The natural environment will become an increasingly important arena for economic competition in the future. The growing world population and the increased global consumption raise concerns about the sustainability of the current and future use of natural resources. Due to the growing global population the production of agricultural crops and food security is high on the global policy agenda. The purpose of this study has been to investigate the opportunities for a sustainable intensification in the Swedish cereals production and how the Lantmännen cooperative, a company active in the whole cereals value chain can act in order to enable the intensification. The research was conducted as a descriptive case study. Given the comprehensive nature of the purpose of this study, we have studied the Swedish agriculture from a system perspective in order to get the comprehensive understanding of its complexity. The findings presented in this report are based on data from multiple research methods such as interviews with stakeholder in the agriculture, database search, and archive searches. We show in this study that a sustainable intensification of the Swedish cereals production can be realized through utilizing the existing unused farmland registered by the farmer as fallow for a number of consecutive years in a row, which can be described as acreage that is not used for crop production but is still kept in farmable condition. Our study has identified four barriers hindering the intensification; Single payment system, Leasing contract, Logistics and Investment costs. To overcome these barriers we argue that the RO PSS business model is appropriate. By using this model Lantmännen will be able to deliver four different types of values to the farmers. The first value is the intangible value of identity, which let inactive farmers continue to live on their farms while being able to focus on other sources of main income. The second value we name ownerless consumption. This value offers farmers with little capital to start up or expand their production without having to invest in new machinery and equipment. The third value we call safety, which is connected to the barrier of lease contracts identified and the distrust between landowners and tenants. The fourth value, specialization, gives the farmer possibility to leverage overall cereals bulk production by including niche crops. We conclude by arguing that the opportunities for an intensification of the Swedish Cereals production lie in delivering these four values. / Naturen kommer i framtiden bli en alltmer viktig arena för ekonomisk konkurrens. En växande världsbefolkning och en ökad global konsumtion skapar oro kring hållbarheten i vårt användande av naturresurser. På grund av den ökande befolkningsmängden placerar sig frågor såsom produktionen av jordbruksgrödor och livsmedelsförsörjning högt upp på den globala politiska dagordningen. Studiens syfte är att undersöka möjligheter för en hållbar intensifiering av den svenska spannmålsodlingen och hur Lantmännen, ett kooperativt företag som verkar i spannmålets hela värdekedja ska agera för att möjliggöra intensifieringen. Med tanke på den övergripande karaktären av våra frågeställningar har vi studerat det svenska jordbruket ur ett systemperspektiv för att få en övergripande förståelse av dess komplexitet. Forskningen har genomförts i form av en beskrivande fallstudie. Våra resultat baseras på data från flera forskningsmetoder som intervjuer med intressenter inom jordbruket, databassökning, arkivsökning. Vår studie visar att en hållbar intensifiering av den svenska spannmålsodlingen kan realiseras genom att utnyttja befintlig oanvänd jordbruksmark som av jordbrukaren registrerats som träda i flera år i följd. Träda kan beskrivas som jordbruksareal som inte används till växtodling men som fortfarande hålls i odlingsbart skick. För att få denna mark i bruk och därmed möjliggöra en intensifiering krävs det att få bukt med fyra identifierade barriärer inom det svenska jordbrukssystemet; Gårdsstödet, Arrendekontrakt, Logistik och Investeringskostnader. Vi hävdar, baserat på våra resultat och analyser, att affärsmodellkonceptet RO PSS är lämplig att använda då Lantmännen ska lyckas få bukt med barriärerna. Denna modell kommer leverera fyra olika värden till jordbrukarna. Det första värdet har vi döpt till Identitet och är av en immateriell natur som vilket låter inaktiva jordbrukare fortsätta bo kvar på sina gårdar medan de inriktar sig på andra inkomstbaserade verksamheter. Det andra värdet gav vi namnet Ägandefri konsumtion. Detta ger värde till jordbrukaren i form av att jordbrukaren inte behöver låna pengar för höga  investeringskostnader i maskiner och infrastruktur vid uppstart eller expansion av verksamheten. Det tredje värdet kallar vi för Säkerhet, vilket är relaterat till barriären arrendekontrakt där vi har funnet en misstro mellan markägare och arrendatorer. Det fjärde värdet, Specialisering, ger jordbrukaren möjlighet att blanda in specialgrödor i sin produktion, och på så vis skapa en hävstång åt bulkproduktionen. Vår slutsats är att möjligheterna för en intensifiering av den Svenska spannmålsodlingen ligger i att kunna leverera dessa värden.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the potential impact of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) innovations on the power industry. A short historical review is provided on the so-called ‘War of the Currents’, which has placed alternating current (AC) as the dominant platform for power transmission. The revival of DC in high voltage transmission is here examined as a reverse salient, as various indicators show that the role of HVDC in the power industry seems to be constantly growing. In this thesis the potential of HVDC to drive industrial change is put to question, and an effort is made to define that change; questions are being addressed such as ‘how likely is HVDC to gain a more important role in power transmission, and what may that role be?’ and ‘how may the power market look like after a wider implementation of HVDC in power systems?’. The competition between ABB and Siemens (and at a lower level Alstom), market leaders in HVDC technologies, is analyzed with specific regard to the pursuit of inventing a HVDC circuit breaker; a technological leap that has been considered necessary for overcoming a number of obstacles to creating a DC grid. As of November 2012, ABB has developed the world’s first HVDC circuit breaker, acknowledged as a technological breakthrough. An attempt is being made to evaluate the impact of this innovation in terms of enhancing ABB’s entrepreneurial activity and granting the company with a competitive edge. Furthermore, the vision of developing DC grids – and thus R&D investments for the invention of a HVDC circuit breaker – is approached as a case of climate change being a main driving force for innovation, since this novel invention promises to make easier the integration of more renewable energy sources in power systems. This co-evolution of environment policy and innovation strategy is examined under the scope of Erik Dahmén’s theory of development blocks. Finally, ABB’s recent innovation is considered a disturbance in the system capable of bringing implications on the market that are here interpreted as a case of creative destruction, based upon Schumpeter’s terminology. In the conclusion section possible threats for Siemens and Alstom are also realized, and the need for them is questioned to go through changes in order to remain competitive, a situation that is here regarded as a case of transformation pressure.

This dissertation is intended to further technology studies by analyzing some of its important methodological tools and using those tools in combination to study complex technological systems in an historical context. The first chapter of the dissertation examines in detail four influential models by which complex technological systems have been analyzed: Hughes's system model, Bijker's social construction model, Latour, Callon, and Law's actor-network model, and Ruth Schwartz Cowan's consumption junction model. For each model, I summarize the seminal works, analyze the uses of the model in the literature, and offer some refinements to the models based on that analysis. Chapter 2 presents three case studies applying these models two different technological systems. First, the early development of the American automobile industry, 1895 to 1940, is studied using Hughes's concepts of technological momentum and reverse salients. Second, the automobile's impact on American society is explored over the same time period relying on Ruth Schwartz Cowan's consumer-oriented perspective and Wiebe Bijker's concept of technological frames. The third case study examines the technological means by which, over a long period of time, American cities were rendered impervious to huge conflagrations—commonplace until the end of the 19th century. For the analysis of this system, I use actor-network theory, Wiebe Bijker's technological frames, and Hughes's reverse salients. / Ph. D.

This thesis proposes the use of a sociotechnical systems approach for analysing project management in nondeterministic project progress. The academic context of the research covers the domain of general systems theory, more specifically sociotechnical systems, and that of project management. The empirical part of the research comprises of a questionnaire spread amongst project managers in technical service firms in the built environment sector. The research shows that there are research opportunities in project management to which the sociotechnical approach to temporary project organisations can contribute.

Concern regarding sustainability and climate change is increasing, which is forcing countries world-wide to take action. The Swedish government has set a goal of fossil-free tra_c until 2030. Battery Electric Buses (BEB) might be one of the solutions needed in order to reach this goal. However, currently its prevalence is at an early stage.   The purpose of this study is to investigate how the technological transition towards BEBs in Sweden a_ects the public transport operators (PTOs). Moreover, to investigate how a third party service provider of Fleet Management System (FMS) services can support the PTOs in this transition.   The research has been carried out in co-operation with a PTO and a FMS service provider. The research contributes to their current understanding of how they will be a_ected by the emerging technological transition. This thesis also contributes with new empirical data of the technological transition towards electric vehicles within public bus transport, seen as a Large Technical System. Conceptually it contributes, by exploring how external companies can support the technological transition towards BEBs, with the application of Technological Transitions theory and the Multi Layer Perspective framework.   The methodology used is a case study of the technological transition towards BEBs in Sweden. Data was collected through twelve semi-structured interviews with researchers, PTOs, public transport authorities (PTA), a BEB manufacturer and a FMS-service company. Parallel to this a questionnaire was distributed to the twenty largest PTOs in Sweden. Moreover data was collected from company visits, pilot-project results and internal documentation.   Our findings show that there are thirteen perceived barriers present among the PTOs, in the process of BEB adoption. Six of these barriers relate to component aspects of BEBs, and seven relate to managerial aspects. Perceived barriers linked to component aspects of BEBs are; Variation in solutions and lack of technical standards, the Charging infrastructure, Shorter range or decreased load capacity, Unknown functionality in cold climate, Reliability and Durability. Perceived barriers linked to managerial aspects of BEBs are; Lack of knowledge and experience, Behavioral change, Economy, Maintenance, Ownership of infrastructure and buses, Business models and Varying requirements from PTAs. The barriers FMS-service providers can address are primarily, due to the technological nature of the services, present at niche level. PTOs together with FMS-service providers are encouraged to together strive towards gaining deeper knowledge about the new emerging echnologies. Through this, PTOs could be enabled to overcome the aforementioned barriers. Three reverse salients were also identi_ed, linked to the aforementioned barriers. If the everse salients are assessed, BEB acceptance among PTOs could be increased. The three identi_ed reverse salients are, the battery technology, the charging infrastructure and the contracts/ownership. The co-operation with the commissioning PTO and FMS-service provider has led to valuable access to Swedish public transport actors, and has aided in a deeper understanding of the phenomena. Although, this co-operation might have exposed us to a risk of being influenced.