O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a interação entre o dinamismo econômico e a qualidade do emprego, observando esse fenômeno a partir do caso do setor de telecomunicações, no Brasil. O estudo propõe uma reflexão sobre a qualidade do emprego nas atividades de telecomunicações, que, no Brasil, passaram por recente processo de privatização, caracterizando um novo cenário empresarial, marcado por inovações tecnológicas, expansão comercial e competição de mercado. Foi elaborado um modelo de análise para avaliar a qualidade do emprego com base na estrutura ocupacional do mercado de trabalho, diferente de outros modelos concorrentes, que se debruçam sobre categorias como “emprego típico” e “trabalho decente”. O setor de telecomunicações inclui tanto atividades econômicas amplamente voltadas para estratégias de inovação e formação de vantagens competitivas como atividades de suporte, mais restritas à operação, implantação e manutenção do mercado, fato que se desdobra na composição dos respectivos mercados de trabalho. Constatou-se que o desempenho da qualidade do emprego é função da estruturação setorial. A melhora no nível de qualidade do emprego está bastante vinculada à natureza, à experiência tecnológica e ao ambiente econômico de cada ramo produtivo. Foi observado que a qualidade do emprego melhora na medida em que as atividades econômicas se encontram mais próximas aos processos de inovação, competição de mercado e liberalização comercial, mesmo que as mesmas componham um único setor. Confirmou-se a suspeita de que nas atividades econômicas constituídas por empresas que não inovam internamente ou inovam pouco e que não competem diretamente no mercado das telecomunicações (implantação, comércio e teleatendimento), o trabalho caracteriza-se por ser padronizado, promovendo atividades laborais empobrecidas, apresentando situação menos vantajosa de qualidade do emprego. Nas atividades com maior capacidade de inovação e que competem diretamente no mercado de telecomunicações (telefonia fixa e telefonia móvel em um primeiro nível, e em um segundo plano serviços de rede, televisão por cabo e fabricação), o trabalho caracteriza-se por ser menos estruturado, promovendo maior recorrência de atividades laborais enriquecidas, maior remuneração e escolarização dos empregados e apresentando, portanto, situação melhor de qualidade do emprego. A análise da situação do emprego na atividade de telecomunicações baseia-se nos dados disponíveis na Relação Anual de Informações Sociais (RAIS) do Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego do Brasil (MTE). / The aim of this study was to analyze the interaction between economic dynamism and quality of employment based on the case of telecommunications industry in Brazil. This study proposes a reflection about the quality of employment in the activities of telecommunications that recently underwent a privatization process in Brazil, characterizing a new business scenery, marked by technological innovations, commercial expansion and market competition. We created an analysis model to evaluate the quality of employment which is based on the occupational structure of the labor market, unlike other competing models that focus on categories such as, “typical job” and “decent work”. The telecommunications industry comprises not only economic activities largely turned to innovation strategies and the shaping of competitive advantages but also support activities restricted to market operation, deployment and maintenance. These aspects affect the composition of labor markets. We found that the quality of employment results from the industry framework. Improvements in the quality of employment are strongly related to the nature of each production field, its technological experience and economic environment. We saw that the quality of employment improves as economic activities get closer to innovation processes, market competition, and trade liberalization, even if they are all part of the same industry. Suspicions were confirmed that in those economic activities consisting of companies that neither innovate or hardly innovate nor compete directly in the telecommunications market (deployment, trade, and telemarketing), work is standardized, and labor activities are of a poor nature, which then results in lower quality of employment. In activities with greater ability to innovate and that compete directly in the telecommunications market (wireline and wireless on a first level and, on a second level, network service, cable television, and manufacturing), work is less structured, thus promoting enriched labor activities, hight remuneration and employees‟ education, and resulting in higher quality of employment. The analysis of the situation of employment in the activity of telecommunications is based on the data available in the Annual Report of Social Information (in portuguese, RAIS) of Ministry of Labor and Employment of Brazil (in portuguese, MTE).

O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a interação entre o dinamismo econômico e a qualidade do emprego, observando esse fenômeno a partir do caso do setor de telecomunicações, no Brasil. O estudo propõe uma reflexão sobre a qualidade do emprego nas atividades de telecomunicações, que, no Brasil, passaram por recente processo de privatização, caracterizando um novo cenário empresarial, marcado por inovações tecnológicas, expansão comercial e competição de mercado. Foi elaborado um modelo de análise para avaliar a qualidade do emprego com base na estrutura ocupacional do mercado de trabalho, diferente de outros modelos concorrentes, que se debruçam sobre categorias como “emprego típico” e “trabalho decente”. O setor de telecomunicações inclui tanto atividades econômicas amplamente voltadas para estratégias de inovação e formação de vantagens competitivas como atividades de suporte, mais restritas à operação, implantação e manutenção do mercado, fato que se desdobra na composição dos respectivos mercados de trabalho. Constatou-se que o desempenho da qualidade do emprego é função da estruturação setorial. A melhora no nível de qualidade do emprego está bastante vinculada à natureza, à experiência tecnológica e ao ambiente econômico de cada ramo produtivo. Foi observado que a qualidade do emprego melhora na medida em que as atividades econômicas se encontram mais próximas aos processos de inovação, competição de mercado e liberalização comercial, mesmo que as mesmas componham um único setor. Confirmou-se a suspeita de que nas atividades econômicas constituídas por empresas que não inovam internamente ou inovam pouco e que não competem diretamente no mercado das telecomunicações (implantação, comércio e teleatendimento), o trabalho caracteriza-se por ser padronizado, promovendo atividades laborais empobrecidas, apresentando situação menos vantajosa de qualidade do emprego. Nas atividades com maior capacidade de inovação e que competem diretamente no mercado de telecomunicações (telefonia fixa e telefonia móvel em um primeiro nível, e em um segundo plano serviços de rede, televisão por cabo e fabricação), o trabalho caracteriza-se por ser menos estruturado, promovendo maior recorrência de atividades laborais enriquecidas, maior remuneração e escolarização dos empregados e apresentando, portanto, situação melhor de qualidade do emprego. A análise da situação do emprego na atividade de telecomunicações baseia-se nos dados disponíveis na Relação Anual de Informações Sociais (RAIS) do Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego do Brasil (MTE). / The aim of this study was to analyze the interaction between economic dynamism and quality of employment based on the case of telecommunications industry in Brazil. This study proposes a reflection about the quality of employment in the activities of telecommunications that recently underwent a privatization process in Brazil, characterizing a new business scenery, marked by technological innovations, commercial expansion and market competition. We created an analysis model to evaluate the quality of employment which is based on the occupational structure of the labor market, unlike other competing models that focus on categories such as, “typical job” and “decent work”. The telecommunications industry comprises not only economic activities largely turned to innovation strategies and the shaping of competitive advantages but also support activities restricted to market operation, deployment and maintenance. These aspects affect the composition of labor markets. We found that the quality of employment results from the industry framework. Improvements in the quality of employment are strongly related to the nature of each production field, its technological experience and economic environment. We saw that the quality of employment improves as economic activities get closer to innovation processes, market competition, and trade liberalization, even if they are all part of the same industry. Suspicions were confirmed that in those economic activities consisting of companies that neither innovate or hardly innovate nor compete directly in the telecommunications market (deployment, trade, and telemarketing), work is standardized, and labor activities are of a poor nature, which then results in lower quality of employment. In activities with greater ability to innovate and that compete directly in the telecommunications market (wireline and wireless on a first level and, on a second level, network service, cable television, and manufacturing), work is less structured, thus promoting enriched labor activities, hight remuneration and employees‟ education, and resulting in higher quality of employment. The analysis of the situation of employment in the activity of telecommunications is based on the data available in the Annual Report of Social Information (in portuguese, RAIS) of Ministry of Labor and Employment of Brazil (in portuguese, MTE).

O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a interação entre o dinamismo econômico e a qualidade do emprego, observando esse fenômeno a partir do caso do setor de telecomunicações, no Brasil. O estudo propõe uma reflexão sobre a qualidade do emprego nas atividades de telecomunicações, que, no Brasil, passaram por recente processo de privatização, caracterizando um novo cenário empresarial, marcado por inovações tecnológicas, expansão comercial e competição de mercado. Foi elaborado um modelo de análise para avaliar a qualidade do emprego com base na estrutura ocupacional do mercado de trabalho, diferente de outros modelos concorrentes, que se debruçam sobre categorias como “emprego típico” e “trabalho decente”. O setor de telecomunicações inclui tanto atividades econômicas amplamente voltadas para estratégias de inovação e formação de vantagens competitivas como atividades de suporte, mais restritas à operação, implantação e manutenção do mercado, fato que se desdobra na composição dos respectivos mercados de trabalho. Constatou-se que o desempenho da qualidade do emprego é função da estruturação setorial. A melhora no nível de qualidade do emprego está bastante vinculada à natureza, à experiência tecnológica e ao ambiente econômico de cada ramo produtivo. Foi observado que a qualidade do emprego melhora na medida em que as atividades econômicas se encontram mais próximas aos processos de inovação, competição de mercado e liberalização comercial, mesmo que as mesmas componham um único setor. Confirmou-se a suspeita de que nas atividades econômicas constituídas por empresas que não inovam internamente ou inovam pouco e que não competem diretamente no mercado das telecomunicações (implantação, comércio e teleatendimento), o trabalho caracteriza-se por ser padronizado, promovendo atividades laborais empobrecidas, apresentando situação menos vantajosa de qualidade do emprego. Nas atividades com maior capacidade de inovação e que competem diretamente no mercado de telecomunicações (telefonia fixa e telefonia móvel em um primeiro nível, e em um segundo plano serviços de rede, televisão por cabo e fabricação), o trabalho caracteriza-se por ser menos estruturado, promovendo maior recorrência de atividades laborais enriquecidas, maior remuneração e escolarização dos empregados e apresentando, portanto, situação melhor de qualidade do emprego. A análise da situação do emprego na atividade de telecomunicações baseia-se nos dados disponíveis na Relação Anual de Informações Sociais (RAIS) do Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego do Brasil (MTE). / The aim of this study was to analyze the interaction between economic dynamism and quality of employment based on the case of telecommunications industry in Brazil. This study proposes a reflection about the quality of employment in the activities of telecommunications that recently underwent a privatization process in Brazil, characterizing a new business scenery, marked by technological innovations, commercial expansion and market competition. We created an analysis model to evaluate the quality of employment which is based on the occupational structure of the labor market, unlike other competing models that focus on categories such as, “typical job” and “decent work”. The telecommunications industry comprises not only economic activities largely turned to innovation strategies and the shaping of competitive advantages but also support activities restricted to market operation, deployment and maintenance. These aspects affect the composition of labor markets. We found that the quality of employment results from the industry framework. Improvements in the quality of employment are strongly related to the nature of each production field, its technological experience and economic environment. We saw that the quality of employment improves as economic activities get closer to innovation processes, market competition, and trade liberalization, even if they are all part of the same industry. Suspicions were confirmed that in those economic activities consisting of companies that neither innovate or hardly innovate nor compete directly in the telecommunications market (deployment, trade, and telemarketing), work is standardized, and labor activities are of a poor nature, which then results in lower quality of employment. In activities with greater ability to innovate and that compete directly in the telecommunications market (wireline and wireless on a first level and, on a second level, network service, cable television, and manufacturing), work is less structured, thus promoting enriched labor activities, hight remuneration and employees‟ education, and resulting in higher quality of employment. The analysis of the situation of employment in the activity of telecommunications is based on the data available in the Annual Report of Social Information (in portuguese, RAIS) of Ministry of Labor and Employment of Brazil (in portuguese, MTE).

Master's thesis "Innovation processes personal data for the state organization," deals with the protection of personal data for processing, both in paper, as well as electronic form. The main topic is security policy, the assessment of security risks resulting proposals for the introduction of innovative processes aimed to prevent possible leakage and misuse of personal data.

Being innovative and environmentally sustainable can help companies to achieve success. Depending on the size of the company it can be achieved in different ways. When conducting innovation projects, the level of formal steering support might differ, especially if sustainability wants to be achieved. This thesis aims to answer the question how the need of ensuring the firm’s vision of being environmentally sustainable and use it as a marketing advantage affect the need of formal steering support in innovation projects in medium sized enterprises. Until today research have not addressed this question in a sufficient manner whereas focus has been on “SME’s” (Small and Medium sized Enterprises), small or large companies. Large companies need rather formal processes while smaller companies can be more informal and flexible. This thesis takes the perspective of the medium sized company and investigates their specific needs. A variety of innovation projects have been studied at a medium sized company and insights from it has been combined with literature on innovation processes to find the right balance of formality. The conclusion being drawn is that formality is needed especially in the beginning and in the end of an innovation project for a medium sized company if sustainability wants to be achieved and used as a marketing advantage. / Att vara innovativ och miljömässigt hållbar kan hjälpa ett företag att nå framgång. Beroende på företagets storlek kan denna framgång uppnås på olika sätt. När innovationsprojekt genomförs kan nivån av formell projektstyrning variera, speciellt om man vill uppnå en viss nivå av miljömässig hållbarhet. Denna uppsats ämnar svara på frågan huruvida behovet av att säkerhetsställa ett företags hållbarhetsvision och använda resultatet som en marknadsfördel påverkar behovet av formell projektstyrning i medelstora företag. Fram tills idag har forskning inte tagit upp denna fråga på ett tillräckligt sätt. Fokus har varit på ”SME’s” (små och medelstora företag), små eller stora företag. Stora företag behöver ha rätt formella processer för innovationsarbete medan små företag kan vara informella och flexibla. I denna uppsats är fokus på medelstora företag och deras specifika behov gällande formalitet. För att göra detta har vi studerat en rad olika innovationsprojekt på ett medelstort företag och kombinerat detta med litteratur rörande innovationsprocesser för att hitta rätt balans av formalitet. Slutsatsen som dras är att formalitet är nödvändig, särskilt i början och i slutet av ett innovationsprojekt för medelstora företag som vill uppnå en viss nivå av miljömässig hållbarhet och använda det som en marknadsfördel.

To remain competitive and create a sustainable business, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) need to develop both incremental and radical innovation. What many companies struggle with is to evaluate the potential of innovation initiatives. The development of products and innovations has over the years changed from a traditional technocentric view into a more human-centered view with the user’s desirability in focus. Also, the increased global competition and interest in business model innovation are forcing companies to verify the viability of the offering to their customers. While Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is an established tool for evaluating the technology, there are no holistic methods which also evaluates the readiness of the users and business.  The purpose of this thesis was to review available theory and methods used for evaluating the potential and readiness of innovation initiatives and to develop a holistic methodology to link the business, user, and technology related innovation activities. The innovation readiness is a combination of business, user, and technology readiness. The study started with a literature study where existing methods were presented from the three aspects; business, user, and technology. Since many critical decisions are made in the front-end of the innovation, the focus in the study has been to identify methods in the early stages of the process. This thesis was performed in collaboration with Company X, a global equipment manufacturer which also was the main object in this study. The findings from a case study performed at Company X were verified by comparing the identified methods and processes used at five external companies. Data was gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews both at Company X and the external companies and finding were compared in a cross-case analysis. In general, the methods used at the OEMs are quite similar, and all manage to balance the three aspects; business, user, and technology.  Based on the findings from the study of the companies and the literature review, a methodology framework is suggested which presents existing evaluating methods from the three aspects business, user, and technology. / För att förbli konkurrenskraftiga och för att skapa en hållbar affärsmodell behöver OEM:s utveckla både inkrementell och radikal innovation. Vad många företag arbetar hårt med är att utvärdera potentialen i innovationsinitiativ. Utvecklingen av produkter och innovationer har genom åren förändrats från en traditionell utveckling med tekniken i centrum till en mer användare-centrerad vy med fokus på användarens intresse av produkten. Dessutom har den ökade globala konkurrensen och intresset för affärsmodellinnovation har ökat intresset hos företagen att verifiera lönsamheten i deras erbjudanden till sina kunder. Medan TRL är ett etablerat verktyg för utvärdering av teknik finns det inga holistiska metoder som även utvärderar användarnas och företagets mognadsgrad och beredskapsnivå. Syftet med detta var att se över tillgänglig teori och metoder för att utvärdera potentialen och mognadsgraden av innovationsinitiativ och att utveckla en holistisk metod för att länka innovations aktiviteter relaterade till affär, användare och teknik. Mognadsgraden av innovation består av en kombination av affärens, användarens och teknikens mognadsgrad. Studien inleddes med en litteraturstudie där befintliga metoder presenterades från de tre aspekterna affär, användare och teknik. Fokus i studien har varit att identifiera metoder i de tidiga stadierna av processen då många kritiska beslut tas i början av innovationsprocessen. Detta examensarbete utfördes i samarbete med Företag X som är en global utrustningstillverkare och som även var huvudobjektet i denna studie. En fallstudie utfördes på Företag X och resultaten från studien verifierades genom att jämföra det med de identifierade metoder och processer som används på fem externa företag. Data samlades in genom att genomföra halvstrukturerade intervjuer både hos Företag X och de externa företagen och resultatet jämfördes i en tvärgående analys. Generellt sätt är metoderna som används hos OEM-tillverkarna ganska lika och alla lyckas balansera de tre aspekterna affär, användare och teknik. Baserat på resultaten från studien av företagen och litteraturundersökningen föreslås en metod som presenterar befintliga utvärderingsmetoder från de tre aspekterna affärer, användare och teknik.

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is used as a tactical business process to balanceorganisations’ demand and supply. This is done through long-term planning of manufacturing and sales in comparison to the forecasted demand and resource capacity planning. S&OP link the corporate strategic plan to the day-to-day operation plans. Based on S&OP, a more advanced and mature model named Integrated Business Planning (IBP) has been developed. IBP have a stronger consideration of the financial perspectives of the outcomes in the processand increases the collaboration of the end-to-end supply chain. The case company; Nouryon, transitioned from S&OP processes to IBP in 2019. However, the organisation’s implemented model was unsatisfactorily received, therefore an initiative to redeploy and improve the Integrated Business Planning processes started. The purpose of this research is to analyse how the organisation’s IBP processes can be improved, by structuring and developing standardized processes. The Master Thesis project was conducted in collaboration with Business Planning managers and executives globally throughout the organisation. To achieve the purpose of the project, a literature review, interviews, observations, document collection and a questionnaire were executed at Nouryon’s Nordic Business Center. Nouryon’s Integrated Business Planning processes were mapped by collecting and analysing internal data.The current state was evaluated against the literature to identify any gaps from a theoretical perspective to fulfil the processes. The organisation’s current maturity level was evaluated by applying thematic content analysison the interviews, internal company document collection and outputs from the questionnaire. These were based on several research frameworks in S&OP maturity levels and Oliver Wight’s Class A Checklist for Business Excellence. Consequently, deriving improvements of how Nouryon could reach a higher maturity level. The results of the thesis project were presented and used in internal workshops together with global cross-functional teams. New and improved Integrated Business Planning processes were drafted in the workshop for the PMR meetings. The workshop for SMR is planned for a later date and will be conducted using a similar format. In conclusion, no theoretical standard framework for using IBP is available. Various literaturesources present theories on how organisations should form their processes, including a guideline on what topics should be covered in the IBP meetings. Nouryon can achieve a higher maturity level in its IBP processes, by addressing improvement suggestions related to the analysis of this project. Furthermore, the recommendations were collected, summarised, and categorised using an impact and effort matrix for efficient implementation.

Involving customers in the creation and design process of new products and services has been dis-cussed in practice and research since the early 1980’s. As one of the first researchers, von Hippel (1986) shed light on the concept of Lead Users, a group of users who are able to provide most accu-rate data on future needs for organizations. Subsequently, many scholars emphasized different areas of contribution for customers and how they provide assistance to the process of innovation. First of all, customers may contribute to product innovation (Cooper & Kleinschmidt, 1987; Driessen & Hillebrand, 2013; Füller & Matzler, 2007; Gruner & Homburg, 2000; Sawhney, Verona, & Prandelli, 2005; Snow, Fjeldstad, Lettl, & Miles, 2011; Yang & Rui, 2009) and service innovation (Abecassis-Moedas, Ben Mahmoud-Jouini, Dell’Era, Manceau, & Verganti, 2012; Alam, 2002; Chesbrough, 2011; Larbig-Wüst, 2010; Magnusson, 2003; Paton & Mclaughlin, 2008; Shang, Lin, & Wu, 2009; Silpakit & Fisk, 1985), e.g., by co-creating values (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004), such as concepts or designs as well as reviewing and testing them throughout the stages of the process of innovation. From the customers’ point of view, being involved in innovation processes and becoming a part of the organ-ization is a desire of an increasing number of them. Customers are demanding more individual and more tailored products. They are increasingly knowledgeable and capable of designing and produc-ing their own products and services. Due to the fact that their influence on product development is positively related to the quality of the new product (Sethi, 2000), more and more organizations appreciate them as innovation actors and are willing to pay them for their input. Today, customers are not only involved in the qualification of products (Callon, Méadel, & Rabeharisoa, 2002; Callon & Muniesa, 2005; Grabher, Ibert, & Flohr, 2009) but also allowed to customize and evaluate them on the path to innovation (Franke & Piller, 2004; Piller & Walcher, 2006; von Hippel & Katz, 2002; von Hippel, 2001). Moreover, there is an abundance of studies that stress the customers’ influence on effectiveness (de Luca & Atuahene-Gima, 2007; Kleinschmidt & Cooper, 1991; Kristensson, Matthing, & Johansson, 2008; Still, Huhtamäki, Isomursu, Lahti, & Koskela-Huotari, 2012) and risk (Bayer & Maier, 2006; Enkel, Kausch, & Gassmann, 2005; Enkel, Perez-Freije, & Gassmann, 2005). While the latter comprises the risk of customer integration as well as the customers’ influence on market risks, e.g., during new product development, studies on effectiveness are mostly concerned with customer-orientation and products/services in line with customers’ expectations (Atuahene-Gima, 1996, 2003; Fuchs & Schreier, 2011). The accompanying change in understanding became known as open innovation (OI; first coined by Chesbrough in 2003) and represents a paradigm shift, where organizations switch their focus from internally generated innovation (i.e., ideation, in-house R&D, etc.) toward external knowledge and open innovation processes, thus, allowing them to integrate external ideas and actors, i.e. custom-ers (Chesbrough, 2006) and other external stakeholders (Laursen & Salter, 2006). Since then, OI has been identified as a success factor for increasing customer satisfaction (Füller, Hutter, & Faullant, 2011; Greer & Lei, 2012) and growing revenues (Faems, De Visser, Andries, & van Looy, 2010; Mette, Moser, & Fridgen, 2013; Spithoven, Frantzen, & Clarysse, 2010). In addition to that, by open-ing their doors to external experts and knowledge workers (Kang & Kang, 2009), organizations cope with shorter innovation cycles, rising R&D costs, and the shortage of resources (Gassmann & Enkel, 2004). Parallel to the paradigm shift in innovation, another shift has taken place in information and com-munication technologies (Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy, & Silvestre, 2011). Only a few years ago, when customer integration was still very costly, companies had to fly in customers, provide facilities onsite, permanently assign employees to such activities, and incentivise each task execut-ed by customers. Today, emerging technologies (subsumed under the term ‘social software’) help integrating customers or other external stakeholders, who are increasingly familiar with the such technologies from personal usage experience (Cook, 2008), and grant them access from all over the world in a 24/7 fashion. Examples include blogging tools, social networking systems, or wikis. These technologies help organizations to access customer knowledge, facilitate the collaboration with customers (Culnan, McHugh, & Zubillaga, 2010; Piller & Vossen, 2012) at reduced costs and allow them to address a much larger audience (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). On the other hand, customers can now express their needs in a more direct way to organizations. However, each technology or application category may present a completely different benefit to the process of innovation or parts of it and, thus, the innovation itself. Reflecting these developments, organizations need to know two things: how can they exploit the customers’ knowledge for innovation purposes and how may the implementation of social soft-ware support this. Hence, this research addresses the integration of customers in organizational innovation, i.e. new product development. It addresses how and why firms activate customers for innovation and which contribution customers provide to the process of innovation. Additionally, it investigates which tasks customers may take over in open innovations projects and which strategies organiza-tions may choose to do so. It also addresses which social software application supports each task best and how organizations may select the most suitable application out of a rapidly growing num-ber of alternatives. The nature of this research is recommendatory and aims at designing a solution for organizations that are interested in the potential contribution of customers during innovation, already involve customers in innovation tasks or plan to do so. Following the recommendations of this research should result in a more effective organizational exploitation of customer knowledge and their workforce and, thus, a value added to innovation and the outcomes of the process of innovation, e.g., a product that better fits the customers’ expectations and demands or consequently a better adoption of the product by the customer.

Involving customers in the creation and design process of new products and services has been dis-cussed in practice and research since the early 1980’s. As one of the first researchers, von Hippel (1986) shed light on the concept of Lead Users, a group of users who are able to provide most accu-rate data on future needs for organizations. Subsequently, many scholars emphasized different areas of contribution for customers and how they provide assistance to the process of innovation. First of all, customers may contribute to product innovation (Cooper & Kleinschmidt, 1987; Driessen & Hillebrand, 2013; Füller & Matzler, 2007; Gruner & Homburg, 2000; Sawhney, Verona, & Prandelli, 2005; Snow, Fjeldstad, Lettl, & Miles, 2011; Yang & Rui, 2009) and service innovation (Abecassis-Moedas, Ben Mahmoud-Jouini, Dell’Era, Manceau, & Verganti, 2012; Alam, 2002; Chesbrough, 2011; Larbig-Wüst, 2010; Magnusson, 2003; Paton & Mclaughlin, 2008; Shang, Lin, & Wu, 2009; Silpakit & Fisk, 1985), e.g., by co-creating values (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004), such as concepts or designs as well as reviewing and testing them throughout the stages of the process of innovation. From the customers’ point of view, being involved in innovation processes and becoming a part of the organ-ization is a desire of an increasing number of them. Customers are demanding more individual and more tailored products. They are increasingly knowledgeable and capable of designing and produc-ing their own products and services. Due to the fact that their influence on product development is positively related to the quality of the new product (Sethi, 2000), more and more organizations appreciate them as innovation actors and are willing to pay them for their input. Today, customers are not only involved in the qualification of products (Callon, Méadel, & Rabeharisoa, 2002; Callon & Muniesa, 2005; Grabher, Ibert, & Flohr, 2009) but also allowed to customize and evaluate them on the path to innovation (Franke & Piller, 2004; Piller & Walcher, 2006; von Hippel & Katz, 2002; von Hippel, 2001). Moreover, there is an abundance of studies that stress the customers’ influence on effectiveness (de Luca & Atuahene-Gima, 2007; Kleinschmidt & Cooper, 1991; Kristensson, Matthing, & Johansson, 2008; Still, Huhtamäki, Isomursu, Lahti, & Koskela-Huotari, 2012) and risk (Bayer & Maier, 2006; Enkel, Kausch, & Gassmann, 2005; Enkel, Perez-Freije, & Gassmann, 2005). While the latter comprises the risk of customer integration as well as the customers’ influence on market risks, e.g., during new product development, studies on effectiveness are mostly concerned with customer-orientation and products/services in line with customers’ expectations (Atuahene-Gima, 1996, 2003; Fuchs & Schreier, 2011). The accompanying change in understanding became known as open innovation (OI; first coined by Chesbrough in 2003) and represents a paradigm shift, where organizations switch their focus from internally generated innovation (i.e., ideation, in-house R&D, etc.) toward external knowledge and open innovation processes, thus, allowing them to integrate external ideas and actors, i.e. custom-ers (Chesbrough, 2006) and other external stakeholders (Laursen & Salter, 2006). Since then, OI has been identified as a success factor for increasing customer satisfaction (Füller, Hutter, & Faullant, 2011; Greer & Lei, 2012) and growing revenues (Faems, De Visser, Andries, & van Looy, 2010; Mette, Moser, & Fridgen, 2013; Spithoven, Frantzen, & Clarysse, 2010). In addition to that, by open-ing their doors to external experts and knowledge workers (Kang & Kang, 2009), organizations cope with shorter innovation cycles, rising R&D costs, and the shortage of resources (Gassmann & Enkel, 2004). Parallel to the paradigm shift in innovation, another shift has taken place in information and com-munication technologies (Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy, & Silvestre, 2011). Only a few years ago, when customer integration was still very costly, companies had to fly in customers, provide facilities onsite, permanently assign employees to such activities, and incentivise each task execut-ed by customers. Today, emerging technologies (subsumed under the term ‘social software’) help integrating customers or other external stakeholders, who are increasingly familiar with the such technologies from personal usage experience (Cook, 2008), and grant them access from all over the world in a 24/7 fashion. Examples include blogging tools, social networking systems, or wikis. These technologies help organizations to access customer knowledge, facilitate the collaboration with customers (Culnan, McHugh, & Zubillaga, 2010; Piller & Vossen, 2012) at reduced costs and allow them to address a much larger audience (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). On the other hand, customers can now express their needs in a more direct way to organizations. However, each technology or application category may present a completely different benefit to the process of innovation or parts of it and, thus, the innovation itself. Reflecting these developments, organizations need to know two things: how can they exploit the customers’ knowledge for innovation purposes and how may the implementation of social soft-ware support this. Hence, this research addresses the integration of customers in organizational innovation, i.e. new product development. It addresses how and why firms activate customers for innovation and which contribution customers provide to the process of innovation. Additionally, it investigates which tasks customers may take over in open innovations projects and which strategies organiza-tions may choose to do so. It also addresses which social software application supports each task best and how organizations may select the most suitable application out of a rapidly growing num-ber of alternatives. The nature of this research is recommendatory and aims at designing a solution for organizations that are interested in the potential contribution of customers during innovation, already involve customers in innovation tasks or plan to do so. Following the recommendations of this research should result in a more effective organizational exploitation of customer knowledge and their workforce and, thus, a value added to innovation and the outcomes of the process of innovation, e.g., a product that better fits the customers’ expectations and demands or consequently a better adoption of the product by the customer.:1 Introduction 2 Theoretical foundation 3 Research areas and focal points 4 Research aims and questions 5 Methods 6 Findings 7 Conclusion References Essay 1: The Role of External Knowledge in Open Innovation – A Systematic Review of Literature Essay 2: External Knowledge in Organisational Innovation – Toward an Integration Concept Essay 3: Idea Mining – Text Mining Supported Knowledge Management for Innovation Purposes Essay 4: How do Tasks and Technology fit? – Bringing Order to the Open Innovation Chaos