<p>Since organisations are expanding geographically the need for global applications has become extensive. This work examines how a global support organisation should be organised, with respect to communication and technical aspects, when providing support for a global application to a user organisation. This work has been accomplished through a literature study and an interview study. The result from the investigation shows that a decentralised support organisation is superior to some extent. Specially when it comes to communication but both the literature and the respondents claim that communicating with people from different countries with different languages is something you get used to over time. It is however not superior to implement too many sites since it is expensive to have several support centres. The conclusions of this work are that the literature claims that decentralisation is the approach to have if the infrastructure is in place, the respondents however, believe that it is too expensive to decentralise too much.</p>

Since organisations are expanding geographically the need for global applications has become extensive. This work examines how a global support organisation should be organised, with respect to communication and technical aspects, when providing support for a global application to a user organisation. This work has been accomplished through a literature study and an interview study. The result from the investigation shows that a decentralised support organisation is superior to some extent. Specially when it comes to communication but both the literature and the respondents claim that communicating with people from different countries with different languages is something you get used to over time. It is however not superior to implement too many sites since it is expensive to have several support centres. The conclusions of this work are that the literature claims that decentralisation is the approach to have if the infrastructure is in place, the respondents however, believe that it is too expensive to decentralise too much.

In the emerging global marketplace many companies are forced to disperse their business fromoperating in one market into various markets, which causes challenges regarding innovationperformance. To efficiently use their resources, these organizations are often developing theirproduct adopted to the home market’s customer needs, something that can lead to poor productacceptance by the secondary markets. Hence, absorption and use of market knowledgethroughout the innovation process are important considerations to maintain a competitive advantage.This case study intends to answer the research question; what are the best-practices for innovationat a global car-sharing firm to better align their product to many diverse markets? Thethesis was carried out as an inductive case study at DriveNow, a car-sharing company aroundEurope who are struggling with the product performance at their many diverse markets. Thegoal with the thesis was to propose recommendations on how to manage the complexity ofabsorbing knowledge from diverse local markets, transferring it within the organization andintegrating it throughout the innovation process. In order to do so, a pre-study was conducted,followed by 23 semi-structured qualitative interviews at the headquarter and four of DriveNows’local offices.The results indicate, on the one hand, that firms have to access important market knowledgethrough their local offices to better align the product to their diverse markets. On the otherhand, the efficiency of how the organization are transferring the knowledge and encouraging employeesto do so are also important considerations. Based on results from this study, we suggesta formalization of various processes in order to facilitate ideation, internal communication andthe subsequent transmission of market knowledge over boundaries. Furthermore the developmentof an adopted global product could be a way of manage the complexity of having a globalproduct but satisfy needs of diverse markets. By capturing market knowledge and create localizedfeatures were it is needed the global product could be better adapted to various markets. / På den framväxande globala marknaden tar företag snabbt deras verksamhet från en marknadtill att vara verksamma på flera olika marknader, vilket orsakar stora utmaningar gällandeinnovation. För att på bästa sätt ta tillvara på deras resurser anpassar dessa företag ofta produktentill deras hemmamarknader, vilket kan leda till dålig acceptans av produkten på andramarknader. På grund av detta är absorbtion och användning av lokal kunskap från marknaderviktiga aspekter för att kunna upprätthålla en hållbar konkurrensfördel.Den här fallstudien avser att besvara frågeställningen; vilka är de bästa metoderna för attfrämja innovation hos ett globalt bildelningsföretag i syfte att bättre anpassa produkten tillolika marknader. Den här masteruppsatsen är en induktiv fallstudie på företaget DriveNow,ett bildelningsföretag med verksamhet i Europa som brottas med hur produkten mottas påderas olika marknader. Målet med uppsatsen är att föreslå rekommendationer för att hanterakomplexiteten av att absorbera kunskap från marknaderna, dela den inom organisationen ochföra kunskapen vidare genom innovationsprocessen. För att kunna genomföra detta utfördes enförstudie följt av 23 semi-strukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer på DriveNows huvudkontor ochfyra av dess lokala kontor.Resultatet av studien indikerar, å ena sidan, att organisationer behöver ta vara på kunskapenfrån deras lokala kontor för att bättre anpassa produkten till olika marknader. Å andra sidanhur organisationen hanterar kunskapsöverföring och uppmuntrar anställda att dela med sig avkunskap är också viktiga aspekter. Baserat på resultaten av studien, föreslås formella processerför att kunna förenkla idégenerering, intern kommunikation och kunskapsöverföring. Vidareföreslås en implementering av en anpassad global produkt för att hantera svårigheten av att haen global produkt som samtidigt måste tillgodose olika behov på olika marknader. Genom attta tillvara på den lokala marknadskunskapen och skapa lokaliserade funktioner där det behövs,kan den globala produkten bättre anpassas till olika marknader.

In a comprehensive review of literature on the strategic adoption of information systems (IS), various approaches to strategic IS adoption were unable to verify and coordinate different factors for IS investment as a strategic business unit. An assessment of different models in this area through the review of empirical case studies was required to identify the factors that affect IS strategic adoption, because these factors support the evaluation and adoption of both the process and result of IS strategic adoption. Thus, a study to investigate and evaluate the adoption of strategic information systems planning (SISP) within organisations is required in order to identify the factors that affect this type of adoption. The research in this thesis takes into account the adoption process and the factors for the adoption of SISP. There is also a need to understand and evaluate different IS planning techniques within a framework that can support decision-makers through the entire IS strategic adoption process. This framework is a component of the proposed novel model that considers other crucial factors that influence IS strategic evaluation and adoption. Decision-makers may employ such a model and evaluation framework that considers important SISP criteria, such as (a) SISP benefits, (b) SISP requirements and, (c) SISP drivers, as an important reference tool. After presenting the conceptual components of this research, the empirical side expresses the application of a qualitative research approach through a case study strategy to investigate the proposed model of SISP adoption. As a result, two global organisations were investigated, reported, and analysed. Additional factors for the adoption of SISP emerged from these analyses. The proposed conceptual model was modified to present 11 factors that influence the adoption of SISP, including (a) planning team; (b) benefits; (c) requirements; (d) drivers; (e) costs; (f) IS performance measurement; (g) framework for the evaluation of SISP techniques; (h) SISP methods; (i) SISP tools; (j) support; and (k) IS strategy. The primary contribution of this thesis is a comprehensive novel model for the evaluation and adoption of SISP. The model includes two levels of original contribution. Firstly, it accounts for previous studies in SISP and their factors, which supports the conceptual level of this contribution. The researcher incorporated and extended these studies to merge the factors which were recognised in the normative literature. In addition, factors from empirical work have also been combined in the proposed model, thus developing a consistent paradigm for the evaluation and adoption of SISP. Secondly, the concept and process of the proposed model can be applied as an educational guide throughout the IS strategic evaluation and adoption process. Nevertheless, this model contains a proposed framework for the evaluation of IS strategic planning techniques as factors that influence the adoption of SISP. This framework is novel, since it is a part of the proposed model as well as a classification of IS planning techniques, and supports decision-makers’ understanding and evaluation of planning techniques during the adoption of SISP.

Disruptive changes driven by sustainability, new technology and servitization challenge companies’ current products and business models. This increases the interest in radical innovations, and consequently the interest to capture radical ideas. At the same time, globalization increases the importance for digital tools in order to connect and communicate between different geographical locations. An idea management system (IMS) allows large, global companies to conduct idea management in a structured way throughout the entire company. This study aims to investigate and identify factors important for the implementation of an IMS in companies that operates globally. This is done with a case study at a company in the automotive industry who is standing before an industrial transformation. In order to analyze the empirical findings two existing frameworks is combined into an empirical classification framework. The previous literature and the empirical analysis identified three important themes; process, culture and system. The discussion around the three themes allowed for a connection between the empirical findings and the previous literature, leading to conclusions regarding the implementation of an IMS. The study firstly concludes that finding ideas is no problem, it is more important to have the right processes in place for handling ideas. One of the key aspects is individual motivation and that the system is used for learning rather than performing. A risk identified was that goals within large companies may conflict with goals of radical innovation, which highlights the importance of flexible leadership and flexible systems within the company. The IMS should start with basic features and start at selected markets, allowing feedback from the IMS ambassadors to assist in the future development of the system. Categorizing ideas and using monthly campaigns for specific problem areas can facilitate the handling of a large number of ideas, preventing the IMS from becoming a “black hole” where ideas are submitted and then disappear. / Hållbarhet, ny teknologi och tjänstefiering är förändringar som utmanar dagens företags produktutbud och affärsmodeller. Intresset för radikala innovationer har i och med det ökat och som en konsekvens av det, även bidragit med ett ökat intresse av att fånga radikala idéer inom organisationen. Samtidigt har globaliseringen ökat betydelsen av digitala verktyg för anknytning och kommunikation mellan olika geografiska platser. Ett idéhanteringssystem (förkortning IMS) möjliggör strukturerad idéhantering genom hela företaget, för stora globala företag. Målet med studien var att undersöka och identifiera faktorer som anses viktiga för implementering av ett idéhanteringssystem i stora globala företag. Detta har gjorts genom en fallstudie på ett företag inom fordonsindustrin, som står inför en stor industriell förändring. För att analysera den insamlade empiriska datan har två existerande ramverk kombinerats till ett ramverk för empirisk klassificering. Tidigare litteratur och den empiriska analysen identifierade tre viktiga teman: process, kultur och system. Diskussionen kring dessa tre teman möjliggjorde för kopplingar mellan de empiriska fynden och tidigare litteratur, vilket gav slutsatser angående implementeringen av ett idéhanteringssystem. En av studiens första slutsatser var att mängden idéer inom en organisation inte är ett problem. Det är viktigare att ha processer på plats för att hantera idéerna. En av nyckelaspekterna var att individuell motivation och att systemet bör användas för lärande snarare än prestation. En risk med målsättning identifierades, det visade att mål hos stora företag kan strida mot mål för radikala innovationer, vilket lyfter vikten av ett flexibelt ledarskap och flexibla system inom företaget. I startfasen bör idéhanteringssystemet satsa på grundläggande funktioner och testas hos utvalda marknader, vilket möjliggör utveckling av systemet genom återkoppling från systemets ambassadörer. Månatliga kampanjer och kategorisering av idéer underlättar hanteringen av stora mängder idéer, vilket motverkar att idéhanteringssystemet blir ett ”svart hål” där idéer skickas in och försvinner.