The case method provides entrepreneurship educators with great potential to be entrepreneurial and to think outside the box when adjusting the case method for increased entrepreneurial learning. This chapter provides the theoretical background of case-based entrepreneurship education and a debate on context in case teaching in general and the Nordic countries in particular. Further the chapter provides a synopsis and reflections of how the chapters in this book discuss the design and utilization of cases through 2 parts. Part 1 includes theoretical perspectives, discussions, and practical procedures on how the case method and case activities can be reframed and approached in entrepreneurship education in general and for experiential learning in particular. Part 2 contributes with a collection of Nordic entrepreneurship cases with accompanying teaching notes. We believe that this book is of great inspiration for entrepreneurship educators wanting to use the case method in their teaching.

Throughout history, innovators and entrepreneurs have had a tremendous impact on development, exploration, trade, education, science, and integration. During the 20th century, innovation and entrepre-neurship have been regarded as key drivers in technological progress and productivity development worldwide. New radical innovations from new fields of knowledge such as information and communication technologies and biotechnology have emerged to influence everyday life for most people. Realizing this, policy makers as well as individuals argue that innovative and entrepreneurial change processes need to be further implemented on the micro as well as macro levels in society (Abouzeedan, Busler, & Hedner, 2009; Busenitz, Gomez, & Spencer, 2000). The study of innovation is therefore likely to be an increasingly important topic in, for example, economics, business, entrepreneurship, tech-nology, engineering, medicine, environmental biology, sociology, design, and reregional development (cf. Etzkowitz & Klofsten, 2005).

One of the major deficiencies in the existing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises’ (SMEs) performance evaluation models is the fact that they lack a clear coupling to the issue of innovation and its impact on performance. A possible candidate model which could achieve this is the Survival Index Value (SIV) model. The model has a parameter incorporated in its structure, the technology-intake. This parameter can be used as an indicator of the degree of innovativeness of the firm. Previous works using the model looked at general performance without specific focus on innovation activities of the firm and without relating that to aspects of survival and growth. In this paper the aim was to demonstrate the ability of the SIV model to indicate a positive overall performance due to the intensive investment of a selected firm in innovation activities.

The enterprise analyzed, Autoadapt AB, is a Swedish high technology firm working in adapting cars and automobiles to handicapped people. Due to the nature of their activities the firm has a high level of innovation input to be able to solve the complex problems related to usage of cars by disabled people. Both the product development process and managing the activities around it requires a high level of innovativeness and ingenuity. As thus the firm presented a very interesting object to study. The study has a clear significance as there is a need to differentiate the performance of innovation-intensive enterprises from firms who are using less investment in innovation in their activities. This can be done by considering the investment in new technologies both as product development and/or as investing in absorption of external management, product or process innovation. Applying the SIV model to run this analysis can help to demonstrate the need to incorporate the technology intake as an essential component of SME’s performance model.

The results indicated that the SIVmodel is able to predict correctly the performance of the object firm. By having mostly positive survival factor values, which are single data-points, during years of operation, and also having mostly positive survivability coefficient values, which are agglomerate data-points, the SIVmodel proved its abilities. Clearly, the model has a good potential to be developed and fine-tuned even more. The SIV model can be tested further to look at deviations in performance of firms among different sectors and relates that to the innovativeness of whole sectors.

Small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) evaluation models lack a clear coupling to innovation and its impact on firm performance. A model which can achieve this is the Survival Index Value (SIV) model. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the ability of the SIV model to indicate and predict the performance of a company. The firm, Autoadapt AB, is an innovation-oriented enterprise, adapting personal cars to be driven by handicapped people. The authors knew in advance about the good performance of the firm and its high efficiency in conducting its operations and expected the SIV model to reflect correctly on Autoadapt's performance. Because the handicap degree of each of the individuals who benefit from the firm activities differs from one person to another, product solutions have to be individually designed. Therefore the firm has had to pursue a high level of innovativeness and it had to abide with this policy right from the start. The product development processes in the firm needed to adapt to such strategies.

To be able to demonstrate the ability of the SIV model to indicate a positive performance due to the intensive innovation activities of Autoadapt AB, a case study approach was used. Case studies are very suited for in-depth analysis of an object under a longer period of time. It is a widely-used research method in firm performance studies.

The results of the SIV analysis indicated that the model is able to project correctly the performance of the object firm. At all the four levels of analysis, i.e. SI values, the SPI slope, the survival factors, and the survivability coefficients, the SIV analysis performance indicated a stable positive development of the firm through the life time of the enterprise.

Measuring performance of SMEs is an important issue. There are couple of models stemming from the traditional accountancy disciplines in use; however these models suffer from clear disadvantages. Recently a new model, the SIV model, was introduced and has shown the ability of being a better candidate for performance analysis. The paper demonstrates the ability of the SIV model to judge correctly the performance of an innovative firm.

Cross-industry knowledge sharing is a dynamic phenomenon that can thrive at the intersection of academia and industry. Through a qualitative case study of research-centric and network-focused university-industry collaboration (UIC), this study delves into the intricate interplay of structural social capital within UIC and its role in enabling cross-industry knowledge sharing. Data collection was done through interviews and observations over a period of 24 months. Our findings underscore the multifaceted nature of cross-industry knowledge sharing, revealing that it is influenced by the specific focus of UIC structures. In UIC with a research-centric orientation, formal and structured coordination activities prevail. Here, academia leads the way, cultivating shared norms based on academic logic. Cognitive social capital, built through knowledge abstraction, is coopted to facilitate cross-industry knowledge sharing. These collaborations are driven by the imperative for publishable results and align with academia's research agenda. Conversely, UICs emphasizing networking and relationships foster informal structural social capital. Academic involvement is less pronounced, and knowledge sharing occurs through unstructured, informal interactions. Cross-industry knowledge sharing in these settings is more context-specific, potentially requiring less effort for application but following a less structured knowledge transfer process. Research-oriented UIC face challenges regarding long-term relationships due to the finite nature of public funding, while networking-focused UIC grapple with academic disengagement tied to research funding. Nonetheless, they find innovative ways to endure, such as realizing the importance to engage industrial representatives. This study advances our understanding of cross-industry knowledge sharing by elucidating how the structural social capital within UICs shapes the dynamics of knowledge transfer. It highlights the importance of considering the orientation and focus of UICs when harnessing their potential for cross-industry knowledge sharing, offering valuable insights for policymakers and strategists in the public-private interface.

In the modern business environment, University-Industry Collaboration (UIC) has emerged as a dynamic mechanism for knowledge co-creation and a way for firms to reach and sustain a competitive advantage. Collaborative university-industry (CUI) PhD projects offer a way to translate academic research into practical industry applications. Prior research emphasises the importance of prior UIC experience for firms to achieve successful knowledge related outcomes in UIC. This study explores how firms with limited UIC experience can effectively navigate the challenges and harness the benefits of such collaborations. In the context of Manufacturing Academy of Denmark (MADE) program, we investigate CUI PhD projects as pathways for fostering learning environments and generating valuable knowledge outcomes. Examining multiple cases, we identify themes that could help less experienced firms to navigate their success in UIC. Our findings underscore that careful project planning and design, strategic use of intermediaries, and fostering a firm-wide attitude of commitment play pivotal roles in enabling successful collaborations. This paper offers actionable insights that bridge the experience gap, providing practical guidance for firms aiming to unlock the full potential of UIC collaborations. By strategically embracing these approaches, less experienced firms can effectively navigate the intricacies of collaborative projects, enhancing their ability to thrive in the dynamic intersection of academia and industry. 

Industrial PhD students, affiliating to industrial firms and academic institutions, hold unique boundary-spanning positions as they engage in knowledge co-creation through university–industry collaboration (UIC). Despite much research on knowledge transfer processes and boundary spanners in inter-organizational contexts, firms who engage in UIC remain uncertain about how to reap the benefits of co-creating knowledge through industrial PhD projects. This paper investigates the enablers of knowledge dissemination for PhD students in industrial firms. Based on a qualitative case study in Sweden, our study identifies enablers and mechanisms related to individual and organizational actions in the internal knowledge dissemination process. Based on the findings, the paper presents a model that distinguishes between surface and deep knowledge dissemination and elaborates on the symbiotic nature of enablers, with middle management mediating between the individual and organizational levels. The paper enhances research on knowledge dissemination in UIC by specifically addressing industrial PhD students' dissemination of co-created knowledge. The findings inform organizations in managing their expectations, making more informed decisions and improving dissemination conditions for boundary-spanning industrial PhD students in UIC.

Managing innovation in smaller firms imposes challenges of specific nature. Such challenges include: scarcity of resources for R&D and innovation activities, complexity of scientific fields, coordinating innovation activities with the operational functions of the firm and availability of access to up-to-date scientific excellence. A question of importance should be raised as to how one can use the recent development in information and communication technologies (ITCs) to meet these challenges and to facilitate innovation activities in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), specially the high- technology smaller firms (HTSFs), as these use innovation as their major competitive edge. In this conceptual paper we proposed using a newly introduced management paradigm, namely “internetisation management” to achieve the said. In the article we discussed the different challenges of innovation in HTSFs and how these challenges can be meet when adapting the internetisation management paradigm. The work shed the light on the need for a coupling between management and innovation studies in relation to SMEs while taking in consideration the e-globalized nature of the modern economy. It addresses in a more particular way HTSFs need for that coupling.

Användandet av agila metodiker har ökat under de senaste decennierna. Detta har lett till en uppskalning av agila metodiker då även stora organisationer vill uppnå fördelarna som kommer med det agila arbetssättet. Att skala upp agila metodiker, och använda dessa i storskaligt agila miljöer (författarnas koncept skagila miljöer, som återfinns i sektionen ’Begreppet ’skagil’'), kommer dock med flera nya organisatoriska utmaningar. En utmaning, som omnämns i både litteratur och i arbetets empiriska undersökning på företaget Avanza, är inter-teamsamordning i skagila miljöer. Avanza har identifierat problemen med beroenden mellan team i skagila mjukvaruutvecklingsprojekt. För att möta problemet med beroenden initierades det här arbetet med syftet att, utifrån Avanzas nuvarande projekt design, undersöka hur teamöverskridande arbete kan samordnas för att möta beroenden i projektprocessen.

För att uppnå syftet genomfördes en fallstudie på Avanza innehållande intervjuer med tolv respondenter och observation av interna dokument. Den empiriska undersökningen bekräftade ursprungsproblematiken gällande inter-teamsamordning och bidrog även med information om företagets nuvarande projektdesign. Resultatet visade att projektorganisationen verkar som en hybrid organisation med starka, agila inslag. Dock visade sig Avanza uppleva sin projektdesignen som helt agil. Vidare ansågs projektets beroenden bidra till agilt slöseri, vilket påverkar både produktivitet och effektivitet negativt i mjukvaruutvecklingsprocessen. Fyra huvudområden av agilt slöseri identifierades vilka var väntan, rörelse, defekter och tilläggsprocesser. Genom att klustra ihop liknande slöseri framtogs tre problemområden kopplade till Avanzas projektprocess, nämligen ’viss frånvaro av proaktivt angreppssätt och planering’, ’viss frånvaro av forum för hantering av inter-teamberoenden’ och ’skillnader i implementering av agila metodiker och projektprioritering bland teamen’. För att möta problemen fastställdes sex åtgärder, nämligen implementering av en mer proaktiv projektledarroll, anammning av hybridkulturen, skapande av rollspecifika team, implementering av arrangerade forum för teamsynkronisering, kodifiering och utveckling av befintliga mekanismer och samordning samt skapande av ett gemensamt förhållningssätt till agila principer i projekt.

Arbetets slutsatser är till viss del generaliserbara och skulle kunna adopteras av andra företag eller projektorganisationer som har liknande problem och projektdesign som Avanza. Dock krävs en viss ansträngning för att först identifiera vilken projektdesign intressentföretag har samt att identifiera projektrelaterat slöseri. Avanza är även verksamma inom tech-branschen där projektorganisationen verkar kring mjukvaruutveckling. Därför kan det antas att slutsatserna mer sannolikt, passar andra organisationer som jobbar med mjukvaruutveckling.

The literature on Science and Technology Parks (STPs) is growing rapidly and, despite the positive impact of STPs on firms found by many studies, it remains unclear how STPs create value for tenants. In this paper, we study the STP supply side through a case study in a Swedish region. We identify two components of the business support provided by parks: a configuration-oriented component, and a process-oriented component. The former refers to the static design of the business support, and the latter to the active, hands-on support provided by parks’ management. Both components must be planned carefully in order to deliver value to tenants. We also discuss some implications for policy and managers.

The increasing globalisation of the market is followed by increased competition between organisations. Therefore it becomes more important to create products with high customer value. To be able to create customer value, deep understanding of the customers’ needs must be obtained by employees, shared between them and transformed into products. Further consequences of globalisation are increasing differences between customers’ needs, which results in demand for customisable and flexible products.The purpose of this study was to analyse how organisations can create more customer value through increased knowledge integration. The focus was on how knowledge that already resides within a globally dispersed organisation can be integrated during the product development process.This study showed that customer value is created throughout the product development process by integrating the knowledge held by R&D and internal stakeholders. Different types of value are created at different phases in the product development process. One important finding is that different parts of the augmented value are created throughout the entire product development process. Since employees obtain different knowledge depending on which customer they interact with, it is important to utilise knowledge from a large number of employees with different roles and in different countries. Hence, the significance of knowledge integration must be disseminated and understood across the organisation. After completing the product development process additional customer value is created by the internal stakeholders’ who sell and implement the product, but it is during the product development process that the basis for their value creation is established.Knowledge needs to be integrated in a formalised, repeatable way, so that the R&D department can ensure that the right product is developed at the right time. Integration means that the tacit knowledge that resides within one employee is codified into an explicit form that can be exploited by more employees. Therefore, four steps must be performed and repeated iteratively to create and spread knowledge throughout the organisation. The first step includes communication by exchanging tacit knowledge. The second step entails documenting the knowledge, and the third step involves combining the knowledge residing in the organisations into one common knowledge system. The final step includes distributing the knowledge so that it recievess wide attention within the organisation. Several factors that have a negative impact on these four steps, and knowledge integration, need to be countered somehow. However, it was found that there are several mechanisms that facilitate knowledge integration, and most often the presence of several mechanisms at the same time had a better effect.

Bokens syfte är att ge kunskap och inspiration åt chefer, ledare och medarbetare med intresse för kreativitet och innovation. Den baseras på forskning och tar upp exempel hämtade från många av Sveriges ledande företag. Avsikten är att belysa hur organisatoriska förhållanden påverkar förutsättningarna för kreativitet och innovation samt att ge uppslag till hur företags innovationsförmåga kan utvecklas.

Den här skriften presenterar ett urval resultat och texter från forskningsprogrammet ”Kunskapsintegration och innovation i en internationaliserande ekonomi” (Knowledge Integration and Innovation in Transnational Enterprise, KITE) som finansierats av Riksbankens Jubileumsfond i två faser under åren 2007–2015. I programmet har vi analyserat hur företag, speciellt i tekniktunga industrier, påverkas av den allt mer globala konkurrensen om nya produkter och tjänster, hur nya specialiserade kunskaper växer fram och tas tillvara, och hur de kan förenas med existerande kunskapsbas. I denna skrift finns studier på tre olika nivåer: branschnivån, med analyser av innovationsprocesser och kunskapsutmaningar i industriella sektorer; företagsnivån, med skildringar av förändringar i företagens interna organisering av kunskapsbildande processer och undersökningar av nya former för utbyte och samspel mellan företag; samt mikronivån, med undersökningar av samspelet mellan individuella specialister inom företag. Skriften vänder sig både till den intresserade allmänheten och till forskare med annan vetenskaplig bakgrund. Fokus är på internationellt konkurrerande branscher och företag, men analyserna av kunskapens delning och sammanflätning, separation och integration, har bäring också på andra kunskapsintensiva sektorer och verksamheter, från statliga verk till sjukvård.

En vetenskaplig presentation av programmets forskning under de första fyra åren finns i boken Knowledge Integration and Innovation: Critical Challenges Facing International Technology-Based Firms (redigerad av Berggren, Bergek, Bengtsson, Hobday & Söderlund och utgiven av Oxford University Press 2011). En uppföljande volym, Managing Knowledge Integration Across Boundaries, planeras av samma förlag 2016 (redigerad av Tell, Berggren, Brusoni & Van de Ven). I den medverkar ett antal internationella författare vilket visar kunskapsområdets globala tyngd och intresse. Under programmets drygt åtta år har deltagarna publicerat ett mycket stort antal artiklar, konferensbidrag, bokkapitel och liknande. För dessa hänvisar vi till programmets hemsida www.liu.se/kite.

Vi har under hela programperioden arbetat intensivt med att diskuteraoch konstruktivt kritisera och utveckla varandras bidrag. Därför har det varit naturligt att denna skrift inbegriper många programdeltagares medverkan. En presentation av samtliga medverkande finns i slutet av denna skrift. Följande KITE-forskare har medverkat i nedan angivna kapitel:

Hans Andersson (kapitel 4)

Lars Bengtsson (kapitel 7)

Marie Bengtsson (kapitel 3)

Anna Bergek (kapitel 2)

Christian Berggren (kapitel 1)

Karin Bredin (kapitel 6)

Cecilia Enberg (kapitel 5, 7)

Mattias Johansson (kapitel 4)

Nicolette Lakemond (kapitel 7)

Lars Lindkvist (kapitel 3)

Thomas Magnusson (kapitel 1)

Camilla Niss (kapitel 6)

Jonas Söderlund (kapitel 6)

Fredrik Tell (kapitel 5)

Vi vill också tacka Jenny Björkman på Riksbankens Jubileumsfond och Makadam förlag för deras engagerade arbete med redigering och produktion av slutresultatet.

While creativity is often understood as the generation of valuable novelty, we extend that view into a framework based on well-known and established models from the creativity literature. In addition to generation of novelty which forms our frameworks first dimension, we add selection of novelty, and type of creative contribution.  

Based on interviews with inventors and managers in three large, patent-intensive firms, representing completely different industries, we show how the framework can be employed in order to better understand in what ways different practices exploit and/or support the inventors’ creative abilities. By relating the practices not to creativity in general but to components of creativity (c.f Amabile 1997) the paper enriches the discussion of how inventors’ can be leveraged in technology-based firms.

The emergence of digital technologies has forced established firms to engage in a digital transformation. Digital transformations are complex and time-consuming processes, and therefore, they require unique strategies for coordinating and prioritizing activities. Existing research provides some examples of established Swedish firms engaging in digital transformations to keep up with competition. Responding to the need to better understand how these firms approach their digital transformation, this thesis explores how digital transformation strategies have been executed by established Swedish manufacturing firms and why some digital transformation strategies are realized whereas others are not.

This thesis builds on digital transformation and digital transformation strategy literature. The term "digital transformation" primarily refers to firms’ incorporation of digital technologies into products and services, the development of new digital business models, and new organizational setups. The term "digital transformation strategy," likewise, refers to the process of executing the digital transformation.

To answer the research questions presented in this thesis, I conducted two studies at two different firms. Study 1 was an embedded longitudinal single-case study conducted at the corporate unit and two business units of one firm and includes 30 interviews. Study 2 was a multiple-case study conducted at two firms and included six cases and a total of nine interviews.

This thesis’ examination of digital transformation strategies demonstrates how the firms incorporated both basic- and advanced-level digital technologies into existing and new products and created new digital services. The firms also implemented new business models, such as e-commerce channels and pay-per-use payment schemes. Further, the firms also introduced new organizational setups, such as cross-functional teams and departments specializing in digital technologies and their potential applications. The execution of the digital transformation strategies was dynamic, and the firms regularly reformulated their strategies throughout the process. Furthermore, this study’s analysis of the execution of digital transformation strategies highlighted how managers interpreted the firm’s intentions and created emergent strategic responses to adapt to new digital technologies and customer demands. The firms measured the outcomes of the digital transformation strategy by considering both traditional measurements, such as return on investment, and new measurements, such as positive brand image and customer engagement.

The thesis identified three key elements that impact whether or not a firm is able to realize its digital transformation strategy. First, new digital products and services must be aligned with market demands and customer needs. Second, internal and external collaboration support digital product and service development. Third, all dimensions of the digital transformation must be managed to avoid creating a misalignment between the firm’s digital transformation strategy and current business strategy.

The execution of a digital transformation strategy requires managers to constantly reevaluate the strategy and respond to changing customer demands and available digital technologies. The lessons of this thesis can provide managers within digitally transforming firms with useful tools to improve the execution process of their digital transformation strategy.

It is not uncommon for organizations going through a change connected to growth to be faced by new challenges. To grow, they need to explore new markets and engage in development of new products which they have little or no previous experience in developing. Uncertainty highly influences these settings which creates problems not always connected to technical development. Dealing with a situation where more and more projects are undertaken is complex, and it puts pressure on resource allocation methods. The portfolio of projects sets demand for human resources, which is supplied through a human resource management system by the line organization, to projects. If problems occur, the project portfolio demands re-allocation of resources and prioritizing to cope with new prerequisites.

At the studied site, TECHX has gone from a small company focusing on a narrow market segment, to become a manufacturer of several product solutions expanding their presence in the market. By exploring new market segments and employing more personnel, TECHX are in a completely new position compared to 20 years ago. The company has experienced difficulties in dealing with resource allocation in projects, and a lot of resource re-allocation is done to put out fires in projects. This creates a situation where resources are moved around, which affects smooth-going projects negatively. This study has found a lack of project portfolio management, and that not enough focus is directed towards long-term resource allocation.

This master’s thesis has studied the interaction between project portfolio management, human resource management and day-to-day planning, and how they affect resource allocation. It was obvious that TECHX do not have a management system in place for their project portfolio which was determined to be a major factor for having problems connected to resource allocation. Adding the informal and insufficient communication between departments and managers, and the unsuitable project work set-up, and the situation has become too hard to handle. This thesis recommends TECHX to engage in the project portfolio through a defined project portfolio manager. This role will formalize how projects are prioritized and how resources will be re-allocated to projects in need. To get the most out of the projects, project teams would benefit from co-location with each other to improve knowledge and experience sharing, reducing the barriers between them. To make sure a sustainable work environment is achieved, HR need to be more active in the daily work to support managers in need of guidance.

Research on digital transformation focuses on business models and technological innovation but it often lacks a detailed exploration of how firms develop, execute, and evaluate related and unrelated digital diversification strategies. To address this gap, this study employs a multiple case study approach to uncover the varied processes and outcomes of implementing digital diversification programs in established firms. The findings reveal that established firms frequently refine and adjust their digital diversification strategies to achieve desired results. Specifically, related digital diversification strategies benefit from well-defined market segments, clear technological focus, and robust senior management support. In contrast, unrelated digital diversification strategies thrive through extensive exploration and experimentation with novel digital technologies and markets, reduced senior managerial intervention and increased middle- and lower-level management involvement. Semi-related digital diversification strategies, which incorporate elements of both related and unrelated approaches, often encounter tensions owing to conflicting traditional and new program execution methods, posing significant realization challenges. Key factors identified as instrumental in the success of digital diversification strategies include technology, markets, management & organization, and program execution. The study concludes by discussing the managerial and academic implications and offers recommendations for future research in this domain.

The rapid growth of Swedish metropolitan regions, has led to increased demand for rock and soil materials for building construction and infrastructural work. Sweden's rock and soil material management industry extracts over 100 million tons of aggregate per year, while only succeeding in recycling 1% of it. Moreover, the industry generates excavated material, resulting in even more waste. This linear flow of materials has become unsustainable, prompting a need for more efficient resource management through circular solutions where the value is decoupled from resource consumption and environmental impact. To achieve a circular economy, companies need to innovate and rethink their business models. The value network becomes crucial in managing relationships with various actors to address the risks and responsibilities associated with the circular transition. By considering the value network dimension, the business model concept surpasses the firm boundaries and takes a holistic ecosystem-level perspective, which could facilitate a shift towards circular business models. 

The purpose is to explore the possibilities of moving towards more circular business models within Swedish rock and soil material management with an ecosystem-level perspective. The study employs a qualitative case study as a research design to explore the opportunities to transition to circular business models. The data is collected through seven interviews with an abductive approach to allow an iterative process and explore themes and patterns of the industry. The respondents represent actors from all different business scopes of Swedish material management which are identified from a pre-study. 

The material management industry in Sweden comprises diverse business models with varying use of circular strategies within the value capturing and value propositions. Despite circular strategies being established in the industry, their expansion is hindered by certain factors, resulting in a low recycling percentage. For instance, the influence of specific business relations on actors' business models impacts circular strategies, limiting their adoption. However, the study highlights that envisioning circularity often involves an ecosystem-level perspective, emphasizing collaboration between projects and value network members as a solution. Consequently, the ecosystem-level perspective can both limit and enhance circular strategies based on how relations with actors are managed. To bridge the gap between limiting and enhancing value networks, industry members need to actively manage relations with various actors, fostering collaboration and recognizing the broader ecosystem. Embracing these approaches can facilitate the adoption of more circular strategies within the material management industry in Sweden. 

Evenemangen i Sverige drabbades finansiellt, varumärkesmässigt och motivationsmässigt negativt av pandemin. Främst var det på grund av de regleringar som behövde göras för att skydda folkhälsan men mycket berodde också på de osäkerheter och den avsaknad av information som fanns kring viruset. Osäkerheten tillsammans med avsaknad av erfarenheter gjorde det svårt för evenemangsarrangörerna att agera på bästa sätt. 

Varumärkesmässigt fallerade många evenemang där marknadsföring var normalt kopplad endast till när ordinarie verksamhet kunde genomföras varför kommunikationsarbetet prioriterades ner i stället för att lyftas upp. Beroende på organisation klarade sig evenemangen i kultursektorn relativt bra i och med de stora stöd som svenska samhället erbjöd. Utan dessa är risken att många mindre evenemang hade gått i konkurs. Hur avsaknaden av arrangemang har påverkat samhället i stort ekonomiskt är svårt att säga då evenemangssektorn involverar många parter och industrier. Organisationerna bakom evenemangen fick stora utmaningar kring motivationen, både bland anställda men framför allt bland ideellt engagerade när det inte längre fanns någon verksamhet att samlas kring eller rollerna och verksamheten förändrades mycket. Här saknade evenemangsarrangörerna kunskap kring exakt vilka de viktigaste motivationsfaktorerna är för engagerade inom evenemang något som hade kunnat mildra de negativa effekterna. 

Evenemangen ställdes i hög grad in som svar på krisen och styrdes av externa faktorer. Som regleringar, avtal som behövde brytas innan de fick finansiella konsekvenser eller att andra aktörer gjorde det omöjligt att bedriva verksamheten. Några arrangörer byggde upp scenarion och jobbade med ambidextriöst ledarskap i syftet att kunna aktivt arbeta med nuvarande kris, lära sig längs med vägen samtidigt som framtiden planerades. Detta visade sig vara fördelaktigt även om det fanns stora svårigheter att beräkna sannolikhet enligt de omständigheter som rådde. Vi såg exempel på innovation under krisen i form av fler digitala evenemang, evenemang med sittplatser anpassade efter rådande regleringar till livesändningar som inte hade skett annars. Dessa var dock beroende av pandemins förutsättningar vilka när de inte längre rådde sänkte innovationernas värden. Några av innovationerna var fördelaktiga för arrangörerna och när väl regleringarna försvann drabbades i stället arrangören negativt av att inte kunna genomföra den verksamhet som skapats under pandemin. 

Organisationerna har lärt sig mycket och det finns direkta värden att hämta från krisen för evenemangsbranschen. Inte bara i form av lärdomar för hur arrangörerna kan förbättra sina rutiner, krishantering, inkorporera digital teknik och justera det ekonomiska aspekter som biljettpris. Utan också i det att samhället har kunnat se hur viktiga evenemang är genom att de plockats bort. Detta tillsammans med vissa observationer pekar på att evenemangsbranschen kommer växa sig större efter pandemin jämfört med innan. 

This study aims to evaluate the influence of institutions on the probability of becoming a social entrepreneur and the effect of this choice on individual economic well-being. The authors also analyze the effects of gender (male versus female entrepreneurism) and type (traditional versus social entrepreneurism). Institutional economics framed the analysis, and hypotheses were tested using two-stage probit least squares models in a sample of 69,236 individuals from 57 countries during the 2010–2014 wave from the World Values Survey. The results showed that, for most variables, institutions significantly explained the probability of becoming a social entrepreneur. The analyses also indicated that social entrepreneurship is highly associated with individual economic well-being. This research brings insights into the discussion of the social and economic benefits of socially oriented entrepreneurs. Likewise, the modeling approach overcomes the interplay between entrepreneurship and economic outcomes, in which institutions become key factors.

In the last decade, PSS (Product/ Service System) emerged as a new effective business model in helping manufacturers increase significantly productivity and customer’s satisfaction, whist minimizing environmental impact. PSS contributes drastically to the development of an innovative transaction trend, in which rather than just providing physical products separately, industrial Companies are more focusing on integrated service offers and customer’s need fulfillment. 

However, to implement successfully PSS, manufacturers have to overcome many challenges and uncertainties. The uncertainties in the PSS planning phase are related to market, environment or company analysis; reliability, product/service integration, supplier coordination etc in the design and development stages are considered as potential uncertainties. Uncertainty is defined as “State of deficiency of information related to a future event” (Sakao et al., 2009). In which, risks derived from negative side of uncertainties may reduce efficiency of the model or even make the implementation process fail to some extent. If the uncertainty is resolved in a favorable way, risks can be seen as potential business opportunities for the development of PSS Companies.

While many Companies already have their own uncertainty management initiative; others just utilize their long time experience to treat uncertainties. Therefore, numerous Companies are seeking a comprehensive uncertainty management framework that could be applicable in most circumstances. In order to fulfill this urgent need, our thesis aimed to develop a holistic framework in order to manage risks occurred in PSS planning, design and development stages. Based on previous valuable PSS researches and useful empirical data collected, our dissertation first determined successfully critical uncertainty factors and potential business opportunities exploited from those. In addition, the research investigated elaborately PSS product quality thresholds and producers’ perception on reliability of their products before constructing a general uncertainty management framework. In which the whole management process based on Active Risk Management philosophy, included Risk Management Planning, Risk Identification, Risk Assessment and Prioritization, Risk Quantification, Risk Response Planning, Risk Tracking and Control were introduced as a helpful guideline to support PSS Companies to treat effectively uncertainties in PSS planning, design and development. 

The aim of this article is to contribute to the literature on the management of SME support arrangements, such as new business incubation programs, by presenting two European case studies of such arrangements. In the case studies, we have tried to identify management practices that seem to work well in both cases. The literature abounds with "success stories" of for example individual science parks but such stories tend to have two major shortcomings. First, what constitutes success is seldom defined. Second, it is difficult to determine to what degree this success depends on local factors and to what degree it can be attributed to the management practices of the support arrangement. This study discusses the management practices of these two arrangements against the background of their regional settings.

An application of the theory of planned behaviour is developed here to analyse factors in. uencing entrepreneurial intent among university students. The study provides a test of the robustness of the intent approach using international comparisons. The samples are from Finland (Helsinki University of Technology), Sweden (Linko¨ping University), USA (Stanford University and University of Colorado, Colorado Springs), and the UK (London Business School). The international comparisons indicate a good robustness of the model. Perceived behavioural control emerges as the most important determinant of entrepreneurial intent.

In the new business economy, project management has become a central way for undertaking several of the business activities. One of the increasing and most significant concerns with projects is that, projects are behind schedule, over budget and show unsatisfactory performance in terms quality and customer satisfaction. In the last few decades the manufacturing industry successfully improved quality and productivity, by using the concepts of lean thinking. The thesis explores the relevance of lean concepts in project management and how lean concepts can improve project productivity.

The qualitative method is used in this study. Further, a systematic approach was used to identify the relevance of lean concepts in project management. The qualitative data was collected using an interview with a project consultant.

The results of the study reveal that all concepts of lean thinking are relevant to project management in specific kinds of projects. However, a greater degree of understanding and interpretation of each concept is needed when applying lean thinking in project management. Furthermore, some of the concepts have to be interpreted with caution when they are used in innovative projects.

In general, it is found that, lean project management can improve project productivity. The findings suggest that the lean concepts can reduce cost and time which are two key measures of project success. The results of this study can be seen as a tentative framework intended to stimulate further discussion about integrating lean thinking in project and program management.

This study examines whether early growth is important for the short- and long-term survival and development of new firms. For this purpose, we use registry data for a specific cohort of Swedish firms that tracks their development until their exit, or up to 14 years, at which point only 8% of the firms remain. We find growth to be clearly associated with increased survival of the firms, that the number of employees (in the previous year) is positively correlated with survival in following years, and somewhat surprisingly, that subsidiaries face a significantly larger hazard of closure than independent firms.

This study examines whether early growth is important for the short- and long-term survival and development of new firms. The study exploits registry data for a specific cohort of Swedish firms that tracks their development until their exit, or up to 14 years, at which point only 8% of the firms remain. We find growth to be associated with increased survival of the firms, that the number of employees (in the previous year) is positively correlated with survival in following years and somewhat surprisingly, we found subsidiaries to face a significantly larger hazard of closure than independent firms.

This paper explores the intricate emergence of complex and increasingly intelligent systems (CoIS) in the wake of new possibilities created by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, building on an analysis of the emergence of CoIS using perspectives of development and change. The findings, based on rich qualitative data collected through key informant interviews with reflective practitioners from aviation, automotive and naval system domains, indicate that firms facing the emergence of CoIS, need to build capabilities allowing several logics to co-exist in a newly evolving hybrid CoIS management logic.

Increased use of data is influencing the existing practices in the engineering domain,including that of systems engineering. Complex products and systems (CoPS), along with its predominant methodology of development, Model-based systems engineering(MBSE), is no exception to this. This thesis explores the possible integration of the emerging data driven methods and the established model-based methods in the context of CoPS development. It also explores what the implications of such an integration could be for the organizations building such systems, the system integrators. To analyse the current state of the art in CoPS development and model based methods as well as the emerging trends in data driven methods, this research employs an integrative literature review method. The literature search concluded in 71 selected articles to be reviewed. These articles where divided over three main categories, CoPS, Model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and data driven methods.The results of the analysis suggest that data driven methods and the model-based methods complement rather than compete throughout the innovation life cycle of CoPS. The findings indicate that an integration of the methods is beneficial to the architectural, systemic, and component level innovation in CoPS. MBSE and data driven methods could however have different levels of influence in these three types of innovation. The findings indicate that MBSE could have more influence in architectural innovations, while data driven methods could be more influential in systemic and component innovation. The continuous innovation in the use phase of system is also seen to be improved by this integration. The system integrators benefit from the improved project to project learning resulting from the integration which enhances their economy of repetition. An integrated method could also increase the speed of which decisions can be made while still maintaining reliability in the system. The results indicate that the number of iterations could increase due to the increased feedback of data and the learnings gained from it, which could pose some challenge to the existing project management methods. Further research is needed to find out what are the full benefits of an integrated method and identify other potential conflicts.

This thesis explores the attraction, selection, and support in sustainability-oriented business incubators. Business incubators as hatcheries for start-ups are considered key tools to enhance job creation and strengthen regional economies. While the world population grows and consumption of natural resources increases, the ecosystem services decline. If these issues are not properly addressed, the economic, social, and environmental pressures that are growing in our societies will lead to disasters and threats to humankind. Green incubators can implement sustainability thinking and the related principles in the start-up community right from the beginning, and hence play a significant role in reorienting start-up businesses towards sustainability.

This study shows the importance of making business incubators better known to their potential clients in order to increase visibility and attract more green tenants. The sustainability-oriented business incubators (SOBI), to have a better selection of tenants, need to attract more sustainable entrepreneurs in the first place. Moreover, the selection criteria affect the in-house atmosphere of the incubator, which in turn affects the attraction of more like-minded tenants to the incubator. In addition, word of mouth through partners and referrals by successfully graduated tenants, as well as expert management teams including coaches and consultants and their related networks and mediations, exert more influence on the attraction. In other words, the attraction is dependent both on the selection criteria and the support given to the tenants. To attract proper tenants, a rich local environment, regional and inter-regional collaboration, a well-planned, well-structured pre-incubation process, and credibility of incubators with managerial sustainability expertise and well-established networks are also essential.

When it comes to the selection processes, different factors affect the selection criteria, including business incubators’ goal and agenda such as job creation, diversification of the local economy, utilization of vacant property, commercialization of research, investment as well as owner and sponsors (including public and private), physical characters such as age, size, and occupancy rates. Furthermore, incubators might have different selection strategies such as rigorous-vs-flexible as well as entrepreneur-vs-idea priorities. The initial ambition of SOBIs is to select business ideas that are primarily geared towards sustainability. However, the empirical data has shown that it is not always achievable to attract a sufficient number of green tenants to meet those criteria. The challenges, for example, could be due to economic cycles, specialization, and high-bar (i.e., eligibility) criteria, location limits, lack of sustainable-minded entrepreneurs, and the like.

In recent years, increased awareness about sustainability issues and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as signals from green financiers, business owners, and other stakeholders, have forced many incubators to adjust their selection criteria to match sustainability requirements. However, empirical results show that the support given to tenants in green incubators has not been different from conventional ones. But more recently (especially during the past two-three years), institutional forces and the need for more legitimacy have led more and more incubators (even conventional ones) to change their mindset and provide more support towards sustainable business ideas. The conclusions of this study imply that business incubators need to strive for making sustainable entrepreneurs, not selecting them. In order to provide comprehensive sustainability-oriented support, SOBIs need to recruit sustainability experts and educate management teams as well as their tenants about sustainability issues.

Since start-ups enterprises often have more room and flexibility for sustainability ideas in the early stages of business development incubators could be particularly important for introducing and developing sustainability thinking. Previous studies on incubators and the incubation processes in general are rather extensive in the literature. However, there are few studies particularly focusing on sustainability dimensions of incubators. In particular how incubators recruit and support start-ups in incorporating sustainability thinking into their core business idea or making their sustainability-oriented idea even more successful has received few research attention. With this gap identified in research and societal need for sustainability, research on green incubators is of timely interest. The latest report from the IPCC on climate change problem warns about the demand of sustainable business creation, which is critical to promote sustainable development. Entrepreneurship is at the heart of sustainable growth (Carayannis and Von Zedtwitz, 2005) and in that sense it is in the heart of sustainability development. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to investigate empirically the recruiting criteria of start-ups by three sustainability oriented incubators in Sweden, Finland and Germany in order to understand how they support sustainable entrepreneurship and eco-innovation.

Following a literature review on “conventional” incubators, a sample incubator that works with sustainable start-ups in each country was chosen and studied by help of interviews with managers, stakeholders, tenants and managers at incubators in order to investigate deficits and potentials of the existing incubator support systems for sustainable entrepreneurship and eco innovation. The data used in the study comes from Green Tech Park (Sweden), LADEC (Finland) and Green Garage (Germany).

From this study, our major implications are that, the studied incubators on average have an ambition to recruit and develop sustainability oriented start-ups, but a critical mass of such tenants is vital if any such ambitions are to become a reality. This critical mass of start-ups is very much influenced by the local context of the incubator, which generates both potential tenants and resources to support such firms in sustainability entrepreneurship and eco innovation. For incubator management, this suggests an active search for tenants interested in sustainable entrepreneurship and providing support focused on such activities.

Since the recruitment and support process of sustainability profiled incubators have received little research attention, the goal of this paper is to fill this knowledge gap by an empirically investigation of three sustainability oriented incubators in Sweden, Finland and Germany. The data used in the study comes from interviews with managers, stakeholders, tenants in selected incubators, in Green Tech Park (Sweden), LADEC (Finland) and Green Garage (Germany). Our major implications are that, the studied incubators on average have an ambition to recruit and develop sustainability oriented start-ups, but a critical mass of such tenants is vital if any such ambitions are to become a reality. This critical mass of start-ups is influenced by the local context, which generates both potential tenants and resources to support such firms. For incubator management, this suggests an active search for tenants interested in sustainable entrepreneurship and providing support focused on such activities.

Recruitment and support processes in sustainability-profiled incubators have received little research attention. The article addresses this knowledge gap in an empirical investigation of three sustainability-oriented incubators in Sweden, Finland and Germany. The data are based on interviews with managers, stakeholders and tenants in Green Tech Park (Sweden), LADEC (Finland) and Green Garage (Germany). On average, the studied incubators had an ambition to recruit and develop sustainability-oriented start-ups, but the number of tenants must reach a critical mass if such ambitions are to become a reality. The local context influences this critical mass of start-ups and is a determining factor in generating (a) potential tenants and (b) the resources to support such firms. This suggests that incubator managers must actively seek tenants interested in sustainable entrepreneurship and that support must focus on activities in sustainability.

Currently there is an attention in research and practise on entrepreneurial ecosystems, and how these, often using incubators, could support sustainable development through new firm start-ups. Despite the popularity of incubators in the literature and practise, few studies have focused on sustainable incubators in general or, more specifically, on processes that ensure a steady flow of tenants. Thus, this paper investigates how sustainable incubators ensures their inflow of tenants, how they organize their activities and whether the incubator environment affect tenant recruitment. A case study approach analysing the sustainability oriented incubator Green Garage Berlin have been used to generate an understanding of selection and recruitment processes as well the influence of external environments. The results show that regional and inter-regional co-operation, together with a well-planned, structured pre-incubation process, are requirements for securing an inflow of tenants to sustainable incubators. Incubator reputation and sufficient long term funding is also a key to success. A good practice case as Green Garage cannot simply be replicated, but require openness to continue the learning process and adapting the knowledge to be transferred to local conditions.

This paper discusses incubators that claim a sustainability approach and pays particular attention to their inflow of firms – tenant recruitment. We also discuss external environment influences on tenant recruitment to the incubator. A case study approach examined one sustainable incubator that was successful in exclusively targeting ideas with a sustainable, climate-oriented mission. The results show that regional and inter-regional cooperation, together with a well-planned, structured pre-incubation process, are requirements for securing an inflow of tenants to sustainable incubators. Success also dictates that sustainable incubators apply a generous, non-sector-specific intake approach so that as many entrepreneurs as possible enter the incubator process. Ventures with the greatest potential can then be sifted out from this pool over time. Another factor affecting whether an incubator reaches a critical mass of sustainable tenants is the external environment. Finally, we make some suggestions for demand-side legislation that would support sustainable business ideas and lead markets for climate-friendly solutions. Such legislation would encourage or discourage sustainable and less sustainable technologies, setting us one step closer to an ideally sustainable world.

Being R&D intensive has traditionally been seen as an impediment to outsourcing. This study confirms that empirically this was the case for a set of manufacturing industries in The Netherlands in the early 1990s, but also shows that R&D intensity became a positive predictor for changes in outsourcing levels over the 1990s, suggesting firms in R&D intensive industries have increasingly started to rely on partnership relations with outside suppliers. This confirms the need to move the analysis from scale, opportunism and appropriation concerns to a relational perspective when studying outsourcing in R&D intensive industries.

Företag får allt svårare att behärska alla de teknologiområden som behövs för utvecklingen av sofistikerade produkter för den internationella marknaden. Därför ökar betydelsen av samarbete med olika typer av partners vars kunskaper kompletterar dem som finns internt. Detta har lett till ett ökat intresse för det som kallas öppen innovation. Det innebär att företag öppnar sina innovationsprocesser och involverar kunder, leverantörer, konsulter, akademier och ibland även konkurrenter för att underlätta in- och utflöde av kunskaper och teknologier. Företag kan vara öppna i olika faser av produktframtagningsprocessen, från idégenerering till kommersialisering, och samarbetet kan kretsa kring olika typer av kunskapsinnehåll (teknologi, produkter, processer). Tidigare forskning har framför allt betonat fördelarna med ökad öppenhet. Utifrån vår forskning om öppen innovation, som innefattar både intervjubaserade fallstudier av innovationsprojekt och en enkät till 415 företag om öppen innovation, vill vi lyfta fram tre utmaningar i detta sammanhang: den egna spetskompetensen, kostnader för integration av extern kunskap och risken för kunskapsläckage. Resultaten visar att företag behöver utforma sina innovationsprocesser så att de kan vara öppna och slutna på samma gång.

Firms are increasingly involving and relying on networks of  suppliers and other external partners in their innovation processes. A successful exploitation of suppliers’ technology and competencies is however challenging, not least in situations characterised by technological uncertainty. The main purpose of this study is to analyse how supplier innovativeness may be leveraged through internal knowledge integration capabilities in involving suppliers. The analysis is based on a survey of firms in Europe and North America. The study shows that innovative suppliers do contribute to a firm’s innovation performance in terms of time-to-market and level of innovation in products/services. The main result is that an internal knowledge integration capability in terms of proficiency in supplier management and cross-functional decision making boosts innovation performance, in particular when technological uncertainty is high.

When firms involve external partners more actively in their innovation processes, managing knowledge flows across multiple boundaries becomes an important challenge. In this chapter we investigate specifically how organizational, knowledge, and geographical boundaries are bridged by two knowledge integration practices (project management and knowledge matching). We use data from a survey of 415 manufacturing firms on open innovation practices to illustrate how innovation performance relates to the three boundaries that are crossed and how the effects are contingent upon the use of project management and knowledge matching. A main conclusion from the study is that knowledge flows across multiple boundaries in open innovation can be successfully bridged by applying a combination of complementary knowledge integration practices.