Den demografiska utvecklingen i Sverige går mot en befolkningssammansättning med allt högre medelålder. Enligt svenska befolkningsprognoser kommer nästan var fjärde svensk år 2025 att vara över 65 år. Den äldre andelen av befolkningen utgör en välbeställd grupp med relativt stora realekonomiska tillgångar. Attitydundersökningar på morgondagens pensionärer talar för att denna grupp ställer högre krav på boendeutformning, kringservice, vård och omsorg än tidigare generationer. Flera studier visar på en ökad betalningsvilja och betalningsförmåga för alternativa service- och boendeformer. Samtidigt försöker olika marknadsaktörer att positionera ett produkt- och tjänsteutbud inom en bostadsmarknadens nischer, här definierad som seniorbostadsmarknaden. På seniorbostadsmarknaden har ett särskilt segment identifierats där utöver seniorboende även service-, vård- och omsorgsrelaterade kringtjänster bjuds ut. Mot den bakgrunden har avhandlingens problemställning formulerats enligt följande: vad skapar en stark marknadsposition för en aktör på seniorbostadsmarknaden med integrerad service, vård och omsorg?

Utgångspunkten har varit ett sannolikt scenario där privata initiativ i allt större utsträckning kommer att bidra till framtida boendelösningar riktade till samhällets seniora och äldrebefolkningsgrupper. Syftet med avhandlingen har varit dels att identifiera de framgångsfaktorer som kan antas ligger till grund för en stark marknadsposition, dels att skapa en typologi över olika affärsstrategier. Genom en branschanalys har det i avhandlingen påvisats att seniorbostadsmarknaden är en nischmarknad med marginell omfattning. Avhandlingens empiriska undersökning har designats som en fältstudie. Fältstudien har i sin tur bl.a. genomförts i form av en förstudie och en intervjustudie. Intervjustudien ägde rum under hösten 2004 med platsbesök och intervjuer av verksamhetsföreträdare för elva utvalda fallstudieorganisationer. Utifrån ett antal i förhand uppställda kriterier har marknadsaktörernas framgångsfaktorer identifierats. Den bearbetnings- och analysmodell som konstruerats för detta syfte och som använts för att analysera fältstudiens empiri är baserad på studier inom strategiområdet. Modellen har bl.a. inspirerats av forskare som Miles & Snow (1978), Porter (1980) och Gupta & Govindarajan (1984). Vidare bygger den på antagandena om resursers och kompetensers betydelse för strategiformuleringen. Service management, och då särskilt tjänsters sammansättning, är ett annat område som beaktas. Analysmodellen har byggts upp kring fem dimensioner: omgivning, strategi, resurser, tjänstekoncept och konkurrens. De identifierade framgångsfaktorerna har baserats på intervjustudiens två mest framgångsrika aktörer. Resultatet har formulerats i ett antal strategiska vägval vilka kan sammanfattas i begreppen: differentiering, fokus, integration, samverkan, kontroll, verksamhetsutveckling, kärnkompetens och resurser. I avhandlingen påvisas att aktörer som bedriver framgångsrik verksamhet på seniorbostadsmarknaden till stora delar följer det Porter (1980) definierat som en differentieringsstrategi med fokus. Avhandlingen har också utmynnat i en affärsstrategisk typologi för seniorbostadsmarknaden. Dessa tentativa slutsatser har formulerats i fyra strategiska idealtyper: förvaltare, konceptbyggare, entreprenörer och idealister.

  Artikeln beskriver några av resultaten från licentiatavhandlingen "Affärsstrategier för seniorbostadsmarknaden" av Petter Ahlström.      

Kunskapsutveckling är en långsiktig process där kontaktskapande och kontaktvård ofta har stor omfattning jämfört med den konkreta forskningsinsatsen. Utmaningen är att mobilisera och vårda en allians där forskare och praktiker samverkar. Ibland kan även finansiärer ha en aktiv roll. Intresse för forskningsinsatsen är en viktig utgångspunkt för samverkan men inte sällan finns det ytterligare orsaker till att ett samarbete kommer till stånd och består. Teoretisk inspiration för att diskutera detta kan hämtas från studier av s.k. imaginära och virtuella organisationer. I uppsatsen diskuteras detta mot bakgrund av erfarenheter från faktiska forskningsprojekt.     

There are numerous challenges to overcome before information and communication technology (ICT) can achieve its full potential in process-oriented health-care organizations. One of these challenges is designing systems that meet users’ needs, while reflecting a continuously changing organizational environment. Another challenge is to develop ICT that supports both the internal and the external stakeholders’ demands. In this study a qualitative research strategy was used to explore the demands on ICT expressed by managers from functional and process units at a community hospital. The results reveal a multitude of partially competing goals that can make the ICT development process confusing, poor in quality, inefficient and unnecessarily costly. Therefore, from the perspective of ICT development, the main task appears to be to coordinate the different visions and in particular clarify them, as well as to establish the impact that these visions would have on the forthcoming ICT application.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att ge en översikt över programmet med fokus på bakgrund, forskningsfrågor och metod. Uppsatsen avslutas med några korta reflektioner över det pågående programmet (omfattning 9 sidor).

    This paper presents a novel way of thinking about how information systems are used in organisations. Traditionally, computerised information systems are viewed as objects. In contrast, by viewing the information system as an actor, the understanding of the structuration process increases. The user, being influenced by the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and giving it an actor role, thereby also confers agency on the ERP system; through its very use it influences actions and thus also the structure. Based on a case study of ERP use in an ABB company over a decade, five different roles played by the ERP systems were identified. The ERP systems acted as Bureaucrat, Manipulator, Administrative assistant, Consultant or were dismissed (Dismissed) in the sense that intended users chose to avoid using them. These terms are defined in the full text. The purpose of this approach here is not to -animate- the information systems, to give them life or a mind of their own, but rather to make explicit the socially constructed roles conferred on them by users and others who are affected by them. On this basis, it is possible to suggest how the roles can help us open up new areas of exploration concerning the fruitful use of IT.

How are formal management controls designed and used in research & development (R&D)? The purpose of this study is to explain how such systems are designed and used in formulating and implementing strategies in a pharmaceutical product development organisation. The study uses a contingency approach to investigate how the control system is adjusted to the business strategy of the firm. A case study was conducted in AstraZeneca R&D where strategic planning, budgeting, project management, goals and objective systems and the reward systems were studied.

Managers, external investors and researchers increasingly recognize the strategic importance of R&D activities. This has inspired researchers and practitioners to develop formal systems and methods for controlling R&D activities. There is, however, previous research in which a resistance towards using formal control systems to manage R&D was observed. This contrasts the general perception of management control systems as important in implementing and formulating strategies.

The results of this study show that formal management control have an important role in managing R&D. It also explains how the system is adjusted to the business strategy of the studied firm. Different control systems (e.g. budget, project management) were found to be designed and used in different ways. This implies that it is not meaningful to discuss whether the entire control system of a firm is tight or loose and/or used interactively or diagnostically. Rather, the systems may demonstrate combinations of these characteristics. The control systems of the studied firm were found to be used differently in the project and the functional dimensions. The control systems were also designed and used in different ways at different organisational levels. Comprehensive and rather detailed studies of control systems are called for in order to understand how they are designed and used in organisations. Such studies may explain some contradictory results in previous studies on how control systems are adjusted to business strategy. 

This thesis examines how IT and the digitization of information have transformed processes of the graphic industry. The aim is to show how critical production processes have changed when information in these processes have been digitized. Furthermore it considers if this has influenced changes in productivity while also identifying other significant benefits that have occurred as a result of the digitization. The debate concerning the productivity paradox is one important starting point for the thesis. Previous research on this phenomenon has mainly used different types of statistical databases as empirical sources. In this thesis though, the graphic industry is instead studied from a mainly qualitative and historical process perspective.

The empirical study shows that digitization of information flows in the graphic industry began in the 1970s, but the start of the development and use of digitized information happened in the early 1980s. Today almost all types of materials in the industry, for example text and pictures, have developed into a digital form and the information flows are hereby more or less totally digitized. A common demand in the industry is that information produced should be adaptable to the different channels in which it may be presented. The consequences from use of IT and the digitization of information flows are identified in this thesis as different outcomes, effects, and benefits. The outcomes are identified directly from the empirical material, whilst the resulting effects are generated based on theories about IT and business value. The benefits are in turn generated from a summarization of the identified effects.

Identified effects caused by IT and digitization of information include integration and merging of processes; vanishing professions; reduced number of operators involved; decreased production time; increased production capacity; increased amount and quality of communication; and increased quality in produced originals. One conclusion drawn from the analysis is that investments and use of IT have positively influenced changes in productivity. The conclusion is based on the appearance of different automational effects, which in turn have had a positive influence on factors that may be a part of a productivity index. In addition to productivity other benefits, based on mainly informational effects, are identified. These benefits include increased capacity to handle and produce information, increased integration of customers in the production processes, increased physical quality in produced products, and options for management improvements in the production processes. The conclusions indicate that it is not always the most obvious benefit, such as productivity, that is of greatest significance when IT is implemented in an industry.

Hur styr vi IT och hur tar vi vara på dess möjligheter? Boken sammanfattar tjugo års debatt om nyttan av IT och vad som behövs för att förverkliga den. Införande av nya system kan vara svårt nog. Men det är i regel förändringarna av verksamheten som är den stora utmaningen - och som har störst potential att skapa nytta.I snart 20 år har forskare vid EIS, ämnesområdet Ekonomiska informationssystem inom Institutionen för datavetenskap vid Linköpings universitet, studerat bl a strategisk ekonomistyrning och IT:s betydelse för nya organisationslösningar under ledning av Birger Rapp, Sveriges första professor i ämnet. Samspelet mellan IT-ansvariga och andra (linjechefer, controllers, affärsutvecklare m fl) är nyckeln till framgång och strategi, ansvar, styrning och ekonomi är nyckelord i de flesta bidrag i boken. Den vänder sig till studenter, forskare och praktiker - alla som vill ha en överskådlig sammanfattning av vad företag bör göra för att få god nytta av sina informationssystem. Bland praktiker är controllers och IT-ansvariga - i synnerhet de som deltar i strategiutveckling - särskilt viktiga målgrupper. I boken medverkar ytterligare elva forskare: Leif Appelgren, Lars Engwall, Thomas Falk, Göran Goldkuhl, Anna Moberg, Anders G. Nilsson, Jan Olhager, Tomas Ohlin, Carl-Johan Petri, Vivian Vimarlund och Alf Westelius.

This thesis examines how investments in IT, and the digitization of information flows, have affected health care productivity. Through empirical investigations of health care processes – along with discussions based on notions derived from theories related to e.g. economics, the Productivity Paradox, General Purpose Technologies, and medical informatics – effects from digitization are detected and analyzed.

An important point of departure is the so called Productivity Paradox, which raises the question why previous comprehensive investments in IT seemingly have not generated the anticipated productivity growth. Researchers have debated this dilemma for many years now but no sufficient explanations have been put forth. This is so due to a prior focus on snapshot descriptions, founded on macroeconomic statistics and aggregated data, which has resulted in ambiguous conclusions about IT and economic development. Thus, in order to really describe the effects from digitization, the process investigations mainly are carried out at the organization or department level, and from a qualitative and historical perspective.

Furthermore, in the current research, it is believed that too narrow definitions of IT and productivity have contributed to the overlooking of benefits from digitization. Therefore the term IT is extended to include technology for collecting, storing, processing, retrieving, and communicating data, text, images and speech. Moreover, this definition includes both administrative and embedded IT. Also, the traditional definitions of productivity are questioned, and the concept is given a broader meaning in order to capture all possible benefits and/or disadvantages from IT investments.

The results and analysis presented in this thesis show that productivity within health care has increased immensely thanks to investments in IT. In general, the treatment processes have been speeded up, health care quality has improved, and the cost effectiveness has been significantly enhanced. In other words, by introducing new thoughts regarding the Productivity Paradox, more effects from digitization are detected and analyzed. However, there are some problems connected to the implementation, adoption and diffusion of IT within health care, and they are also given proper attention throughout the current work.

Beslutsfattare skall utifrån information från bland annat IT-system göra prioriteringar och styra organisationen på ett effektivt sätt. Vad blir följderna för kvaliteten på beslutsunderlag, analyser och beslut om forskare, analytiker, journalister och beslutsfattare främst anlägger ett avspeglingsperspektiv, d.v.s. att datasystem ses som en modell av verkligheten? Hur påverkar detta förhållningssätt polisverksarnheten?

Uppgifter från IT-system visas ofta i snygga grafiska presentationer i färg som ger intrycket av att både vara precisa och tillförlitliga. Det finns en föreställning om att den information som erhålls från IT-system i kombination med information som når beslutsfattare via olika ledningsnivåer räcker till för att följa upp och styra en verksamhet på ett effektivt sätt Polisorganisationen utgör ett bra exempel på en organisation där denna föreställning råder.

Avhandlingen påvisar att mycket av den verksamhetskunskap som finns i produktionslinjen inte når fram till högre beslutsfattare. Det beror på att information har en tendens att filtreras när den förs uppåt i en organisation, genom att den verkar bli mer och mer tillrättalagd ju fler ledningsnivåer som skall passeras, samt att information i IT-system ofta är svårtolkad, felaktig och ofullständig. Denna filtrering av verksamhetskunskap medför att det finns en risk att beslutsunderlag blir missvisande och efterfoljande beslut felaktiga/ineffektiva.

Avhandlingen beskriver att risken for missvisande beslutsunderlag och felaktigalineffektiva beslut blir stor när information från IT-system får en dominerande roll vid analyser, resultatuppföljning och styrning av en verksamhet, särskilt när kommunikationsklimatet i en organisation är bristfålligt.

There is an ongoing debate about the effects of IT investments, and this paper will follow on this debate by discussing the effects of IT investments on productivity as well as the strategic potential of IT. Based on empirical studies on two Swedish value chains, the grocery distribution and the logging industry, this paper discusses the following questions: • Are investments in shared solutions, rather than proprietary solutions, providing the primary contribution to productivity gains? • Are shared solutions contributing to competitive advantage? • Is competitive advantage achieved through the information generated in shared solutions? The results are supported by other empirical studies within the IToP (Impact of IT on Productivity) research programme of Linköping University, Sweden. Copyright © 2006 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

During the last decades organizations have made large investments in Information Technology (IT). The effects of these investments have been studied in business and academic communities over the years. A large amount of research has been conducted on the relation between the investments in IT and productivity growth. Productivity is a central measure of national and organizational success and is often considered in economic decisionmaking. Researchers have however found it difficult to present a clear-cut answer to the effect of IT investments on productivity growth; an inability defined as the productivity paradox.

Within the Impact of IT on Productivity (ITOP) research program the relevance of the productivity measure as an indicator of the value of IT is questionned. IT has over the years replaced physical interfaces with digital and in this way enabled new ways to process information. A retrospective research approach is therefore applied where the effects of digitized information flows are studied within specific organizational settings.

In this thesis the effects of digitized information flows within Swedish grocery distribution are studied. A comprehensive presentation of the development is first conducted and three focal areas are thereafter presented. These describe supply chain information flows including order information, information on new items and analysis of point-of-sales information. The presentation of the focal areas identifies a number of effects from the digitization of information flows. The effects are analyzed according to a predefined analytical framework. The effects are divided into five categories and are thereafter evaluated when it comes to potential for generating value.

The study shows that the digitization of information flows has generated numerous, multifaceted effects. Automational, informational, transformational, consumer surplus and other effects are observed. They are difficult to evaluate using a single ndicator. Specific indicators that are closely related to the effects can however be defined. The study also concludes that the productivity measure does not capture all positive effects generated by digitized information flows.

Today online newspapers are putting a lot of resources into their news sites without profiting from them. They have to find ways to gain from them in order to keep them going. Lately there has been a move from print to multimedia, i.e. news is only a part among other services at the news sites and is presented as audio and video as well. We have conducted interviews at nine local newspapers in Sweden about their current situation and future plans. We have also used a cooperative scenario building technique aiming at finding new online services that could be profitable with both newspaper management and end users. The objective of this paper is to describe the current situation for these newspapers and to discuss possible new future services. Examples of services from the workshops are e.g. advertisement on demand and intermediary services.

Strategy and management control are two fields of research that have become increasingly inter-linked. Research in strategy has shown, for instance, that strategies are of no effect unless they permeate the entire organization, and that they become obsolete if not renewed as the business environment changes. Similarly, research in management control has shown that management control loses its relevance if it does not reflect strategy or is not useful in operations. This dissertation considers a number of theoretical approaches to corporate and business strategies and their connection to management control. The reasoning is also examined in light of empirical data collected from major Swedish firms in various industries. One finding is that some combinations of corporate and business strategies and management control are more congruent than other combinations. An additional question discussed in the dissertation is how different types of business strategy could be changed and combined; these possibilities are studied empirically on the basis of data taken from annual reports of Nordic paper and pulp companies. The results show that the nature of business strategy can be changed over time, but that different kinds of business strategies can seldom be combined within the same business unit. Further, the dissertation treats the relationship between different perspectives on business strategies. Another central element of the dissertation is the design and use of performance measurement. On the basis of extensive empirical material from large Nordic firms in a variety of industries, performance measurement at Nordic firms is described, noting differences between countries and between dissimilar business strategies. According to the findings, the Nordic firms used a broad spectrum of measures, which according to theory should be more closely related to strategy than would financial measures alone.

• Few perspectives in research on strategy have had as great an impact as Porter's (1980, 1985) framework for strategic positioning. The concepts of cost leadership and differentiation have been used both by practitioners in strategic planning and by scholars as the starting point for empirical studies. This widespread use has probably contributed to the high level of interest in the possibilities and limitations of the perspective.

• In this paper, certain central aspects of strategic positioning are examined empirically. The study covers seven business units in two segments of the paper and pulp industry in the Nordic region over a 10-year period from 1991 to 2000.

• Among the aspects discussed are the possibility of strategic change and the possibility of combining strategic position. Other aspects treated are the relationship of the intended strategic position, as declared in the annual reports, to the realized strategic position, as shown by the relative positions of the business units compared to their competitor.

• The findings indicate that strategic positions are stable over time and that none of the business units was able to combine the positions of cost leadership and differentiation for a longer period of time. The results also suggest substantial congruence between the intended strategy and the realized strategy, at the units studied.

Business firms are confronted with strategic considerations at both the corporate and business-unit level. In this regard, the management-control system is of major importance. For example, the management-control system is used both to obtain information for strategic planning and to follow up on the implementation of strategic plans. The overall purpose of this dissertation is to describe and explain from a strategic perspective how management control is designed and used in strategic business units. This overall purpose can be subdivided into the three research questions addressed in the three articles which comprise the dissertation.

The first research question concerns the influence of the relationship between corporate and business strategy on the management-control system. The findings of Paper I, an empirical study of 31 Swedish corporate groups with 47 business units, show among other things that environmentally driven business development is encouraged by an activity-sharing strategy at the corporate level, a differentiation strategy at the business-unit level, and integration of management control between the two levels. A more general implication of this finding is that this kind of combination of corporate and business strategy is one with a good fit.

The second research question relates to the effect of different variables of business strategy on the design and use of management control. The variables studied are strategic pattern, strategic mission, and strategic position. The findings of Paper II, a theoretical study with well-known international studies as the starting point, indicate that these variables reflect different dimensions of business-unit strategy and that together they affect the design and use of management control.

The third research question is about the design and use of a particular aspect of management control - performance measurement - at large firms in the Nordic countries, which are often portrayed as forerunners in linking strategy and control. The findings of Paper III, an empirical study of 236 Nordic business units, suggest among other things that there is a good balance between monetary and nonmonetary measures at the firms studied. However, performance measurement appears to be primarily a tool for top management, since it is not very well established at lower organizational levels.

In this article, we discuss the fit between business strategy and the performance-measurement system. The types of business strategy treated in the article are cost leadership and differentiation. The performance-measurement system is studied from a standpoint of design (financial and non-financial measures of performance) and use (interactive and diagnostic). Based on the findings of previous studies, a number of hypothetical relationships between business strategy, the design and use of the performance-measurement system, and financial results are formulated. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire sent to 800 business units in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway, with 224 complete responses. The data was analyzed with the aid of cluster analysis. It could not be shown that financial results were affected by the design and use of the performance-measurement system. Furthermore, the relationships between business strategy and performance measurement were not as straightforward as hypothesized. Nevertheless, two clusters of business units have rather clear tendencies in the design and use of their performance-measurement systems. One of them is cost leaders with relatively undeveloped performance-measurement systems. Neither financial nor non-financial measures seem to be important. Interactive use is also limited. The other cluster is comprised of differentiators with a well-developed and complex system of performance measurement. These business units focus to a substantial extent on both financial and non-financial measures. Also in regard to use, all dimensions were generally emphasized in the questionnaire; in other words, both diagnostic and interactive uses are considered important.

During the past decade there have been considerable changes in methods of management control. To a considerable degree, these changes are due to growing globalization and stiffening competition. In the face of these new challenges, there has been serious dissatisfaction with traditional methods of management control. In the Nordic countries there has been a particular interest in ways to improve performance measurement, especially the Balanced Scorecard. At present, however, our knowledge about how Nordic companies design and use systems of performance measurement is limited. In view of this situation, a questionnaire-based study was conducted. Performance measurement was examined in the following dimensions: (1) structure; (2) processes; (3) use; and (4) benefits and shortcomings. The use of three well-known models of performance measurement was also studied. Responses to the questionnaire were submitted by 236 business units, which belong to major corporate groups in the Nordic countries. The findings show that performance measurement is relatively well developed in the Nordic countries, and that the benefits are perceived as outweighing the shortcomings.

The point of departure for this paper is a number of contingency-theory studies on the relationship between business strategy and the design and use of management control. In these studies strategy has been operationalized in different ways – a major reason why the findings are ambiguous and difficult to integrate. Thus there is a strong need for a common frame of reference for classifying business strategy. In view of the multifaceted nature of the concept of strategy, however, it is neither desirable nor possible to arrive at a single method of classification that would be appropriate in all situations. Rather, the task is to integrate different strategic variables such as strategic pattern, strategic position and strategic mission. In this paper we show how these three variables may be assumed to influence, and be influenced by, what characterizes changes in strategy and how business units manage their product offerings. Unlike most previous studies in the field, this paper discusses how the strategic variables taken together may be assumed to influence the classification of strategy and thus the design and use of the management-control system. Our deductive analysis, and the hypotheses used in connection with it, show that studies which consider only one strategic variable may lead to erroneous conclusions about the relationship between strategy and management control.

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are fundamental tools for flexible learning in higher education, used in distance education as well as a complement to teaching on campus (blended learning). VLEs imply changing roles for both teachers and students. The general aim of this thesis is to explore and analyse students- acceptance of VLEs in a blended learning environment.

In the explorative part of the study data were collected by means of a questionnaire distributed to students at two schools at Jönköping University College. Quantitative data were processed in factor analysis and multiple regression analysis and additional qualitative data in content analysis. The conceptual-analytical part of the study aimed at identifying perspectives that could describe critical and relevant aspects of the process of implementation and acceptance. Literature from Organisation Theory, Management and Information Systems Research was analysed. A retrospective analysis of the explorative findings, by means of the theoretical framework from the conceptual-analytical part of the study, focused on explanation of the findings.

This thesis gives rise to three main conclusions. First, organisational factors seem to have a stronger impact on students- acceptance of VLEs in a blended learning environment than user factors. Second, Implementation models from Information Systems Research and Organisation Theory contribute to our understanding of students- acceptance of VLEs by providing concepts describing the implementation process on both individual and organisational level. Third, the theoretical models of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and Innovation Diffusion Theory are able to explain differences in students- acceptance of VLEs. The Learning Process Perspective obtains concepts to study the possibilities of learning about the VLE in a formal and informal way. Finally, a research model for students- acceptance of VLEs in a blended learning environment is presented.

The aim of the thesis was to create knowledge about factors influencing acceptance of virtual learning environments among academic staff and students in blended learning environments. The aim was operationalised by four research questions. To answer the research questions, several studies were performed applying the methods of survey study, conceptual-analytical research, a qualitative meta-analysis combined with a single case study and a comparative, explanatory case study. The empirical studies were performed at five universities in Sweden, Norway and Lithuania. In the thesis, a technology acceptance perspective extended with the perspectives of organisational learning and diffusion of innovations was used. The findings indicated that the contextual factor of culture was powerful in influencing acceptance of virtual learning environments, positively as well as negatively. High degrees of performance expectancy, results demonstrability and social influence affected acceptance of virtual learning environments positively. The degree of social influence was hypothesised to be mediated by the contextual factor of culture. The organisational culture of universities, expressed as shared values of what is good quality teaching and learning, were found to partly oppose values inherent in the virtual learning environments. The factor of students’ learning styles did not have any impact on acceptance of virtual learning environments. The original version of the technology acceptance model was found to be insufficient in explaining differences in acceptance of virtual learning environments. In the conclusions of the thesis, a descriptive and explanatory model of virtual learning environments acceptance among academic staff and students in blended learning environments is presented applying the combined perspectives of organisational learning, technology acceptance and diffusion of innovations. Implications for practice are put forward, emphasizing culture as an important factor to consider in the implementation of virtual learning environments.

This paper examines students’ perceptions of e‐learning taking students at Jönköping University in Sweden as an example. The students had experiences from two years of e‐learning on campus. Students (n = 150) filled in a questionnaire with closed as well as open‐ended questions. The answers were analysed in a multiple regression analysis, putting the students’ perceptions in relation to gender, age, previous knowledge of computers, attitudes to new technology, learning styles and the way of implementing e‐learning at the university. Advantages and disadvantages of e‐leaming were categorized in a qualitative content analysis. The main conclusion from the study was that the strategy of implementing the e‐leaming system at the university was more important in influencing students’ perceptions than the individual background variables. Students did not regard access to e‐learning on campus as a benefit. Male students, students with previous knowledge of computers and students with positive attitudes to new technologies were all less positive to e‐leaming on campus than other students.

By providing a holistic overview of the theories, constructs, strategies, and decisions that affect e-learning enhanced by practical and easy to understand real word examples readers from beginning to intemediate levels will learn and be able to select from a variety of approaches in order to rethink and modify teaching practices in order to become more effective educators.

The IT and productivity paradox has been the subject of considerable research in recent decades. Many previous studies, based mainly on macroeconomic statistics or on aggregated company data, have reached disparate conclusions. Consequently, the question whether IT investments contribute to productivity growth is still heavily debated. More recent research, however, has indicated that IT contributes positively to economic development but that this contribution is not fully revealed when only productivity is measured.

To explore the issue of IT and productivity further, the ITOP (Impact of IT On Productivity) research program was launched in 2003. An alternative research approach is developed with the emphasis on the microeconomic level and information flows in processes in specific industry segments. In the empirical study, the development of information flows is tracked over several decades. Effects of digitized information flows are hereby identified and quantified in order to determine their importance in terms of productivity.

The purpose of this study is to explore effects of information technology by studying digitized information flows in key processes in the logging industry. The research shows that several information flows in the logging process have been digitized leading to new ways to capture, use, spread, process, refine and access information throughout the logging process. A large variety of effects have also been identified from this development.

The results show that only a minor part of the effects identified have a direct impact on productivity and thus that a large number of significant effects do not. Effects with a major direct impact on productivity include increased efficiency in timber measurement registration, lower costs of timber accounting and increased utilization of harvesters and forest resources. Other significant effects with no direct impact on productivity are related to a more open timber market, increased timber customization, control, decision-making and access to information, as well as skill levels and innovation. The results thus demonstrate that it is questionable whether conventional productivity measures are sufficient for measuring the impact of IT.

Ekonomistyrningsområdet har till viss del förändrats i takt med nyare teknik, plattare organisationer och ökad konkurrens. Nya tekniker har introducerats som svar på förändringen. Dessa har många gånger fått akronymer och vissa har som produkter marknadsförts, lanserats och spritt sig över världen. Innehållet i dessa modeller kan dock variera då de har förts in i olika organisationer. Studiens övergripande syfte är att förstå hur modeller medvetet och omedvetet omformas då de börjar användas i en organisation.

Studien använder sig av en fallstudieansats, där fallet utgörs av ett landsting i Sverige som tar emot och formar Balanced Scorecard. Ett översättningsperspektiv har i studien använts till att förstå vad som sker då ett verktyg, vars delar är mer eller mindre tolkningsbara, förs in och formas av organisationens olika aktörer genom en serie av förhandlingar. Inledningsvis studeras utvecklingen av BSC, vilket visar att konceptet inte är homogent utan har översatts till olika varianter då modellen har kommit till nya miljöer och nya organisationer. Införandet av BSC i organisationen beskrivs för att sedan analyseras utifrån översättningsperspektivet. Analysen pekar på flera aspekter som påverkat översättningsprocessen och i förlängningen modellens slutliga utseende, bl.a. hur och i vilket form BSC kom in i organisationen, vilka aktörer som på ett tidigt stadium engagerade sig i modellens utveckling, vilka problem modellen initialt skulle lösa samt hur pass väl tekniska element lyckats stabilisera dess tänkta användning.

The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of quality management in accordance with the ISO 9000 as viewed by both quality managers and other managers. We also consider the way companies carried out the re-certification process to ISO 9001:2000 and what consequences different approaches brought. The study is based on Swedish SMEs with an ISO 9000:1994 who had re-certified according to the ISO 9001:2000 standard. The strongest, most obvious and most valued effects of the ISO 9000 standard are clearer and more apparent working procedures and responsibilities. The most apparent problem is bureaucracy, which according to some managers can lead to reduced flexibility. The effects of the certification vary depending on how the certification project is conducted and how consultants are used.

Idén och ansatsen till denna rapport har sitt ursprung i författaren Erik Lundmarks tidigare rapport IT-användning inom idrotten (FoU 2004:4).

I utvecklingen av administrativa system har idrotten haft en tydlig devis: ”Mer tid för idrott”. Med andra ord, förenkla det administrativa arbetet så att man har tid att syssla med det man helst vill, nämligen idrottandet i sig. I rapporten från 2004 var det ett område där användandet av IT-verktyg mötte den målsättningen, hanteringen av LOK-stöd (lokalt aktivitets-stöd). Trots att många upplevde det som tidskrävande var det inte många som använde de tekniska hjälpmedel som fanns till hands. Riksidrottsförbundet (RF) var därför intresserade av att se om man kunde påvisa att ett ekonomiskt incitament, i det här fallet tidigare utbetalningar av stöd, kunde påverka användandet.

Erik har i detta arbete visat att det man främst behöver göra för att påverka användandet mer handlar om att avsätta resurser på information till användarna om de möjligheter som finns. En teknisk förbättring bidrar naturligtvis också till en ökad användning. Resultatet av de ekonomiska incitamenten är otydligt, om det ens finns där.

Rapporten är läsvärd och ger både RF och andra ideella organisationer diskussionsunderlag för hur man bäst går tillväga för att, i det här fallet, öka användandet av ett specifikt system.

Göran Larsson

Chef Idrottsservice

Riksidrottsförbundet

Enterprise Systems create new opportunities but also new challenges and difficulties for implementers and users. The clear distinction between the development and the implementation of Enterprise Systems Software seems to influence not only the characteristics of methodologies but also how implementers use the Enterprise Systems implementation methodologies.

The general aim of this thesis is to study an Enterprise Systems implementation methodology, SAP’s AcceleratedSAP implementation methodology. An exploratory case research approach is employed and is initiated with the development of a framework which integrates current views on Method in Action and Information Systems Development with insights from Enterprise Systems research. The theoretically grounded framework outlines the characteristics of the implementation methodology recommended by SAP and used by implementers in Enterprise Systems implementations. The framework is enhanced by an empirical study.

Findings add a number of insights to the body of knowledge in the Information Systems field and the Enterprise Systems implementation methodology. For example, the Implementation Methodology in

Action framework developed in this study outlines a set of components which influence the use of an implementation methodology, and implementers’ actions which occur through the use of an implementation methodology. The components have varying characteristics and exert a significant influence on the effectiveness of implementation methodology use, which may explain differences in implementers’ actions and consequently in the outcomes of the Enterprise Systems implementation processes. The notion of implementation methodology in action, as articulated in this study, integrates two complementary views, i.e. a technology view focusing on a formalised aspect and a structural view focusing a situational aspect, emphasising different features of the implementation methodology.

A structural transformation is taking place in most industrialised countries as we move from traditional manufacturing businesses to more information andknowledge based businesses. Job creation plays a key role in today's society, and information and communication technology is often regarded as a facilitator, both in creating new jobs and in geographically relocating employment between regions. In tlus development, call centres seem to be of major importance. Call centre is an organisational solution made possible by developments in information and communication technology. Research on industrial location has a long history. It has tended to focus on location of manufacturing industries, and knowledge of determinants for the location of more service and information based organisations is less developed.

This study is based on empirical findings from a case study of a Swedish region that has achieved outstanding success as an area for call centre localisation. Several factors have contributed to the positive development of that region and the process has been going on for a long period of time. The aim of the paper is to identify which factors play a role in the location, or relocation, of call centre activities to a specific region. Our findings are presented as a model for call centre location based on five general factors: Market Existence and Access, Communications and Organisation Related Considerations, Business Environment and Community Related Factors, Resource Availability and Entrepreneurship. These factors are viewed as puzzle pieces that together comprise a model for call centre location. One principal finding is that it is important to distinguish between choice of location for information and knowledge based businesses and for more traditional service and manufacturing businesses.

Call centres are a key business form in the modern information society. Call centres, based on e-work, allow flexibility in space concerning organisational locations. The long-term aim of our study is to understand factors behind establishments, locations and continued existence of call centres, and this paper is one step in this process. The paper illustrates call centre locations in two rural regions, Ljusdal in Sweden and Kuusamo in Finland. In the analysis we use a model for call centre location, based on our earlier studies in the field. The model consists of five factors that affect call centre location, or relocation, in a specific region; Business Environment and Community Related Factors, Communications and Organisation Related Considerations, Market Existence and Access, Resource Availability and Entrepreneurship. The paper illustrates how two regions give different prerequisites for call centre location.

Hur styr vi IT och hur tar vi vara på dess möjligheter? Boken sammanfattar tjugo års debatt om nyttan av IT och vad som behövs för att förverkliga den. Införande av nya system kan vara svårt nog. Men det är i regel förändringarna av verksamheten som är den stora utmaningen - och som har störst potential att skapa nytta.I snart 20 år har forskare vid EIS, ämnesområdet Ekonomiska informationssystem inom Institutionen för datavetenskap vid Linköpings universitet, studerat bl a strategisk ekonomistyrning och IT:s betydelse för nya organisationslösningar under ledning av Birger Rapp, Sveriges första professor i ämnet. Samspelet mellan IT-ansvariga och andra (linjechefer, controllers, affärsutvecklare m fl) är nyckeln till framgång och strategi, ansvar, styrning och ekonomi är nyckelord i de flesta bidrag i boken. Den vänder sig till studenter, forskare och praktiker - alla som vill ha en överskådlig sammanfattning av vad företag bör göra för att få god nytta av sina informationssystem. Bland praktiker är controllers och IT-ansvariga - i synnerhet de som deltar i strategiutveckling - särskilt viktiga målgrupper. I boken medverkar ytterligare elva forskare: Leif Appelgren, Lars Engwall, Thomas Falk, Göran Goldkuhl, Anna Moberg, Anders G. Nilsson, Jan Olhager, Tomas Ohlin, Carl-Johan Petri, Vivian Vimarlund och Alf Westelius.

This article presents the findings of an empirical study of 209 firms in the Nordic countries. The purpose of the article is to discuss recent advances in performance management, both for the Nordic Region as a whole and in individual countries. The findings show that the performance management systems of the Nordic firms under study are used both diagnostically and interactively. The two principal applications are in decision support at the top management and the operating levels. Furthermore, in the design of the performance management systems, both financial and nonfinancial measures are quite significant. These tendencies are particularly noticeable at the Danish, Finnish, and Swedish companies. At the Norwegian companies, on the other hand, the design and uses of performance management are somewhat more traditional.