertation presents the skill andtechnology tradition that has developed over the last twentyyears through explorative case studies. These have covered theskills of various occupational groups, such as processoperators in the paper-and-pulp and chemicals industries,managers and systems engineers working on real timeapplications in specialized knowledge intensive firms as wellas doctors and nurses.The theoretical perspective is the epistemology of skillfocusing on the phenomenon of tacit knowledge. This has itsroots in Wittgenstein's philosophy of language as developed bythe philosophers Allan Janik and Kjell S. Johannessen.The methodological framework develops indirect analogicalthinking which is a prerequisite for knowledge based onexperience, through exemplification.The empirical part of the work shows knowledge offamiliarity among members of an occupational group with lowformal training but extensive practical experience, namelyassistant nurses. A comparative analysis is undertaken inrelation to previous case studies in the field of skill andtechnology aimed at occupational groups with high formaleducational qualifications.A particular aspect to which attention is drawn is therhythm in work that unites occupational groups regardless ofeducational background. Occupational skill is treated as acapacity developed to find rhythm in action when confrontedwith situations that are hard to handle. The dissertationconsiders aspects that can be tried out in other occupationalarenas and paves the way for identifying phenomena in workinglife that hinder the development of rhythm in work.The dissertation contributes to the setting-up ofundergraduate-level training for groups of people who have notpreviously had access to higher education, and aims tointroduce new aspects into the development of analoguethinking.Key words: practical versus theoretical knowledge, skillof epistemology, tacit knowledge, comparative case study,literary metaphor, analogical thinking, indirect method,occupational training.
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| 6. |
- Andersson Gustafsson, Gunilla
(author)
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Scenbyte
- 2001
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Barchéus, Fredrik, 1974-
(author)
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Who is responsible? : Communication, coordination and collaboration in the future Air Traffic Management system
- 2007
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- nternational civil aviation has experienced a steady growth in the past decades that is foreseen to continue. To overcome capacity limits of the old Air Traffic Control systems, new technology is currently being developed and introduced. While the current way of conducting air traffic has evolved in a continuous manner, the new technologies are part of a new paradigm that has the potential to completely reform aviation. Under this paradigm, it is envisaged that pilots may engage in surveillance tasks, which poses new demands on coordination between controllers and pilots. This thesis describes basic properties of current and new technology and procedures within civil aviation and the relation to distribution of tasks and responsibilities between pilots and controllers. It is recognised that the current distribution is largely based on the development of technological tools. As new technology allows information in the aviation system to be shared to much greater extent than in the present operational environment, it implies that the basis for present task allocation between controllers and pilots may be challenged. For new technology to be viable, appropriate procedures must be developed to assure safety within the air traffic system. To gain wide insight into current aviation, a multitude of data-collection methods have been applied including interviews, observations, and simulations. Interviews have been performed with controllers from several European countries. Observations have been performed in operational Air Traffic Control as well as operational flight. Observations have also been performed in simulations where some applications of the new technology have been investigated. Questionnaires were distributed to both pilots and controllers in a real-time simulation investigating Free Flight issues. Results show that operational activity is characterised by a large degree of flexibility. In some applications of new technology, certain tools and procedures have been identified that have been regarded inflexible. It is emphasised that continued development should be performed in international cooperation and introduced into operation gradually to minimise shortfalls of training.
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| 10. |
- Bauner, David, 1965-
(author)
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Towards a sustainable automotive industry : experiences from the development of emission control systems
- 2007
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- From the mid-1970s and on, the contribution to air pollution of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from gasoline passenger cars in the developed world has been reduced through co-evolution of regulation and commercial introduction of catalytic emission control technology, now part of hundreds of millions of cars, trucks and buses worldwide. This dissertation is a disaggregated study of the global introduction of catalytic emission control technology as a measure to reduce local air pollution. The introduction of the “three-way” catalyst for gasoline passenger cars is studied for four countries. Present innovation in diesel engine emission control is studied. Technological change is analyzed regarding the process of innovation, the innovation system and its stakeholders. Results are evaluated for implications for innovation and regulatory policy for coming environmental challenges. Automotive catalysis is an example of environmentally motivated innovation, including problem definition, public regulation, corporate market and non-market strategies, invention, variety, selection, technology transfer, mass diffusion and the ongoing coevolution of emission-abating policies and technical development. Common denominators for successful technological or market innovations is a participatory dialogue around structured and tiered regulatory roadmaps, international competition, support by international networks and conducive local public opinion. The near-global introduction of the three-way catalyst was complex and highly dependent on local context and conditions, suggesting that any general “global” innovation and regulation strategy to address present and future local or global problems must be reviewed with an understanding of local barriers and drivers for environmentally motivated innovation. Given the stakeholders and technical challenges of different technological regimes to mitigate climate change, it is concluded that increased fuel efficiency and the introduction of plug-in hybrids are possible trajectories for sustainable mobility.
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| 11. |
- Berg, Gunnar
(author)
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Företagskulturers makt : överbrygga språkliga klyftor
- 2008
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- How do we work in projects that are expected to bridge cultural, social and historical boundaries? Is it possible to apply stated instructions across these boundaries so that, for example, the task of producing a requirement specification is interpreted in the same way by all the parties involved? In this thesis, the author takes a stand against his personal experience from such a trans-cultural project – a project in which he failed. A factor that made a strong contribution to this failure was the inability of the companies involved to manage the underlying complex of problems, problems associated with the philosophy of language. They possessed neither the knowledge nor the instruments to bridge the chasms of language. Essential reflection and analysis was replaced by the power language of the enterprise; individuals were singled out and held responsible, and the failure was relegated by definition to the level of personal issues. Experience does not automatically become knowledge; this is a process that requires reflection. The author suggests a number of ways of tackling communications problems among people who not only do not understand one another, but do not understand that they do not understand. The latter may mean that two people think that something is unambiguous, yet their interpretations diverge. This is when problems occur. Nobody has made a mistake – both parties have acted properly, they have even (perhaps) talked the matter through and reached agreement, yet the result still does not coincide with what they anticipated. A central concept is dialogue. Through its organised form, dialogue can make openings in problems that cut through cultural, social and historical boundaries. It is an approach that may be illustrated through authors and philosophers such as Witold Gombrowicz, Ludwik Fleck, Oscar Wilde, Joseph Conrad and Galileo Galilei. This study has its basis and its origins in the research area of Skills and Technology at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm (KTH).
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| 12. |
- Berglund, Johan, 1978-
(author)
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Formalisering och yrkeskunnande : en explorativ studie om säkerhetskulturen inom kärnkraftsindustrin
- 2011
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Like many industries, the nuclear power industry in Sweden is currently facing the challenges of a major generational change. To meet these challenges, alongside the demands for a high level of security, the industry has attempted to standardise its mode of operations as far as possible. Apart from various technological fixes and safety devices, manuals and instructions have been modelled for every conceivable situation, or course of events; documentations and formal systems of co-ordination that become larger and larger, and more and more detailed. In high-risk industries there is a tendency to equate learning with changes in external patterns of behaviour, as against fixed standards, typically among operating staff. The acquisition of professional skill, on the other hand, is the result of participation in practice. From this point of view, rather, learning is the outcome of reflection, upon actual events and experiences. Recurrent training can be used to promote formalisation, but also to explore and reinforce the experience based knowledge of skilled operators; between these approaches, the former prevails. Accidents and incidents incessantly put in question what is commonly referred to as the safety culture of various power plants, and subsequent to the misfortunes at Forsmark 1 in 2006, the accident was described as the culmination of a longterm decline in safety culture. The strong requirement for security and control is a cause of formalisation, whereas the need to support reflection as formation of professional skill tends to be omitted. Even so, experience based skill and knowledge remains a substantial consituent of what could be regarded as a dependable safety culture. Codified knowledge must be interpreted and applied in practice. Furthermore, experienced professionals, from encountering a great variety of situations, seem to develop what can be described as the skill of anticipation, and, as shown in connection with the incident at Forsmark 1, an ability to handle the unexpected. The urge for formalisation raises certain concerns: that of the primacy of defining the containments of professional skill, the impact and resilience of local knowledge and diversity, and the hollowing out of ability and skill within work-life organisations. The “human factor”, that is the operating staff, is commonly made responsible for established accidents and incidents. Even so, experienced personnel are able to manage a variety of unforeseen events and disturbances, that sometimes occur in high-risk technology industries. At times, on the contrary, the human factor saves technology, instead of the other way around. This study explores the concept of safety culture within the nuclear power industry from an epistemological perspective. It discusses the use of recurrent training, and the role of experience based skill and knowledge in the operating of Swedish power plants. What methods can be employed to support experience based knowledge as an essential complement to standardised work processes, codified knowledge, or benchmark strategies? Principles of formalisation need to be supplemented with a more thorough exploration of professional skill, in which a distinction between behaviour and responsibility can be made.
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| 13. |
- Bergsten, Andreas, 1962-
(author)
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Fackets kulturkris : metaforer som organixationsterapi
- 2009
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Union representatives today have constantly to discuss and redefine their roles, as established patterns of negotiation and decision-making changes. The Swedish model of collective bargaining and corporatist representation in government has slowly been weakened and unions seek new ways of serving the interests of their members. This study focuses on disagreements and uncertainties in groups of white-collar union representatives concerning purposes and roles. The dialogue seminar method, developed at the Royal Institute of Technology, is a tool for practitioners to examine the tacit knowledge that informs their work. Ideas from Ludwig Wittgenstein's later philosophy concerning rule-following and language games figures prominently in the development of this method. In four dialogue seminar series, union representatives from the Swedish white-collar union Sif (Unionen from 2008) have explored their present situation and future challenges. The lack of a common understanding in these seminars is traced to the wider organizational culture and trends in public opinion. A cultural crisis in the union is understood in Wittgenstein's terms of 'captivating pictures' – patterns of thought that remain unchallenged. How such pictures captivate and dictate our thinking by way of implicit analogy is further discussed in this study. Elements from psychoanalytic theory are introduced to outline a theory of organizational development based on our innate capacity for analogical thinking. Criticizing a certain naïve rationalism in current mainstream management models, a deliberate use and critique of metaphors is suggested as an organizational therapy for practitioners thus captivated. This draws attention to a vital potential in the use of dialogue, unexploited in organizational practice.
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| 14. |
- Bergvall, Sven, 1976-
(author)
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Through the Mirror : Perspectives of Brand Heritage
- 2009
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The role of brands in contemporary society has in a fundamental way shifted the earlier balance of power in terms of consumers’ identity, in a sense creating a society where we are what we consume. This change has not only created enormous values centered around everyday brands, but also made brands into cultural objects interacting in a space earlier exclusive to such high-brow areas such as religion, science and the fine arts. As such, brands have become an integral part of our societies, permeating virtually every space of contemporary life. This new role of brands also creates a need to understand how brands interact with culture. This dissertation is focusing on the brand heritage facet of brands, a construct existing both in consumers, as a kind of historical mashup in the consumer’s mind, and brand management which, at least discourse-wise, finds it to be more of a cultural stereotype. In order to further the understanding of the phenomenon of brand heritage, this dissertation is using the case of Sony Ericsson to explore how both brand managers and consumers are relating to the brand. At Sony Ericsson, the brand managers are very dual to the brand heritage of their parents, on one hand they are clearly trying to distance themselves from the past by ‘inventing’ difference, on the other, they are embedding sub-brands of Sony into the products to enhance their offering. On the consumer side, as the study was conducted in Sweden, it is quite apparent that the heritage of Ericsson still looms over the new brand, unable to break lose from its symbolic universe. While this is by no means inherently bad, it goes to show the difficulties brands have to rapidly shift from one well-established brand identity to another. To elicit information from the consumer respondents photo elicitation was used in order to gain insights into their negotiation of brands deeper than what is usually possible in a ‘normal’ interview setting. One outcome of this study was four principles that brand heritage can be seen as formative of brand heritage, the principle of comfort, the local, authenticity, and identity. They act as beacons both for consumers and brand managers as they create a structure for understanding how brand heritage interacts with culture to enable its use both in the brand and consumer identity creation process.
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| 15. |
- Bigi, Alessandro
(author)
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Political Marketing: Understanding and Managing Stance and Brand Positioning
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis investigates the strategic stance of a political brand and the factors that affect its positioning. The question related to the positioning of a political brand is complex. Nowadays, political leaders should be able to define the characteristics of their political brand. To succeed in the political arena, they must understand, identify, and utilize the most appropriate mechanism of communication to create an accurate perception of their political image in the market that is strictly linked to the characteristics of their brand and to reach these targets. For these reasons, it is mandatory to have measurement methods and comparable results over time. It was decided to divide the overall research problem into four different research questions to explore and explain the mechanism of political brand creation and the interaction between political brands and the electorate and to do so through four different papers. In paper 1, the political environment has been observed and studied. Subsequently, a theory of consumer and product orientation has been identified and utilized to both understand and to strategize how politicians can better position and present themselves to the public and voters. Paper 2 proposes a methodology to measure political positioning and constituent perception. The specific aim of the research is to explore interrelations between a political party's positioning in two different periods to discover possible discrepancies and changes over time. Paper 3 investigates whether the negative impact of a political brand can influence a country's brand. The fourth paper tried to measure how the quality, readability, and frequencies of political messages could provide insight into the effectiveness of viral communication using a political blog. This thesis contributes to the understanding that influence in a political environment happens in a bidirectional manner, where politicians are influenced by voter sentiment and voters are influenced by politicians. The key strategic question then becomes not whether the stance is right but if it is appropriate for the environmental condition in which the party or brand finds itself. If it is, then the party or brand must both reinforce and maintain the mode of focus; if it is not appropriate, then strategists need to identify a more appropriate stance and engineer ways for the brand to move in that direction. Political marketing managers could find the results of this thesis useful for revealing the difference between a political party's positioning and its perceived positioning as well as monitoring it in different periods to discover possible discrepancies over time.
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| 16. |
- Birkie, Seyoum Eshetu, 1982-
(author)
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Be lean to be resilient : Setting capabilities for turbulent times
- 2015
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Businesses globally are challenged to innovate their operations strategies and practices towards tighter delivery times, better quality and cheaper prices to remain profitable in addition to managing unpredictable circumstances well in today’s turbulent business environment. They often have to deal with the apparent paradox of advancing efficiency-fostering approaches such as lean production, and enhancing operational resilience against unanticipated disruptions. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether and how practices in seemingly contradicting paradigms in operations management can be utilised to attain a better competitive position in the face of uncertainties.This thesis is comprised of ‘modules’ of studies designed to systematically address the three research questions. This was necessary due to the different maturity level of the concepts brought together. Predominantly qualitative mixed-method approach was used for the overall research with some quantitative analysis included. The critical incident technique, case study and Bayesian inference were used in the different studies (papers).Operational resilience is characterised in terms of five core functions: sense, build, reconfigure, re-enhance, and sustain (RQ1). Resilience is also operationalised using routine practices that are bundled into internal/external, proactive/reactive dimensions of capabilities that positively influence performance upon recovery from disruption. An analysis showing that lean practice bundles lead to better operational performance under high uncertainty context is also done in this thesis (RQ2). Finally, operational resilience (based on routine practices that form the core functions) was found to have stronger synergies than trade-off with lean (based on practice bundles) in times of turbulence (RQ3).This thesis extends the resource-based view to high uncertainty contexts through empirical evidence and shows that resilience (dynamic) capabilities can be built from practices that firms normally employ; the capabilities are sources of better performance and competitive advantages in turbulent business environments. The thesis contributes to the discussion on the paradox of lean and operational resilience based approaches in the same context; lean practices bundles lend themselves to synergy with resilience capabilities, and leverage competitive gains in turbulent times.Practically, findings of this thesis suggest that companies need not abandon their lean implementation to become more resilient. In fact, it shows that lean implementation should be extended to address value chain processes beyond the shop floor for integrative removal of wastes, while being able to flexibly mitigate disruptions.
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| 17. |
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Blomkvist, Pär, 1961-, et al.
(author)
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Från nyttofordon till frihetsmaskin : Teknisk och institutionell samevolution kring mopeden i Sverige 1952–75
- 2009
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Blomkvist, Pär & Martin Emanuel, From Utility to Freedom: The Co-evolution of Technology and Institutions in the History of the Swedish Moped 1952–75, Division of Industrial Dynamics, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm (Stockholm 2009) The first of July 1952, the moped was legislatively excluded from existing restrictions for heavier two-wheeled motorized vehicles. A driver/owner of a “bicycle with auxiliary engine” – this was the original denomination of the vehicle – thus needed no registration, driver’s license or insurance, nor pay any vehicle tax. The legislators did, however, postulate some technical requirements. Besides regulation of the engine, the vehicle should be “bicycle-like” and have pedals. It should thus be driven primarily by means of human, not mechanical, power (i.e., it was not supposed to be a lighter version of a motorcycle). In terms of social and economical goals, the state assumed workers to be the primary users, and a utilitarian use rather than one connected to pleasure and spare time. Very quickly, however, the moped lost all resemblance with the ordinary bicycle (except for the pedals). In a new legislation in 1961, the state yielded to the technical development. The moped no longer needed to resemble a bicycle or have pedals. Meanwhile, the moped also became more of a toy for boys – a vehicle for freedom – rather than the useful tool the state had wished for. In fact, we argue that the demands from user groups not foreseen played a crucial role in changing the legal technical requirements of the moped. This report treats the co-evolution, technically and institutionally, of the moped during the period 1952–75. Using a method inspired by evolutionary theory, the moped models released in Sweden in these years are grouped in “families” with distinctive technical features and accompanying presumed uses. For understanding how demands of different user groups can alter the “dominant design” of a technology (Abernathy & Utterback, 1978), the concept pair of technical and functional demand specifications are developed. While dominant design may capture conservative features in technological development, our concepts seem to better capture the dynamics in technical and institutional change – the co-evolution of technology and institutions.
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| 21. |
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| 22. |
- Boon, Edward, 1974-
(author)
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Deal of the day : an assessment of a new form of sales promotion
- 2014
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Deal of the day is a new business model that has been adopted by thousands of companies worldwide. For marketers and consumers, deal of the day is a form of sales promotion in which an intermediary manages a list of subscribers, and allows merchants access to promote their offerings at a discount, in exchange for a commission.However, deal of the day is in some ways different from traditional forms of sales promotion. Deals are bought online and redeemed later, moving the risk of non-redemption from merchant to consumer. Additionally, deals are typically offered by companies in the hospitality sector, while knowledge about sales promotion is primarily based on shopper data for basic goods.The aim of the first two papers is to learn more about deal of the day. Paper 1 shows that deal of the day is used by companies from various sectors, and that they have many options to restrict purchase and consumption of deals to suit their purpose. Paper 2 finds that most consumers buy only a few deals per year, and that only a small segment buys at a very high frequency.The next two papers assess the impact that deal of the day has on existing knowledge about how consumers respond to sales promotion. Paper 3 identifies segments within the deal of the day subscriber base that should be targeted individually. Paper 4 determines that high-frequency deal purchasers are knowledgeable and social, and important for both intermediaries and merchants.This thesis shows that although consumers’ response to deal of the day is similar to what is known about traditional promotion, the wide range of merchants and deals makes it dangerous to generalize about their intentions and behavior.
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| 23. |
- Botha, Elsie Margaretha, 1983-
(author)
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Contagious Communications : The role of emotion in viral marketing
- 2014
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The “connection generation” craves interaction with and connection to vast social networks through the sharing of information, photos, opinions, entertainment and news. This sharing comes in the form of electronic word-of-mouth or eWOM, and provides marketing and communication managers with an unparalleled opportunity to reach a large number of consumers quickly. With the ever increasing growth of the internet and the rise of social media and social network sites, viral marketing has cemented itself in the marketing and corporate agenda. However, while there has been a shift in marketing budgets towards online and social media, little is known about how to successfully leverage viral marketing. Consequently, understanding why some videos go viral and others do not is becoming an increasingly popular focus of academic research. This study aimed to answer the following research question: What are the factors that drive the virality of online content? In an attempt to answer this exploratory research question, four papers were used to look at its constituent parts. In the first paper, the role of emotion in the sharing of online content was investigated. Rime’s social sharing of emotion theory was used to explain why emotion could drive the spread of content online. We suggested that people’s propensity to share viral content was a function of the intensity, sociality and complexity of the emotion elicited by the viral content. The following two papers further investigated the role of emotion in viral marketing by looking at the relationship between content and emotion. Paper 2 used interviews in a qualitative research design to propose a decision-tree of the interplay between content and emotion in viral marketing. This paper showed that the relevance of the content has an influence on viewers’ emotional response. Paper 3 took a closer look at the relationship between content and emotion by using a two-stage design: First, content analysis was done on the comments of selected YouTube videos. Second, an experiment was used to test the emotions that these videos elicited in respondents, the valence of those emotions, the intensity with which they were felt, as well as various content-related factors (e.g. the creativity and humor used in the videos). This paper looked specifically at the use of political communication in viral marketing and showed that creativity, valence and the intensity of the emotions elicited by the content are key drivers of viral success. The final and fourth paper culminates in a model for the sharing of content online. This paper built on the findings from the previous papers, but also made use of interviews, and the analysis of a longitudinal dataset to propose a comprehensive model for the spread of content online. The longitudinal dataset was compiled using the top 10 posts from Reddit.com, a viral aggregator website, over the period of 25 days. The comprehensive model shows that there are external, intrapersonal and interpersonal drivers of viral content. The external drivers of viral content are the viral videos themselves (content) and its popularity. The content construct refers to various aspects related to the content itself, for example how informative, creative, humorous etc. the content is. Its popularity, on the other hand, was driven by both WOM and mainstream media reports. The intrapersonal drivers of viral content refer to the emotions that the content elicited in viewers. Viewers’ emotional response to the content was influenced by its relevance, but also by the valence and intensity of the emotion that they felt. Even though some content elicited intense emotions in viewers, some viewers did not share the content and interpersonal drivers of viral content was introduced to the model. These drivers recognise the social aspect of social media, and that content gets shared with large social networks. The model contends that people share viral content with their social networks as a form of online gift giving, out of altruism, or simply to build their own reputation. Finally, we contend that, in this content à emotion à social sharing chain, people share viral content both online and offline, as many respondents simply told their friends about the content (thus prompting them to go and watch the content themselves) or showed them the content themselves. This online and offline sharing of content increased the popularity of the content and a self-reinforcing chain was created, increasing the exponential growth typically associated with viral content. As consumers are exposed to an increasing amount of marketing messages, and marketing budgets shrink, marketing managers could greatly benefit from better understanding how to more effectively make social media part of their marketing strategy. Viral marketing allows for a low-cost way of communicating marketing messages with great potential for impacting the market. This study ultimately shows what marketing managers can do to increase their chances of viral success, and ends off with a list of managerial recommendations to leverage the external, intrapersonal and interpersonal factors present in viral campaigns.
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| 24. |
- Broman, Elisabeth
(author)
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Sprickor i gemenskapen
- 2004
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Cracks in the Spirit of Community is a study of a Swedishtrade union in a period of change. Increasingly, traditionaltrade unions´ work based on collective solutions has comeinto question, and the customer perspective of trade unionactivities is becoming more prominent. At the same time, ageneration of mainstay trade union supporters at ourcountry´s workplaces are approaching retirement age. Howdo these - now ageing - children of Sweden´s"people´s home" hand over our society´s institutionsand pass on its traditions to a new generation? Is there a riskthat knowledge will be lost? And is anyone in the newgeneration ready to receive this knowledge?A systematic and structured dialogue with participants fromSif, Sweden´s leading white collar union, helped developthis complex of problems. The work focused on the interactionbetween people to build up a community of understanding, whichwas at the core of earlier trade union tradition. Broadeningthe present pattern of action allows more long-term trends tobe traced. A disregard for matters of common concern, andunstated dissension, cause cracks in the spirit of community,cracks that undermine the power of collective action inpolitical matters. This dissertation poses complex questionsabout democracy, participation and common responsibility.The case study was carried out as a series of dialogueseminars with a carefully-selected group of people from Sif.The dialogue seminar method was developed to bring to the foretacit knowledge in skills research. By focussing onvalue-based, shared human knowledge, the dissertation puts tothe test a new application of the dialogue seminar method. Thisstudy illustrates a shift from common interests to individualinterests. It points out general trends in the development ofour society - a trade union member, an employee and a citizenis often one and the same person.
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
- Crevani, Lucia, 1977-
(author)
-
Clearing for Action : Leadership as a Relational Phenomenon
- 2011
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Although leadership is deemed to matter, scholars seldom pay attention to the phenomenon itself, as it is happening. Hence definitions abound, but there is a lack of vocabulary for expressing what leadership is about without ending up talking of individual leaders and/or descriptions of abstract “goodness”. Such an idealised and individualistic construct of leadership has consequences, both in theory and practice, in terms of providing a reductionist account, segregating and putting people in hierarchies, reinforcing the dominance of masculinities, and constraining how leadership is to be performed. Therefore, in order to contribute to our still limited knowledge of leadership beyond ideals and individualised conceptions, the purpose of this thesis is to add to our understanding of leadership as a social phenomenon going on at work and to contribute to developing a vocabulary for it.Reading the empirical material more and more closely, produced through an ethnography-inspired approach at two Swedish organisations and consisting of transcripts of interactions and interviews, the initial research question, “how is leadership shared in practice?” is subsequently modified and different strands of theories are applied: shared leadership, postheroic leadership and a radical processual view of leadership. In this way, different understandings of leadership are analysed. As a result, the theoretical concepts of organisational becoming, relational leadership and work practices are combined in an alternative approach. Two leadership practices are thus identified: constructing positions and positioning, and constructing issues. Such an analysis also leads to an alternative way of understanding leadership: leadership as clearing for action. Clearing is both a space, a bounded space, and an action. Therefore it expresses a relational perspective in which there are no stable entities, by suggesting a more dynamic view, at the same time as it also conveys the idea that we are talking about a constrained space.I thus define clearing for action as an emergent bounded aggregate of actions and talks that become possible, making others impossible or less probable. Actors and their worlds are constructed in certain ways that expand or contract the space of possible action. The result is a specific reading of leadership to add to the field of leadership studies. In this reading, leadership is an ordinary, repeated, social achievement at work in which possibilities for action and talk are constructed in constrained terms.
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
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| 29. |
- Dabhilkar, Mandar, 1975-
(author)
-
Acting creatively for enhanced performance : Challenges for Swedish manufacturers in an age of outsourcing
- 2006
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This dissertation aims to contribute to the discourse on the future of manufacturing in Sweden. It is argued that the real threat does not come from lower wages in Eastern Europe and Asia. Rather it comes from an inability to make the most of existing manufacturing systems. The joint contribution of the underlying studies that this dissertation is based on provides compelling support for corroborating this line of thought. More important, however, is that in addition to showing that there is room for improvement, a lot of input is provided on how to act creatively for enhanced performance. The discussion on how to act mainly focuses on three research issues. First, enhancing continuous improvement capability. The continuous improvement abilities considered most important for Swedish manufacturers to develop are pointed out. That is, the ability to adopt a systematic and strategic approach to continuous improvements, the ability to lead the way towards continuous improvements, and finally the ability to involve customers and suppliers in continuous improvements. Furthermore, the likely positive performance impact of accomplishing this is clarified. Second, adopting the principles of lean manufacturing. Rather than reinforcing Taylorism, it is shown that lean manufacturing seems to contribute to the creation of sustainable work systems in Sweden. However, a broad process of change awaits the many companies that might aspire to transform their operations in this direction. In order to reap the full potential of this strategy, the work organisation, as well as management accounting and remuneration systems, must change, not only manufacturing processes. Third and finally, making more effective outsourcing decisions. It is shown that any positive effects of outsourcing manufacturing are more likely to be realized if concurrent initiatives are taken to develop the capability of the manufacturing function. The analysis also indicates a potential for taking a more strategic approach to outsourcing, i.e., outsourcing in order to increase focus on core manufacturing activities and take advantage of the supplier’s higher innovation capability. Moreover, a potential for selecting suppliers more appropriately is also indicated, such as by trying to achieve greater economies of scale. The chosen methodological approach has been to combine two large-scale surveys of representative samples of Swedish engineering industry companies with two multiple case studies. The surveys measured continuous improvement behaviours, lean manufacturing and outsourcing, and provides descriptive statistics as well as tests of theoretical assumptions. The case studies provide a deeper understanding of researched issues. One was designed to illustrate how the Balanced Scorecard may enhance the continuous improvement capability level, and the other, to hearing some voices of the empirical field.
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| 30. |
- Dabhilkar, Mandar
(author)
-
Mot balanserad styrning i teamorganiserad produktion
- 2003
-
Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- During the 1990s two contrasting paths to the organization of work have emerged in the Swedish engineering industry: the structure-conservative and structure-innovative. This thesis deals with the latter, and focuses primarily on necessary changes in management control systems that support structureinnovative forms of team-organized work. Three types of management control systems are studied in this thesis: performance management and measurement systems, systems for continuous improvements and wage systems.The empirical base of this thesis consists of data from an exploratory survey study as well as a multiple case study.On a general level, the survey study indicates a lack of congruence between structure and systems. Many companies seem to have started to move along the structure-innovative path but have not changed the management control systems accordingly. However, there are good reasons for doing so. The companies that have chosen the structure-innovative path perform better in terms of productivity, quality and cost reduction. These are also the companies that have changed their management control systems to the greatest extent.The case study provides examples of how management control systems may be changed to fit structure-innovative forms of team-organized work. The main focus has been on the use of Balanced Scorecard. How a strategic continuous improvement capability was developed and sustained in the studied companies is illustrated. The findings extend previous research on new production concepts, which, this thesis argues, are not to be regarded as an issue of technology and vertical division of labour only, but also of supportive management control systems.
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| 31. |
- Daghbashyan, Zara, 1978-
(author)
-
Essays on University Efficiency Analysis and Entrepreneurship among University Graduates
- 2013
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The thesis consists of five papers: three deal with the efficiency of higher education institutions (HEI) and two with entrepreneurship among university graduates. The efficiency of HEIs is analyzed at three different levels: units of one university, universities of one country and universities of a group of European countries.Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) the first paper compares technical efficiency among university units at the Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm). An interesting result is that there seems to be a complementary relationship between efficiency of resource utilization in teaching and in research.The second paper applies stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to estimate the cost efficiency of Swedish higher education institutions. According to the estimates, half of the Swedish HEIs have an above average efficiency of 85 percent. The efficiency differences are mainly influenced by the source of funding, HEI size, the number of students per faculty as well as faculty and student compositions.The third paper analyses the cost efficiency of universities among a set of public higher education institutions from six European countries by means of stochastic frontier techniques. The results suggest small variation in the mean economic efficiency of higher education institutions from UK, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, implying that the efficiency differences are not explained by country effects. Instead the variations in efficiency are related to organizational differences.The two essays on entrepreneurship among university graduates are based on a unique dataset encompassing individual level data on all employees registered in the Swedish labor market. The first paper explores the differences in entrepreneurial choice of graduates from different universities. The main finding from this paper is that the entrepreneurial choice of graduates from internationally ranked Swedish universities systematically differs from others with the difference varying by the area of education.The second paper on entrepreneurship aims at explaining the high interest in entrepreneurship among arts graduates and finds that the need for self-expression is among the main motivations for their high interest in entrepreneurship.
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| 32. |
- Darmani, Anna, 1985-
(author)
-
Who is in the driver's seat? : Insights into the mixed outcomes of renewable policy instruments in the electricity industry
- 2015
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- There is consensus about a need to reduce the amount of green-house gas emission in the electricity industry to be able to deal with the probable consequences of climate change. This necessitates extensive investments in technologies used to generate electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E). To stimulate such investments, governments have enacted several policy instruments. However, the outcomes of these instruments are mixed. This thesis delineates two reasons for the different effects of policies. First, the development of the renewable electricity industry hinges on a set of driving forces that differ across regions, through the years and for different actors. Given that, policy instruments are not only driving forces behind the renewable electricity industry and can thus by themselves not explain its development.Second, RES-E investors comprise a heterogeneous group of actors whose perceptions of business opportunities vary substantially and are also based on a variety of driving forces. Hence, RES-E investors may react differently to changes within the electricity industry, as well as to government policies that aim to create a more sustainable electricity industry. Garnering a better understanding of these reactions is therefore important as they influence the pace of transition to a more sustainable electricity industry.This is an interdisciplinary study that brings together several theories and research areas. First, using the technological innovation system perspective, it identifies systemic driving forces behind the development of the renewable energy industry that will also accelerate the electricity industry transitions to sustainability. To gain a better insight into the role of policy instruments as such as well as in relation to other driving forces, this thesis explores what factors are accounted for in attempts to assess the instruments’ performance. Second, drawing on sustainability transition studies and dynamic capability theories, this thesis seeks to explore which firms are willing to contribute—and capable of contributing—to sustainability transitions in the electricity industry. The thesis argues that good forecast and policy plans need to be built on a solid understanding of the firms that change the structure of the electricity industry through their RES-E investments.This thesis leverages a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. Empirical data are collected through two extensive literature reviews on the driving forces of the renewable energy industry development in Europe, a longitudinal case study on a European multinational energy company, and statistical analyses of data on RES-E investors in Sweden. The thesis makes theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions to this area of research. The findings explain what motivates the development of the renewable energy industry; who competes in the renewable electricity industry; and what the future renewable electricity industry may look like. The thesis outlines implications for policies, for managers as well as for renewable energy technologies.
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| 33. |
- Dastory, Linda, 1985-
(author)
-
Financing of Innovation in SMEs
- 2018
-
Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This licentiate thesis consist of two essays. Both essays deal with corporate finance and its impact on innovation investment. In the first essay we use German Community Innovation Survey to identify financially constrained firms. Contrary to previous studies we find that the relationship between financial constraints and firm size is inverted u-shaped and that it is the group of medium sized firms which has the largest funding gaps. This is explained by the fact that these firms have high innovation capabilities but at the same time face high cost of capital. Furthermore, we test if financial constraints have an impact on firm productivity growth. We find negative effects from funding gaps on productivity, but only for investment in tangible capital and not for innovation investments.The second essay investigates whether there has been a change in the productivity and funding mix of innovative SMEs post stricter bank regulations. Our result shows that the likelihood of using bank loans as a funding source has not changed for innovation investments nor for tangible investments after stricter capital regulations have been announced. On the other hand, sources such as subsidies have increased due to regulatory programs that have been implemented in the aftermath of the recent financial crisis. Furthermore, SMEs productivity has not changed post stricter bank regulations. Overall, the impact from different sources of funding on productivity is rather limited.
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| 34. |
- Ding, Ding, 1986-
(author)
-
Heterogeneous Innovation and Labour Mobility
- 2016
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Knowledge is a necessary and critically important factor in generating growth and increased prosperity. The extent to which such effects are materialized depends however on its diffusion and how it transcends into innovation, entrepreneurship and growing firms. This doctoral thesis consists of four papers that examine how labor mobility and innovation strategies influence the performance at the firm level with respect to new ventures, firm level growth and innovativeness. The first paper provides empirical support of the validity of the knowledge-based spillover theory of entrepreneurship by employing a detailed database. The results indicate that both inter-regional labor inflows and intra-regional labor mobility exert a strong positive effect on entrepreneurship, while inter-regional outflows negatively affect entrepreneurial entry. The second paper examines the influence of the labor mobility of knowledge workers on innovation at the firm level. New evidence are provided that reveals a positive and significant impact of labor mobility on firms’ innovations measured as patent applications. In the third paper the influence of labor mobility between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and other firms on innovation is investigated. Looking at firms having different owner structures, empirical evidence are provided that particularly domestically owned MNEs generate strong knowledge spillovers to non-MNEs that translates into innovations. The fourth paper examines the relationship between innovation and firm growth. We implement a classification of innovations based on whether they are explorative or exploitative. The more radical explorative innovations are shown to have a persistent growth effect in the long term, while exploitative innovation increases the labor demand predominantly in the short term.
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| 35. |
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| 36. |
- Dwaikat, Nidal, 1982-
(author)
-
Flexibility through Information Sharing : Evidences from the Automotive Industry in Sweden
- 2016
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Research has validated the contribution of information sharing to performance improvement. It has also suggested that flexibility is a highly important competitive priority for those companies where demand is volatile. Several studies argue that flexibility has been recognized as a key enabler for supply chain responsiveness. However, the impact of information sharing on supplier flexibility is still unexplored, especially for the companies that operate in agile business environments such as in the automotive industry where flexibility is a strategic requirement to manage demand uncertainty. In agile supply chains, such as in the automotive industry, information sharing can play an important role in responding to demand variability. In such settings, the demand volumes generally fluctuate, and hence create production-scheduling problems for the upstream suppliers such as first-tier suppliers. Interestingly, the impact of demand fluctuations on suppliers is higher than that of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).The aim of this doctoral thesis is to investigate the role of information sharing between OEMs and first-tier suppliers, in enhancing supplier flexibility. Particularly, the research focuses on exploring the relationship between sharing demand schedules and inventory data, and volume and delivery flexibility. The questions on whether information sharing between OEMs and first-tier suppliers affect supplier flexibility remain unanswered. The following research questions have emerged: RQ1: How does information sharing between OEMs and first-tier suppliers affect the latter's responsiveness to fluctuating demand?RQ2: What is the relationship between information sharing of OEMsʼ demand forecasts and inventory data, and suppliers’ volume and delivery flexibility? RQ3: What factors should OEMs consider to improve the sharing of demand forecasts with suppliers?The empirical part of this thesis comprises three individual studies that constitute the empirical foundations of the research problem. Each study analyzes one research question using its own methodological approach. Hence, different research methods for collecting and analyzing data were used to address the research questions. Applying different research methods is deemed advantageous because it allows for methodological rigorousness in this doctoral thesis.This thesis contributes to the body of knowledge in three dimensions—theory, method, and context. First, it contributes to the academic field of operations and supply chain management by developing a model to explain how information sharing could affect suppliers’ delivery performance. The model provides a measurement scale to measure the level of information sharing between OEMs and suppliers, and its impact on suppliers’ delivery flexibility. Second, this thesis contributes to the methods by using state-of-the-art techniques, which is partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) including consistent PLS, and applying advanced concepts to empirically test the proposed model. Third, this thesis has a managerial contribution to examine the concept of information sharing and flexibility at the supplier level. Investigating the problem at the supplier level may enable managers to improve short-term decisions, such as production scheduling decisions, internal production, and inventory processes, and evaluate collaboration practices with OEMs.This doctoral thesis is organized in a monograph format comprising five chapters: Introduction, Literature review, Methodology, Empirics, and Conclusion. As an outcome, several scientific articles have emerged from this thesis and have been submitted for consideration for publication in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences in the field of operations and supply chain management. These articles are listed and appended at the end of this dissertation.
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| 37. |
- Dymek, Mikolaj, 1978-
(author)
-
Industrial Phantasmagoria : Subcultural Interactive Cinema Meets Mass-Cultural Media of Simulation
- 2010
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The video game industry has in three decades gone from a garage hobby to a global multi-billion euro media industry that challenges the significantly older and established cultural industries. After decades of explosive growth the industry surprisingly finds itself in a crisis – in terms of sales, future trajectories and creative paradigms. The global gaming culture receives substantial attention from society, media and academia – but the industry itself appears in comparison as an enigmatic terra incognita with astonishingly little dedicated research. This thesis aims to amend this situation by presenting a study at the cross-section of the video game industry, game studies, literary theory, cultural industries and business studies. It deals with the following question: how does the global game industry relate to its own product, in terms of communication and media dimensions, and what are the (business) consequences, in terms of production, strategy and commercial/creative innovation, of this relationship? This study’s departure point is constituted by a comprehensive description of the industry’s structure, dynamics and processes, based on extensive interviews with industry professionals. It is followed by an examination and comparison of the game industry with other media/cultural industries in relation to their economy and business dynamics. With inconclusive answers regarding the medium-industry relation, this study proceeds by exploring literary theories from the field of game studies, in order to gain insights into the dynamics of medium and industry. Literary theories from ludology and narratology provide rewarding perspectives on this inquiry, since it is found that the ontological dichotomy of simulation vs. respresentation present in the interpretational realm of the game medium is also reflected in the industry and its dynamics. This has pivotal consequences for the analysis of the game industry. This study concludes by positing the current critical condition of the industry as an extremely decisive moment in its history: will it become a truly universal mass-medium, or will it continue down its subcultural path? Subcultural “interactive cinema” meets mass-cultural media of simulation – how will the industry evolve?
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| 38. |
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| 39. |
- El Gaidi, Khalid, 1949-
(author)
-
Lärarens yrkeskunnande : bildning och reflekterade erfarenheter
- 2007
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The Teacher’s Skills – Liberal Education and Reflected Experience is a case study of the practical skills of teachers, in which the responsible action is central. This is an action which, while informed by science, cannot be fully determined by it, since the circumstances that relate to the interaction between teacher and students cannot always be fully predicted. With Liberal Education, reflection on experience, and trained intuition, the teacher bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and the unforeseen and immediate demands of the situation. The role of Liberal Education in this ambition cannot be overestimated. To be a part of such a practice is to dedicate one’s life to a struggle with language. Therefore, insights into the theory of knowledge and the philosophy of language, as well as analogies with literature and other professional fields, help us examine the glasses through which we observe and interpret reality in order gain greater knowledge. It is in the reflective dialogue, where we meet others with whom we are not always in agreement, that we can see ourselves, our knowledge and our prejudices. The interpretation and re-interpretation of our experience in the light of the experience of others is the bridge across which we can escape from our imprisonment on the island of convenience. Once the teacher has developed a consistency in his actions, his skills can be acknowledged. When these skills are raised to the level of a style, they become an art. The main purpose of this case study is to describe the teacher’s skills; how it can be developed, and the conditions required for its assessment. A possible assumption is that reflection on our own experience and the experience of others can give us insights into ourselves, an essential prerequisite to striking the spark that motivates the investment of time and resources in the development of one’s skills as a teacher
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| 40. |
- Enflo, Kristina, 1980-
(author)
-
Decision Making in Preflight Operations : A study of memory supports and feedback
- 2008
-
Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to explore how support systems enable human control within normal flight operations. The thesis focuses on the use of memory supports during flight, such as a handheld computing device, memory strategies and checklists. The support systems are studied from the theoretical perspective of Human Factors. In particular, decision making theories have contributed to the thesis. From previous research it is found that feedback to the operator in case of a human error is essential to keep him or her in a safe sequence of decisions and actions. To facilitate the pilots’ tasks in cockpit, computing devices are out on the market. Several of the technical aids are computers installed in cockpit whereas others are smaller, portable devices with hardware not specifically designed for use in cockpit. Jump-seat observations have been performed at an airline company to explore the pilots’ work process in cockpit where a handheld computing device, with hardware not specifically designed for cockpit, is in use. Subsequent semi-structured interviews were conducted to receive the pilots’ experiences of findings from the observations and to receive descriptions of decisions and support systems. The thesis includes a description of flight operations from a pilot perspective. The main focus is on operations in the preflight phase where the new computing device is used. Identified characteristics in flight operations are factors such as cooperation, communication, interruptions. Furthermore, identified factors in the decision making were such as routine, environmental constraints, discrete alternatives and dependency between decisions. Feedback points during the sequence of tasks performed with the handheld computing device were distinguished. These points are moments when feedback is possible. For example, when the pilots cross-check tasks they receive feedback from each other. It was found that the pilots did not use every opportunity to receive feedback on their performance. The reason of the non-used feedback point was that it was not required by the Standard Operating Procedures or by any functions or design of the device. Within flight operations in general, it was found that the most important techniques to detect a human error such as a memory lapse were by pilots’ earlier experiences, the use of checklists and by receiving feedback from the other pilot.
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| 41. |
- Engström, Margaretha, 1949-
(author)
-
Yrkeskunnande som säkerhetsmetod : En studie kring svåra driftsituationer vid svenska kärnkraftverk
- 2014
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Existing safety methods for nuclear power predict known and conceivable but not unexpected events. The methods can prevent and limit consequences of incidents. Professional skills, however, can contribute with more than robustness. The operators practise their skills in everyday work in a way beyond formal instructions. This unnoticed practice is of great value for the safety as well as operation economy. In this doctoral thesis the operators’ professional skills at Swedish nuclear power plants have been investigated for the purpose of studying skill as a safety method for unexpected events.In order to study professional skills, adequate momentary actions in every day work have been looked for. These actions manifest in the flow of frequent unpredicted events occurring in ordinary work as a part of managing the continuous process. This dissertation comprises seven examples from Forsmark and Ringhals nuclear power plants. These examples are explored through the epistemology of skill, derived from a wittgensteinian concept of practice. The investigation has its main focus on exploring skill as a safety method for unexpected events. One result is that efforts have to be made in order to maintain practical obtained professional skills.The research has ended in the following conclusions:• Professional skill is important at unexpected events and thus for safety.• Professional skill is built over time in concrete actions in a working practice.• Earlier solutions of problem and successfully management of extraordinary operational situations should be kept alive.• The first criterion of selection at recruiting technicians should be practical persons.• Continuous recruitment is needed in order to avoid a loose generation curve where the professional skill is of different development phases in the different age groups.• For retaining personnel until they have good professional skills, prioritizing applicants from the local community is suggested.• Guidance by formalized requirements and measurable goals don’t reach professional skill and can moreover hide it.• Personnel and other stakeholders in nuclear power not having skills from operation at nuclear power plants need to be conscious about professional skill’s importance for safety.• Understanding the importance of professional skills should be disseminated to those groups influencing the conditions for moulding of it at the nuclear power plants. The knowledge contribution of this thesis points out the value of experienced skilled labour and human proper actions as the base for a sustainable operation and nuclear safety.
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| 42. |
- Ericsson, Ulf, 1978-
(author)
-
Om organisering av det regenerativa arbetet : samtal om roll, process och interaktivt meningsskapande
- 2010
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The focal point of this thesis is an interest in the phenomena of regenerative work, which is a work that has the potential of recreating and developing human resources and energy. The aim is to make a contribution, by presenting a supplementary perspective, to this area of research by considering regenerative work through a process perspective where the centre of interest is transferred from being a question of what to a question of how? The guiding research question is as follows: How could the organizing processes of regenerative work be understood? - more specifically - through an interactive approach the purpose is to describe, analyze and understand those everyday processes that have implications for regenerative work. This general inquiry took place at a number of wards/departments at a hospital in southern Sweden. Above all, the empirical focus concentrated on two specific occurrences: (1) an implementation of a new work model at the various wards/departments and (2) the function of the ward managers and their work situation. Empirical material was collected in collaboration with assistant nurses, registered nurses and ward managers through forum dialogues, interviews and observations. Narratives as formation of knowledge are a significant tool that constitutes an important foundation of this thesis. The chain of events and actions of complex processes are thus interpreted and understood by means of using narratives as a research device. The narrative form was also a source of inspiration for a large portion of the results presentation. The comprehension of the construction of experiences that may be related to regenerative work must be interpreted and understood beyond an individualistic perspective. Overconfidence in rules and routines, and a predetermined execution of the work proved also to be problematic in a complex and symbolically charged reality. Consequently, regenerative work must be understood in the light of a reality/world that consists of regularities and irregularities as well as predictability and unpredictability. It is in the complexity of such worlds, actors are required to interpret what their work/assignment is about and to carry it out satisfactory and to the best of their ability. Hence, two crucial questions are derived: How is the work/assignment interpreted? Are their prerequisites in the organization enabling and supporting good performances? In conclusion, these two questions are interconnected and discussed further in view of local basic conditions for conversation and action as well as leadership in terms of organizing for sensemaking.
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| 43. |
- Fatollahzadeh, Kianoush, 1956-
(author)
-
A laboratory vehicle mock-up research work on truck driver’s selected seat position and posture : A mathematical model approach with respect to anthropometry, body landmark locations and discomfort
- 2006
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Professional truck drivers are highly exposed to fatigue and work related injuries. Truck drivers are common victims of musculoskeletal disorders, frequently suffering from pain symptoms particularly in the neck, shoulder and lower back. This situation is believed to be a contributor to the high absenteeism in this job category. A high percentage of this problem is due to the adoption of an unhealthy driving posture resulting from inappropriate seat design. This incorrect and poor design is owing to the insufficient and obsolete anthropometrical data which has been used for decades for arranging and positioning components in the driver environment. The main objective of the present study was to create and construct a mathematical model which clarifies and predicts the drivers’ comfortable sitting posture and position. It was hypothesized that the length and height characteristics of some body segments as well as the body weight and waist circumference of the driver have a great impact on the selection of a specific sitting posture. The steering wheel positions as well as the pedal/floor locations were hypothesized to be highly correlated to the driver’s selected posture and the corresponding comfort. The effect of the seat position on posture selection and related comfort assessments constituted the other hypothesis of the study which received extra attention. A laboratory experiment on a Scania truck cab mock-up was conducted. The seat track travel along a vertical as well as horizontal forward-backward path was obtained by mounting the seat on the motorized rigid frame which allowed unrestricted vertical and fore-aft travel. The seat cushion angle and backrest angle were adjusted by pivoting the entire seat and backrest around a lateral axis and independently. The pedal components were mounted on a motorized platform, thus allowing unrestricted fore-aft and height travel without any changes in the pedal angles. The steering wheel was mounted on the instrument panel by two independent pneumatic axes which allowed a wide range of adjustments including tilting and moving along the sagittal plane for adjusting the height and distance. The test plan called for 55 international highly experienced heavy truck drivers. The drivers were recruited to span a large range of body weight and stature, in particular to ensure adequate representation of both the extreme as well as the normal group of drivers. The drivers filled in a general information questionnaire before undergoing the anthropometrical measurements and thereafter the test trials. The experiment contained a subset of test conditions with five different trials using random selection sampling procedure. Drivers were asked to adjust the components in a wide range of trajectory according to a written protocol. A sparse set of threedimensional body landmark locations and the corresponding comfort assessments were recorded. As the main part of the result, the mathematical models using multiple regression analyses on selected body landmarks as well as anthropometrical measures were developed which proposed a linear correlation between parameters. The differences between the observed data and the corresponding predicted data using the model were found to be minimal and almost dispensable. Additionally, the drivers preferred to sit in the rearmost position and at a rather high level relative to the rest of the available and adjustable area. Considering the normal adjustable seat area of the cab, only a very small part of the observed Hpoint data lies within this area while a large remaining amount of data lies outside of it. Moreover, the difference between the observation (plotted H-point data) and the neutral H-point was found to be significant. Furthermore, and since some of the data lies almost on the border of the adjustable area, it may indicate a reasonable tendency for even more seat adjustment in the backward direction. A conceptual model consisting of four different parameters was developed and presented in the end. These parameters of the model suggest being as key factors which play a central role on process of decision making regarding the selection of a desirable sitting posture. Any eventual modifications and adjustments for elimination or minimizing discrepancies, biases or obscured factors affecting the quality of the mathematical model would be a case for future study. The investigation of a complete assessment of comfort should be supplemented with an analysis of how many truck drivers are satisfied with the comfort in the end.
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| 44. |
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| 45. |
- Fock, Niclas
(author)
-
Eventyrlyst och risker
- 2004
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Adventurousness and Risksis a study of the way a newknowledge paradigm changed Combitech Systems, a specialised andknowledge-intensive Swedish enterprise. The dissertationdescribes the way company management broke away from atraditional view of information and knowledge and began toapply a practice-orientated perspective of knowledge of itsoperation in the work of solving problems associated with theadvanced learning of experienced co-workers. In the course ofthe management group's work, the Dialogue Seminar method wasdeveloped in co-operation with the researchers Bo Göranzonand Maria Hammarén. The study describes the way theDialogue Seminar method was developed, and includes discussionsof the factors that were central to the successfulimplementation of the method.The Dialogue Seminar method has been introduced into theenterprise's internal work as a basis for Combitech LearningLab, an organisation for continuous learning set up by theenterprise. The method has been tested outside the organisationin different stages of work with clients. The dissertationbrings to the fore complexes of questions that were identifiedduring this time, and discusses the use of the method and itsscope in different contexts.How can it be shown that the Dialogue Seminar method hasproduced the intended changes? Niclas Fock has brought thegroup into focus here. The method provides support insustaining common insights and common concept formation, and italso serves as a forum for the development of the richcomplexity that precedes decisions on the implementation ofideas. Adventurousness and Risks is a study in leadership; astudy from within an organisation of the rhythm of reflectiveleadership in the learning organisation.Key words:leadership - risk - rhythm - learning -concept formation - dialogue seminar method - practice -professional role - knowledge intensive - enterprise
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| 46. |
- Freilich, Jonatan, 1985-, et al.
(author)
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Drug R&D Management : Practitioners' Challenges and Knowledge Needs
- 2010
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- R&D productivity in the pharmaceutical business has gradually decreased during the last decades. While companies are spending more on R&D, fewer drugs are reaching the market. It is said that the cost of bringing a successful drug to the market is now $1 billion, which includes all failure drugs. At the same time, governmental regulations for drugs development have become tighter. Companies are therefore desperately trying to find new ways to develop more innovative drugs more effectively. There is a growing need for more knowledge about Drug R&D Management in the industry, which is the reason for KTH Industrial Economics and Management initiating a research program in this field. The present study is a feasibility study of this research endeavor. It outlines the scope of the field and explores areas for further study. Anchored in interviews with key industrial actors, the aim is to identify which organizational challenges practitioners are presently facing for successful drug R&D management. Four themes of challenges within the business have been identified. These are: Specialization within the R&D Process – There is a trend that different actors specialize within the innovation process of developing new drugs. The concept is to source activities to organizations that have the best capabilities. What are the consequences of this business model? What is the core competence of different actors? Balancing Freedom and Control in R&D Operations – R&D by definition, comprises activities with unknown outcomes. Work in projects most probably takes trajectories that were not originally thought of. Typically the most suitable individuals for performing such activities are scientists with a deep specialization within the field of research. How are freedom and control of work balanced within R&D? What type of control is most suitable? How can scientists be managed? Resource Allocation and Project Portfolio Management – Projects in a project portfolio are dependent on each other and on their environment. The ecology in which a project lives will determine how it is evaluated and financed, and how risk-willing its owners are. There is a need of knowledge to describe how different project environments are organized. Organizing for Knowledge Exchange – Knowledge in biosciences is growing exponentially. Managing knowledge is therefore crucial, but how to do it successfully is the question. Working in big collaborative networks requires companies to manage knowledge outside the boundaries of the firm. There is also a need to bring in knowledge from other industries. The themes can encompass different theoretical disciplines - from a strategic point of view to a cognitive aspect of innovation. This study argues for a comparative multiple case study approach focusing on the preconditions and business logics of different R&D organizations. The cases should look into the different organizational domains of Biotech firms and Big Pharma multinationals, comparing the two business logics and strategies. Innovation in the context of single firms in the pharmaceutical industry can thus be explored and give rise to knowledge through examples of practical problem solving and methodology in drug R&D management.
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| 47. |
- Freilich, Jonatan, 1985-
(author)
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When Innovation Is Not Enough :
- 2015
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Innovation is not always enough. In the beginning of the 2000s established pharmaceutical firms had developed several drugs, yet these new products were far too few. Patents of many blockbuster drugs were to soon expire and substantial profit would then be lost. A potential solution emerged: implementing new biomarker technologies in drug development.Biomarkers are required for knowledge creation about the drug effect on underlying causes of a disease. The problem is this: although academia, industry, and policy makers have deemed biomarkers as necessary for successful drug development, pharmaceutical firms have not used them in actual drug development projects. Since the 1990s, established pharmaceutical firms have invested financially and restructured organizationally in order to implement biomarkers. Still, cases show that more than 50% of project termination in Clinical Phase 2 (the bottle neck of drug development) can be attributed to the lack of implementing biomarkers. Challenges of established firms transforming in the face of technology change is a commonly studied phenomenon within innovation management literature. Several explanations have attempted to determine why established firms fail in following technology change. However, most of this literature has been based upon an empirical context where technology change is conceptualized as an innovation of the dominant product design in the industry. Consequently, the challenge is to develop or adapt a discontinuous product innovation.Conversely, implementing biomarkers is a case of technology change that impacts R&D. Since drugs lose their value when the patent protection expires, the established pharmaceutical firms need to continuously develop new block buster drugs – not just one product. More research is needed to fill this gap in the literature in order to develop an understanding of the established firm challenge in implementing biomarkers.This thesis builds upon a longitudinal case study of AstraZeneca. Using multiple data sources, the findings show that the dominant architecture of the drug development process during the 2000s impeded the implementation of biomarkers. AstraZeneca required an “architectural process innovation” in order to complete this implementation. The company’s process-based management structures distorted it from recognizing the need for process change.This thesis has three contributions: First, it describes the process change and the firm’s managerial challenges associated with biomarker implementation; Second, it contributes to the literature on the established firm challenge by developing an understanding of the phenomenon of architectural process innovation; Third, it develops a process-based framework for studying technology change that affects R&D.
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| 48. |
- Fridh, Ann-Charlotte, 1969-
(author)
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Dynamics and growth : the health care industry
- 2002
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This dissertation uses the theory of the experimentallyorganised economy (EOE) and competence blocs to analyseeconomic development in the health care industry. The healthcare industry is both important and interesting to study fromseveral points of view. The industry is large, even larger thanthe manufacturing industry, and draws significantresources.The theory of the EOE and competence blocs is bothevolutionary and dynamic. It identifies the actors needed foran efficient selection and commercialisation of investmentprojects and the competences needed to support that process.For this, the institutional setting is important in thatinstitutions influence the incentives that guide actors in theeconomy and the nature of competitionthat forces change.Four empirical studies are carried out using severalempirical methods to study similar problems, ranging fromeconometric analyses of panel micro data to case studies. Weask if the withdrawal of a major employer (Pharmacia) from aregion (Uppsala) has had a negative effect on employmentgrowth. We then ask if the turnover of establishments has hadany effect on regional employment growth. We find no supportfor the first question. However, the regional turnover ofestablishments is found to have had a positive effect onregional employment growth, illustrating how important thisdynamic is for the economy. In addition, a case study of theintroduction of two almost identical innovations in twodifferent competence bloc environments, that of the US and thatof Sweden, captures the whole process from invention toinnovation and diffusion in the market. We find that without acomplete competence bloc the risk is high of“loosing awinner”. Finally, we study the role of the technologytransfer process from university to industry for thecommercialisation of new inventions. Among other things, thestudy illustrates how institutional changes, such as theBayh-Dole Act, have created positive effects for theeconomy.The Experimentally Organised Economy; Competence Blocs;Industrial Dynamics; Health Care Industry; IndustrialTransformation; Regional Turnover of Establishments; CaseStudies; Technology Transfer
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| 49. |
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| 50. |
- Frommer, Ranja, 1966-
(author)
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Between expectation and experience
- 2001
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The problem areas of the 'human side' of mergers andacquisitions as well as post-merger integration are focusedupon in this study. An extensive review of merger-relatedliterature points to the problematic nature of this area oforganisation. Through the analysis of two international casemergers, their post-merger integration processes and theirproblem areas, the nature and causes of these problem areas areinvestigated. The results of the investigation indicate thatexpectations influence mergers and post-merger integration.What seems to be expected of mergers, post-merger integration,of the management of these processes as well as the involvedparties plays a role in the interpretation of and reaction tomerger-related occurrences. If expectations of a merger or anyof its specific features are not met, attitudes towards themerger can get increasingly negative. This evidentlynecessitates 'expectation management' within mergers and theirpost-merger integration processes.KEY WORDS: merger, acquisition, post-merger integration,'human side' of organisations, expectation, experience, casestudy, emergent theory
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