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.

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.

The purpose of the paper is to illuminate the costs and benefits of crossing firm boundaries in inbound open innovation (OI) by determining the relationships among partner types, knowledge content and performance. The empirical part of the study is based on a survey of OI collaborations answered by R&D managers in 415 Italian, Finnish and Swedish firms. The results show that the depth of collaboration with different partners (academic/consultants, value chain partners, competitors and firms in other industries) is positively related to innovation performance, whereas the number of different partners and size have negative effects. The main result is that the knowledge content of the collaboration moderates the performance outcomes and the negative impact of having too many different kinds of partners. This illustrates how successful firms use selective collaboration strategies characterized by linking explorative and exploitative knowledge content to specific partners, to leverage the benefits and limit the costs of knowledge boundary crossing processes.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to use the relative power and total interdependence concepts as an intervening theoretical lens to explain why and how sustainable supply management (SSM) initiatives by manufacturing firms differ across the Kraljic matrix according to purchasing capability. Design/methodology/approach - Tested hypotheses by subjecting survey data from 338 manufacturers on buyer-supplier relationships in Europe and North America to regression analysis. Findings - Shows three situations where relative power and total interdependence determine the effectiveness of purchasing capabilities. First, sustainability programs impact supplier compliance in all Kraljic categories but bottleneck items. Second, there are significant trade-offs between lower cost and higher social and environmental supplier compliance for noncritical components. Third, strategic alignment of sustainability objectives between corporate and supply function levels only leads to improved financial performance for strategic components. Research limitations/implications - Further research could take power and dependence into account to explain when and how purchasing capabilities focussed on sustainability can be achieved. Practical implications - Shows how supply strategists could devise-tailored approaches for different purchasing categories with respect to power and dependence when pursuing economic, social and environmental objectives in combination - the triple bottom line - along their supply chains. Originality/value - Illustrates and provides a theoretical explanation for why SSM is a purchasing capability that must vary across purchasing categories defined by different situations of power and dependence.

In this paper we aim to identify major obstacles for creativity in organizations characterized by a high focus on product development efficiency. The way these obstacles are perceived by the different individuals involved in product development is investigated. Different perceptions are compared and the contradictory views on creativity obstacles in product development are discussed. From our study, nine creativity obstacles relevant for organizations with a strong focus on efficiency emerge. These barriers were mainly related to the professional environment, e.g. “short-term efficiency focus” can be related to time constraints, while “unclear innovation strategy” concerns a lack of goals. Also barriers related to the environment emerged, i.e. “no forum for capturing ideas” exists. Self-imposed barriers, like the lack of interest for innovation, did not emerge in this study. Our case company seems to have problems in finding structures for balancing the demands on product development efficiency and creativity.

Creativity is an important characteristic of engineering design and one can learn much about creative methods for solving design problems in the literature. In reality, however, the spontaneous creativity of engineers also leads to new innovative ideas that are not directly applicable in current projects. Therefore, it is important that companies have the ability to extract and use these ideas to ensure long-term innovativeness. A suggestion system, the most classic of which is the suggestion box, is an approved general way that can enable this transfer of employee creativity; however, the literature provides little information about the applicability of suggestion systems in organizations for engineering design. This paper investigates the applicability and potential of suggestion systems to enable the critical transfer of creativity from engineering designers to the company. This research, performed as a case study, shows that a suggestion system, along with strong leadership, can help transfer creativity of the engineers to future products.

Purpose This paper addresses the need for managerial and organizational approaches to knowledge integration with customer in collaborative product development projects. The purpose is to identify the roles of customers in terms of the customerￜs knowledge contribution and timing of customer collaboration in the product development process. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a multi-case study approach, comprising four product development projects from two large international suppliers. The cases were selected following the theoretical replication logic. Data consist of interviews, workshops, and secondary information. For each of the cases, a within case analysis was performed followed by a cross-case analysis. Findings The study shows that the customerￜs knowledge contribution is aligned with the specific requirements of each phase of the product development. Three specific customer roles are identified and connected to the customerￜs knowledge contribution and the timing of customer collaboration. The technical capability of the customer and the locus of initiative of the product development project are affecting the prerequisites for knowledge integration with customers. Research limitations/implications The study is performed from the perspective of supplier firms. We have not been able to capture the perspective of the customer in detail. As it is expected that both customers and suppliers benefit from a systematic knowledge exchange, future studies could examine knowledge contributions in both directions. Practical implications The findings can be used to devise effective approaches for collaborative product development with customers related to the customerￜs knowledge contribution and the timing of customer collaboration and provide guidance to firms seeking to benefit from knowledge residing at customers. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to focus on the integration of customersￜ knowledge in product development processes. This paper contributes to the customerￜsupplier collaboration literature by presenting further insight into customersￜ knowledge contributions, the timing of customer collaboration in product development processes and the prerequisites for knowledge integration with customers.

Based on an in-depth single case study of a collaborative product development project, this paper argues that knowledge integration mechanisms change across the different phases of the product development process, reflecting changes in the content and sources of knowledge to be integrated. Our findings imply that managers need to be able to adapt and change their knowledge integration approaches throughout product development processes. We discuss implications for the use of product development models when integration of knowledge with customers is an essential part of a firm's attempt to create a competitive advantage.

In collaborative buyer-supplier collaboration, suppliers do not only contribute with their knowledge to their customers’ product development process, but they also benefit themselves from a systematic knowledge exchange with buyers. This paper examines knowledge integration processes that take place between suppliers and their buyers, with a specific focus on how suppliers integrate the knowledge of their buyers in their new product development processes. Four relationships with buyers in four new product developments at two large international suppliers are studied. The findings indicate that two drivers of knowledge integration approaches with buyers are important: (1) the locus of initiative of the new product development effort and (2) the buyer’s technical knowledge. Three situation of knowledge integration with buyers are determined differing in timing of knowledge integration and content of knowledge that is integrated in the supplier’s product development process. The paper’s main managerial implication is related to the need to differentiate knowledge integration approaches from project to project.

The importance of internal integration for effective inter-firm collaboration with suppliers has been acknowledged, however it is unclear how internal integration is achieved in complex product development projects. This paper investigates how internal integration takes place and explores related project management challenges. Three internal integration approaches are found: integration based on multidirectional, frequent interaction; based on delimited, problem-solving teams; and based on unidirectional, information-oriented interaction. The paper shows that internal integration approaches are related to the degree of uncertainty in the subsystems of the suppliers rather than the overall product system. Consequently, in complex product development projects with several different suppliers involved, the specific supplier task rather than the overall project task determines internal integration in the project. This creates important challenges for organisation, and requires flexibility in internal integration approaches.

A well-known strategy for driving innovation in the complex product systems (CoPS) industry is to stimulate the national institutions to follow a particular technology by using open innovation strategies. However, less is known about the mechanisms that CoPS organizations use to implement such strategies and how firms can stimulate the technology maturity process. Based on a study of the Swedish aerospace industry, we use a macro-level analysis in this paper to report a systemic approach in which the Swedish aerospace industry together with other national actors, such as universities, research institutes, and governmental agencies, leverage their capabilities and innovation.

This paper explores the role of network capabilities in Complex Product Systems (COPS) innovation. The paper is based on a qualitative case study on strategic innovation programs of the Swedish aerospace industry that have been implemented continuously in complementary and incremental versions since 1994. We capture the perspective of industry actors, governmental institutes, and science-based organizations inside the Swedish aerospace context. Based on the findings we: (1) extend the concept of network capabilities for COPS by arguing that they represent the abilities to shape (influence, adapt to, and assimilate) network resources in an explorative stage and access network resources in an exploitative stage; (2) propose the concept Network Alignment as the process to shape and access the network; (3) suggest that there is a positive relationship between network alignment and network outcomes. In addition, the paper provides a detailed account of how programs at low and medium Technology Readiness Levels can help to build network capabilities and, in turn, foster innovation in the aerospace industry.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore earlier stages of complex products and systems (CoPS) innovations, investigating how technology development can be coordinated. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a case study methodology, adopting an abductive logic, characterized by a nonlinear and iterative process of systematic confrontations between theoretical framework, empirical fieldwork and case analysis. Specifically, the authors study the Swedish aerospace network, which distinctly represents the CoPS characteristics of intense technology development with long-term goals and project-based activities with universities, research institutes, small medium enterprises and leading firms. Findings By adding the network perspective in the CoPS literature, the authors found that technology development can be coordinated within the technological and the business dimensions and according to different strategic nets. Also, the authors found that strategic nets co-evolve when their related projects are connected and advance in maturity, and their actors change their network position. Originality/value Current research on CoPS often recognizes that the survival and growth of a firm depend on its ability to coordinate innovative projects that are usually implemented during technology development. The findings contribute to this literature by showing how such projects can be implemented through agenda construction and the simultaneous coordination of strategic nets, leading to the synchronization of resources and activities. As such, this studys framework offers a novel and integrative view of how the short-run and long-run strategies of leading firms can be aligned, and how other actors can contribute to the direction of the innovation path.

This paper studies the dynamics of complex heterogeneous R&D alliance constellations through the interplay between trust, control and risk using a dialectic lens. Based on a study of one unique complex collaborative innovation project, involving thirteen different actors, we show how the dynamics evolve over time. We use the dialectic tension between private and common interests to show how the dynamics enfold as an intricate network of interactions that affect collaborative management models, i.e. project management, project logic including demonstrators, decision structures, and the division of work in terms of workshare. Our results show how the dynamics during formation and execution unfold in vicious and virtuous cycles continuously affecting the behaviour of the actors and the way they strive to reach an evolving searched equilibrium between common and private interests. Based on the results of this study, we suggest that the dynamics are volatile and that the searched equilibrium changes continuously over time. The study recognizes the need to study complex heterogeneous alliances in more detail to understand complex systems innovations. Finally, we offer some managerial implications.

Supplier involvement in product development has been a widely discussed theme in recent years. Sometimes, one 'best method' for involvement, derived from studies of one particular industrial context, has been suggested. In this article, however, various forms for coordinating such involvement are distinguished, based on a study of six different product development projects. Three main approaches are formulated and discussed: project integration coordination, disconnected sub-project coordination, and ad hoc coordination. Based on the empirical study and the literature, the drivers of different types of supplier coordination are discussed. Several managerial implications are suggested related to the need to differentiate inter-organizational coordination, not only from project to project but also throughout a project. The importance of taking into account short-term, project-based drivers as well as long-term strategic objectives of supplier coordination is also discussed. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2006.

Svenska industriföretag, tjänsteföretag och offentliga organisationer väljer i allt högre utsträckning att bedriva verksamhet i projektform. Projektet som arbetsform har gått från att ha varit något av en undantagslösning för unika insatser till att idag framstå som en ”grundbult” i sättet att organisera stora delar av verksamheten inom företag och organisationer. Därmed har också behovet av kunskaper om projektstyrning och projektorganisation ökat dramatiskt. I denna bok behandlas ledning, organisering och lärande i olika typer av projekt. Genom att boken tydligt tar sin utgångspunkt i konkreta fallbeskrivningar och kopplar dessa till aktuell organisations- och projektforskning, lämpar den sig som lärobok på projekt- och organisationskurser inom ekonom-, ingenjörs-, civilingenjörs- och systemvetarutbildningar vid universitet och högskolor. Den är också väl lämpad att användas som kursbok i företagsintern vidareutbildning, och på universitetens externa kurser och ledarskapsprogram. Boken är även intressant för var och en som på egen hand vill fundera över projektorganisationens för- och nackdelar.

Supplier involvement in product development is widely regarded as an essential strategy, benefiting product development tinle, costs, and product quality. However, this strategy also increases the dependencies between the buyer and the involved supplier and has therefore implications for coordinating supplier involvement. The aim of this thesis is to examine intra- and interorganisational aspects of supplier involvement in product development projects and, based on a contingency perspective, to develop a conceptual framework for understanding coordination of supplier involvement in and throughout product development projects.

The need for coordination of dependencies is reinforced by the existence of diverging expectations. This concerns different perspectives on i.e. project management, technical solutions, and product functionalities. Organisational coordination structures facilitate coordination of dependencies and diverging expectations. A contingency approach suggests that a range of coordination structures is necessary for addressing different situations of dependence and diverging perspectives.

The issues of intraorganisational coordination, interorganisational coordination, and coordination throughout the development project are investigated based on a multiple case study consisting of a study of six product development projects at the packaging company Tetra Brik, and seven mini-cases at Swedish and Dutch companies operating in different industries. The case companies develop relatively complex products, that are produced in rather low to medium volumes. Furthermore, systems integration is an important aspect in product development.

An important aspect of intraorganisational coordination concerns the interface between the purchasing and the engineering department. Several purchasing involvement configurations are identified. These include purchasing coordinators and the degree of involvement of purchasing specialists in the development project.

Three main approaches are identified for the interorganisational coordination of supplier involvement in product development projects. An iutegrative approach, project integration coordination, has the highest potential to address a high need for coordination. Disconnected sub-project coordination disconnects the supplier task from the overall project and is therefore able to coordinate a lower degree of dependence. Ad hoc coordination is an informal coordination structure for incidental coordination of supplier involvement in the development project.

The investigation of supplier involvement throughout the project focuses attention on two issues. First, an integrated approach can precede and facilitate a disconnected approach to coordination in the project. Second, project integrated coordination is sometinles accompanied by some elements of disconnected sub-project coordination.

Intra- and interorganisational coordination have some cost implications. These costs tmderlie the necessity for a contingency approach to coordination. As the task characteristics, degree of supplier involvement, and moment of supplier involvement are important in determining the degree of dependence in the project, supplier coordination must be determined from situation to situation, based on the need for coordination.

Despite mounting evidence on the potential benefits of inbound open innovation, little is known about how firms purposefully manage inflows of knowledge. We investigate the use of two knowledge governance procedures—project management and knowledge matching—in collaborative inbound open innovation. Our findings suggest that, in addition to “knowledge-precursors,” which the literature on open innovation and absorptive capacity has shown to be important for the integration of external knowledge, the firm’s choice of knowledge governance matters for innovation performance.

Most studies of new product development practices focus on comparisons of individual projects, to identify factors contributing to their success or failure. This paper builds on an in-depth field study of the interaction of one single NPD project with the organizational context of the firm. The project typified many recommended practices for new-design projects: a co-located, cross-functional project team, close collaboration with external system suppliers, a hard-driving project manager and strong top management support. However, when evaluated in their organizational context as to their consequences for other on-going projects, these attributes turned out to have a deeply ambivalent character. By combining results from the case study and evidence from the literature several implications for NPD-organizing are suggested: the value of alternating co-location and physical separation according to the requirements of specific project phases, to take project duration into account in location decisions, and to address both interaction within the project and mechanisms for its interaction and integration with other departments and projects. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Established firms face the challenge of counterbalancing their predominant focus on exploitation with exploration. This paper explores how these firms can reinforce new exploratory ideas for existing products, especially during periods of environmental dynamism. The study is based on an action research study at a new product development (NPD) department at an international manufacturing firm operating in a cyclical market. The results show that increased environmental dynamism opens new opportunities for counterbalancing exploitative approaches by building exploratory skills. The action contributed specifically to breaking with old traditions in the NPD organization, and resulted in actionable knowledge in terms of an ideation approach. However, the study also shows that fast industry cycles that do not match the remote returns of exploratory knowledge searches diminish the possibility to sustain exploratory knowledge searches in organizations. The paper identifies important problems related to the long-time horizon of exploration and the cyclical nature of industries.