This research paper examines the enablers of technology diffusion in the field of cell and gene therapy. Recent scientific advancements for cell and gene therapies have provided personalized and potentially curative treatments to patients who otherwise would have suboptimal or no options for their disease. This innovative science has taken more than 60 years to reach patients, and even with FDA approvals in 2017, global diffusion has encountered many rate limiting aspects. To better understand why diffusion of transformative treatments is stunted, this research examines knowledge transfer as an enabler of technology diffusion in the healthcare sector. Two qualitative and inductive studies were conducted to identify the enablers of diffusion. Study 1, an exploratory, archival analysis, compares historically innovative technologies and documents the representative knowledge transfer archetypes that enable diffusion. The findings resulted in a new archetype of knowledge transfer, referred to as the Cross Sector Collaboration (CSC) Pathway. Study 2 is an industry-level case study which asks how the transfer of knowledge is enacted in the cell and gene sector, examines the relevance of the CSC Pathway, and explores differences in the knowledge transfer process among the various types of organizations (public, for-profit, non-profit) that support the sector. There were three key findings from the research. First, the research expands on the interconnectedness between the theories of Diffusion of Innovations, Absorptive Capacity and Knowledge Creation. Second, the research finds evidence to support the critical role of knowledge transfer in the diffusion of technologies involved in cell and gene therapies. Third, the findings produce a new framework for knowledge transfer, termed the Cross Sector Collaboration Pathway. The dissertation findings contribute to the literature as they provide a framework for collaborative knowledge transfer mechanisms that cell and gene therapy firms, together with industry stakeholders, can employ to enable efficient diffusion of technology in this rapidly growing field. / Business Administration/Strategic Management

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Background: An ever-changing environment requires organizations such as universities to rapidly adaptto any new circumstances imposed by internal or external shocks. The role of rapid adaptation in virtualitybecomes crucial in times of crisis when organizations have to either adapt or risk collapse. Universities arethreatened by abrupt changes in their teaching routines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and more that maycome. The process of transitioning to new teaching routines, short of social interaction, requires a multi-pronged response. Understanding routines, their rapid adaptation, the role of virtual tools and agencypresents a window of opportunity for responding to uncertainty. Aim: The aim of this study is to gain insights on how rapid adaptation occurs through the processes of routine re-adjustment, regeneration facilitated by the intellective processes of sense-making, collaboration,and knowledge transfer and sharing within organizations. Methodology: By conducting a qualitative case study, we investigated two universities in Sweden and Zimbabwe. The qualitative study is based on 15 interviews with teaching staff at Linköping University andthe University of Zimbabwe, conducted through semi-structured interviews. This study followed a processstudy approach to investigate how routines are adapted and the effect of artifacts in the adaptation processof teaching staff at universities. Findings: We posit that teaching staff from the two case universities contributed significantly to the rapid adaptation process. This was achieved through sense-making involving heuristic processes whenresponding to adjustment in online virtual teaching routines. This prevented the routine from collapsingand, instead, led to its adjustment. Some old teaching routines remained unchanged, thereby enabling theadjustment process. Artifacts (virtual tools) have also contributed to both constraining and enabling thetransition to new routines. The virtual tools used during the transition were few in number, with simplefunctionalities. Moreover, teaching staff committed themselves to quickly adapt and use the new virtualtools, even without prior knowledge, effectively making adaptation more rapid.

Offentlig upphandling av byggentreprenader är en komplex process som involverar både generell kompetens inom upphandling relaterad till upphandlingsförfaranden enligt Lagen om offentlig upphandling och kompetens inom projektledning för att välja entreprenadform, ersättningsform, samverkansform och för att utforma tilldelningskriterier. En utveckling av upphandlingen förutsätter att projektledare, och upphandlare, samarbetar och är involverade i utvecklingsprocessen. För att de två olika kunskapsområden ska integreras med varandra krävs det att socialisation sker mellan rollerna enligt SECI-modellen. Kunskapen behöver vidare överföras på en högre, organisatorisk nivå för att utveckla upphandlingsarbetet. En förutsättning är att kunskapen kodifieras för att, enligt SECI-modellen, kunna internaliseras av andra medarbetare inom en organisation. Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka hur samarbetet mellan upphandlare och projektledare fungerar när det kommer till utveckling av det offentliga upphandlingsarbetet av byggentreprenader och hur kunskapsöverföring kan se ut i upphandlingsfasen. En fallstudie genomfördes med fyra upphandlande myndigheter med empiri som hämtades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med upphandlare och projektledare i de fyra olika fallen. En intervju med en representant från Upphandlingsmyndigheten genomfördes också för att undersöka hur de stödjer utvecklingsarbetet hos de upphandlande myndigheterna. Empirin analyserades med teorier om kunskapsöverföring och kunskapsintegration. Resultatet visade att samarbetet påverkas av hur centraliserad organisationen av upphandlingsfunktionen är. Ju mer centraliserad en organisation av upphandlingsfunktionen var desto färre tillfällen för kontakt verkade ske mellan rollerna. Detta kan leda till att processen socialisation inte sker i tillräckligt hög utsträckning vilket i sin tur kan påverka tillgången till kodifierad kunskap. Arbetet med kunskapsöverföring varierade mellan de fyra olika fallen och kan förklaras med att de har olika förutsättningar och resurser för att åstadkomma kunskapsöverföring på kollektiv nivå. Detta visar sig även i utnyttjandet av Upphandlingsmyndighetens stödfunktioner där interna resurser inom de upphandlande myndigheterna kan täcka detta behov av stöd. Däremot utnyttjades den kodifierade kunskapen i form av exempelvis kriteriedatabaser frekvent av samtliga upphandlande myndigheter i studien. / Public procurement of construction contracts is a complex process that involves both general competence in procurement related to procurement procedures according to the laws of public procurement, and competences in project management to choose contract delivery form, payment form, collaboration form and to design the selection of supplier. A development of the procurement requires that project managers, and procurers, cooperate and are involved in the development process. In order for the two different areas of knowledge to be integrated with each other, it is required that socialization takes place between the roles according to the SECI model. The knowledge also needs to be transferred on a higher, organizational level to develop the procurement work. A prerequisite is that the knowledge is codified so that, according to the SECI model, it can be internalized by other employees within an organization. The purpose of this work is to investigate how the cooperation between procurers and project managers works when it comes to the development of the public procurement of construction contracts and how knowledge transfer can look like in the procurement phase. A case study was conducted with four contracting authorities and empirical data was obtained through semistructured interviews with procurers and project managers in the four different cases. An interview with a representative from The National Agency for Public Procurement was also conducted to investigate how they support the development of the contracting authorities. The data were analyzed with theories of knowledge transfer and knowledge integration. The results showed that the collaboration is affected by how centralized the organization of the procurement function is. The more centralized the organization is, the fewer opportunities of contact are taking place between the roles. This can lead to the socialization process not taking place to a sufficient extent, which in turn can affect the availability of codified knowledge. The work with knowledge transfer varies between the four different cases and can be explained by the fact that they have different prerequisites and resources for achieving knowledge transfer at a collective level. This is also evident in the utilization of the support functions of The National  Agency for Public Procurement, where internal resources within the contracting authorities can cover this need for support. On the other hand, codified knowledge in the form of, for example, criteria databases are used frequently by all contracting authorities in the study.

Produktutvecklingen är i ständig rörelse. Företag arbetar kontinuerligt med att befinna sig i framkant och att erbjuda nya innovativa lösningar för att kunna konkurrera om marknadsandelar. Det tillsammans med att kunskap har blivit en allt viktigare tillgång för företagen har väckt frågor kring kunskapsbevaring men även kunskapsöverföring. Att överföra kunskap mellan projekt bygger mycket på att ta vara på befintlig kunskap och vidareutveckla den så att hjulet inte ska behöva uppfinnas på nytt. Konsekvenserna av att kunskap gått förlorad kan bli både kostsamt och ineffektivt för ett företag som ständigt vill ligga i utvecklingens framkant. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka strategier utvecklingsavdelningen hos ett mindre företag valt för att bevara kunskap inom organisationen. Studien har även undersökt hur kunskap sprids mellan medarbetarna samt vilka metoder som anammats för kunskapsöverföring mellan projekt. Inledningsvis utfördes en litteraturstudie för att studera vilka etablerade metoder det finns för kunskapsbevaring och kunskapsöverföring. Vidare genomfördes en kvalitativ undersökning där olika yrkesroller inom produktutveckling på ett specifikt företag intervjuades. Detta i syfte att få en inblick i vilka metoder och strategier företaget valt att använda. Resultatet från den kvalitativa undersökningen användes sedan för analys mot litteraturen för att granska företagets valda metoder för kunskapsbevaring så väl som kunskapsöverföring. Vidare kunde sedan slutsatser kring dessa dras. Studien visade på att utvecklingsavdelningen har databaser som utgör en stor del av kunskapsbevaringen. En drivande faktor som gynnar avdelningens dokumentation är medarbetarnas motivation. Individen ser nyttan i det samt känner en vilja till att dokumentera då det underlättar deras arbete. Dock kan denna strategi inte säkerställa att rätt kunskap bevaras. Vad gäller kunskapsöverföring används flertalet strategier. Databasernas användarvänliga struktur främjar återanvändning av kunskap. En stor del av spridningen sker även via möten. Utvecklingsavdelningen har byggt upp ett trevligt klimat där mentaliteten alla hjälper alla florerar vilket bidrar till individens vilja att delge kunskap. På avdelningen arbetar de aktivt med att integrera kunskap från ett projekt till nästa med hjälp av flera metoder vilket är idealt för att ta vara på befintlig kunskap. Kunskapsöverföringen mellan projekt kan anses mindre kritisk när företaget är av mindre storlek då ett mindre antal medarbetare medför att projektmedlemmar återanvänds i större utsträckning än på ett större företag. / Product development is in constant motion. Companies are constantly striving to be at the forefront and to offer new innovative solutions to stay relevant. This, together with the fact that knowledge has become an increasingly important asset for the companies, has raised questions about knowledge management and knowledge transfer. Transferring knowledge between projects is based on taking advantage of existing knowledge and further developing it so that the wheel does not need to be reinvented. The consequences of losing knowledge can be both expensive and inefficient for a company that wants to be at the forefront of development. The purpose of this study is to investigate which strategies the development department of a smaller company has chosen to preserve knowledge within the organization. The study has also investigated how knowledge is disseminated between the employees and the methods adopted for knowledge transfer between projects. A literature study was executed to study the established methods for knowledge preservation and transfer of knowledge. Furthermore, a qualitative study was performed in which different professional roles in product development at a specific company were interviewed. This is in order to gain an insight into the methods and strategies the company has chosen to use. The results of the qualitative study were analyzed and then discussed to investigate which knowledge preservation methods are used at the company. The company's methods for transferring knowledge were also analyzed and further conclusions could be drawn. The study showed that the development department has databases that make up a large part of the knowledge preservation. A driving factor that favors the department's documentation is employee motivation. The individual sees the benefit in it and feels a willingness to document as it facilitates their work. However, this strategy cannot ensure that the right knowledge is retained. In terms of knowledge transfer, several strategies are used. The user-friendly structure of the databases promotes the re-use of knowledge. A large part of the dissemination also takes place via meetings. The development department has built up a nice climate where the mentality is that everyone helps everyone, which contributes to the individual's willingness to share knowledge. In the department, they work actively to integrate knowledge from one project to the next by means of several methods, which is ideal for utilizing existing knowledge. Knowledge transfer between projects can be considered less critical when the company is smaller in size, since a smaller number of employees means that project members are reused to a greater extent than at a larger company.