This thesis consists of two volumes. Part One is entitled: The analogy as a decision model: a study of management team members in two consulting firms (1995:31L, ISSN: 0280-8242, ISRN: HLU-TH-L-1995/31-L--SE). Part Two deals additionally with the question addressed in Part One and provides the overall analysis and conclusions. In Part One, the problem is outlined as a tendency to approach unstructured situations using analytical models. It is proposed that unstructured, simple, situations often are handled using analogy. The purpose concerns the analogy as a decision model. Two case studies are made of small organizations. Data are collected using interviews, the MBTI and a questonnaire. The results indicate that analogy is used as a decision model in unstructured, simple, situations. In Part Two, two case studies of small firms are made. The methods include interviews and participant observation. The results support the findings from Part One. There is a communicative use of analogy, to develop consensus and commitment. Analogy is used to exercise influence and to experiment with problems. Analogy is a device for loose coupling. An organizational stakeholder may assume the role of "carrier of analogy". Related factors in the firms include the organizational cohesion and identity. / Godkänd; 1998; 20061123 (haneit)

Decision making is often characterized as the trading-off between means and ends, facilitating a "rational choice". One central argument of this thesis is that the rational actor metaphor is over-emphasized in management theory. Due to the extensive use of this metaphor, problems that do not lend themselves to computation are treated as a residual category composed of judgment, intuition or rules of thumb. As a result of the concentration on well-structured problems, there is a tendency to approach unstructured problems analytically. Management science techniques have therefore had a negligible impact on decision making concerning unstructured problems. In much of the theory concerning decision making, the subjective differences among decision makers are overlooked. The individual characteristics of decision makers give birth to differences in handling problematic situations, and research suggests that decision makers prefer decision models that fit those characteristics. The overriding purpose of this study is to generate knowledge as to experience as a basis for decision making. The analogy as a decision model refers to decision making based on information transfer from a previous problematic situation to a new problematic situation. The specific purposes are to identify categories of problematic situations where the analogy is used as a decision model, describe and analyze the use of the analogy as a decision model in the context of those problematic situations, and to describe and analyze the relation between decision-makers' characateristics and their use of the analogy as a decision model. The empirical evidence consists of two small "case studies" of management team members. Data was collected via in-depth interviews, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and a short questionnaire on individual characteristics. It was found that the analogy as a decision model is used in unstructured and simple problematic situations. Past experience from similar or related problematic situations facilitates the making of decisions with little use of official or written information. In some unstructured and simple situations, the analogy is supplemented with other decison models. Our results suggest that the relationships between decision makers, problematic situations and decision models are complex. Some indications suggest that the characteristics of the problematic situation may have a stronger impact on the actors' use of decision models, than their individual characteristics. One important result of this study is the observation of a divergence between decision models-in-words and decision models-in-use. This would imply a tendency on behalf of decision makers to interpret their actions in a way that suggest a formal, rational decision-making approach, although this is not reflected in their actual behavior. / Godkänd; 1995; 20090323 (anders_n)

This thesis addresses different aspects of how to manage product development and process development. Two research studies have been conducted, both within the process industry. In the first study, the focus was on management control in collaborative product development and process development projects, whereas the focus in the second study was on managing the fuzzy front end (FFE) of product development and process development. Content-wise, the thesis comprises an introductory text and five appended papers with the overall purpose to increase our understanding of how process firms can improve the management of product development and process development, with a special emphasis on the fuzzy front end.The background to the first study was that it is difficult to manage collaborative development projects and that few empirical studies address accounting and control issues in such projects. However, the main focus in this thesis is on the FFE of the innovation process (the second study). The FFE is acknowledged as being one of the most critical stages of the whole innovation process, because the quality of emerging product- or process concepts is determined there. For example, improved product concepts can increase the overall speed of the innovation process as well as cutting costs. The costs of imposing changes in the FFE are still relatively low compared to changes in later stages. However, the FFE is difficult to manage because it implies a significant degree of uncertainty, and it is often characterised by ad-hoc decision-making and conflicting organizational pressures which make it difficult to plan and conduct. The existing research on the FFE has primarily focused on product development, but little is known about how to manage the FFE in other contexts. This thesis aims to shed light on the FFE in non-assembled product development and process development, mainly by means of multiple case studies.The first study of this thesis (paper I) shows that both informal and formal control mechanisms are important when firms conduct collaborative product development and process development projects. A central contribution in the first study is that it explores how the firms' motives affect the selection of formal and informal control mechanisms. For example, financial short-term motives (such as sharing development costs) were typically controlled by formal control mechanisms. On the other hand, informal control mechanisms were the main form of control if the motive was to build long-term relations with their customers. The main findings from the second study (papers II-V) were that the FFE phase of non-assembled product development and process development was conceptualized. These conceptualizations were done at a relatively detailed level and key activities in different sub-phases were thus identified. By conceptualizing the FFE of non-assembled product development and process development, a first and important step towards exploring how the FFE can be better managed was taken. In addition, the second study identified several managerial problems in the FFE, and the negative impact of many of these could arguably be decreased if more formal control mechanisms were introduced and applied. The empirical findings suggest a more formalized process for managing the FFE of non-assembled product development and process development. These findings are important in the light of a growing theoretical and managerial interest in the FFE phase of the innovation process. / Avhandlingen innefattar olika aspekter vid ledning och organisering av produkt- och processutveckling. Två forskningsprojekt har genomförts, båda inom process industrin. Det första behandlar styrning av produkt och processutvecklingsprojekt, som bedrevs i samarbete med externa parter. Det andra forskningsprojektet fokuserar på ledning och organisering av den tidiga fasen vid produkt- och processutveckling. Avhandlingen är en sammanläggningsavhandling och innefattar således en inledande text och fem artiklar. Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen är att öka vår förståelse för hur processindustriföretag kan förbättra styrningen av produkt- och processutvecklingsprojekt, med särskilt fokus på den tidiga fasen. Bakgrunden till det första forskningsprojektet var svårigheten att styra produkt- och processutvecklingsprojekt som bedrivs i samarbete med externa parter. Få akademiska studier har undersökt vilken typ av styrning som används för att styra dessa projekt. Merparten av avhandlingen fokuserar på ledning och organisering av den tidiga fasen vid utveckling av nya eller förbättrade produkter och processer. Tidigare forskning har visat att denna fas är den mest kritiska i hela innovationsprocessen, eftersom en stor del av kvaliteten på nya produkter och processer bestäms där. Till exempel kan ett väldefinierat produktkoncept öka hastigheten i innovationsprocessen som i sin tur även leder till minskade kostnader. Detta eftersom kostnaderna för att genomföra förändringar i den tidiga fasen är relativt låga jämfört med att genomföra förändringar i senare skeden av processen. Den tidiga fasen är dock svår att leda eftersom den ofta kännetecknas av en hög grad av osäkerhet, ett osystematiskt beslutsfattande, motstridiga organisatoriska målsättningar. Dessa bidrar till att göra den tidiga fasen svår att planera och genomföra. Den befintliga forskningen om tidiga faser i innovationsprocessen har främst fokuserat på produktutveckling och lite är känt om hur man hanterar den tidiga fasen i andra sammanhang som t.ex. vid utveckling av företagets produktionsprocess. Avhandlingen syftar till att belysa ledning och organisering av den tidiga fasen vid utveckling av icke-sammansatta produkter, som t.ex. metall och stål, samt utveckling av företagens produktionsprocesser. En fallstudieansats har använts i båda forskningsprojekten.Det första forskningsprojektet i avhandlingen (artikel I) visar att företag använder sig av både formella och informella kontrollmekanismer när de leder inter-organisatoriska samarbetsprojekt. Ett centralt bidrag i detta projekt är att visa hur företagens motiv påverkar valet av kontrollmekanismer. Till exempel ekonomiskt kortsiktiga motiv (såsom att dela utvecklingskostnader) var oftast styrda genom formella kontrollmekanismer. Ifall målet var av mer långsiktig karaktär (som t.ex. att skapa och bygga relationer till sina kunder) användes informella kontrollmekanismer för att styra samarbetsprojektet.De viktigaste resultaten från det andra forskningsprojektet (artiklarna II-V) var att den tidiga fasen vid utveckling av icke-sammansatta produkter och processer har beskrivits. De två faserna har beskrivits på en relativt detaljerad nivå ett antal olika delfaser och nyckelaktiviteter har identifierats. Att beskriva vad som händer i den allra tidigaste fasen när man utvecklar produkter och processer var ett första viktigt steg för att kunna förstå hur företag kan bli bättre på att leda och organisera dessa tidiga faser i innovationsprocessen. Vidare så har flera svårigheter och problem identifierats i tidig fas vid utveckling av både produkter och processer. Flertalet av dessa skulle kunna minskas ifall företag tillämpade en mer systematisk process och tillämpade några formella kontrollmekanismer. Avhandlingen bidrar till det växande teoretiska intresse som finns för den tidiga fasen av innovationsprocessen genom att presentera vad som sker i den tidiga fasen vid utveckling av icke-sammansatta produkter och processer. / Godkänd; 2010; 20101207 (monika_k); DISPUTATION Ämnesområde: Företagsekonomi Opponent: Docent Maria Elmqvist, Chalmers tekniska högskola Göteborg Ordförande: Docent Johan Frishammar, Luleå tekniska universitet Tid: Fredag den 28 januari 2011, kl. 13.00 Plats: A109

This dissertation consists of six individual studies with the overall aim to contribute to understanding value creation in interorganizational relationships (IORs), which firms establish to achieve innovation. The six research papers address several specific research questions focusing on different aspects of IORs by using qualitative, quantitative and conceptual methods. The dissertation is divided into two parts. Part I is an introductory chapter to the six research papers. This part briefly introduces the research questions, methods, paper overviews, and provides some generaldiscussions not emphasized in the specific papers. Part II consists of the six research papers, each presenting a unique inquiry, literature framework, and method. In brief, the six papers of this dissertation are:Paper I presents the benefits of working with the same partners in multiple (different) innovative processes.Paper II tests the influence between relationship characteristics (knowledgetransfer, interorganizational trust, and relationship diversity) and networking firms' corporate entrepreneurship.Paper III tests the indirect effects of partner fit on networking firms' corporate entrepreneurship.Paper IV identifies and tests important factors for innovative performance in firm networks.Paper V tests the influence of compensating network board members on network performance.Paper VI theorizes how and why interorganizational trust can cause rigidities, which may be particularly bothersome in some kinds of IORs.Some general conclusions of the six studies are that they demonstrate the relevance of acknowledging social processes in studies of knowledge exchange; they also recognize that while literature suggesting that social aspects such as trust may be powerful in reducing perceived relational risks, research takes a biased path if it does not also properly acknowledge the risks and costs associated with it; and finally indicate that in discussions of trade-offs between flexibility and stability in IORs it may be useful to consider the dimension of exchange flexibility, that is, how flexible the partners are in what they exchange and when they do this. Some specific conclusions are that the studies demonstrate both antecedents to and consequences of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) in an IOR setting: in terms of antecedents, they explain why partner fit has an indirect effect on knowledge transfer and why CE has a direct effect on knowledge transfer, and in terms of consequences, they explain why knowledge transfer positively influences CE. The studies also suggest that when partners try to create conditions where they do not believe they might be exploited, there is a risk that rigidities in resources and routines develop. Further, they also show that design aspects, such as how the network is formed, configured, and governed, as well as compensation of network board members affect network performance. / Godkänd; 2010; 20100326 (sartho); DISPUTATION Ämnesområde: Entreprenörskap/Entrepreneurship Opponent: Professor Jonas Söderlund, BI Norwegian School of Management Ordförande: Docent Joakim Wincent, Luleå tekniska universitet Tid: Fredag den 28 maj 2010, kl 13.00 Plats: A 109, Luleå tekniska universitet

Godkänd; 2010; 20100911 (sarabo); DISPUTATION Ämnesområde: Industriell marknadsföring Opponent: Professor Russel Abratt, Nova Southeastern University, USA Ordförande: Professor Esmail Salehi-Sangari, Luleå tekniska universitet Tid: Tisdag den 14 december 2010, kl. 8.00 Plats: A109