Bakgrund och problem: Konsultbranschen kännetecknas av en hög omsättning av aktörer. En anledning till att det ständigt alstras nya mindre aktörer till branschen är att den kan vara lukrativ med låga inträdesbarriärer. Men varför försvinner många aktörer lika fort som de kommer upp? Är det en brist på strategi och styrverktyg som ligger till grund för problemet? Kan det bero på svårigheten för småföretag att skapa sig en solid varumärkeslegitimitet, och finns det en möjligt att med hjälp av styrverktyg stärka företagets varumärkeslegitimitet? Fallföretaget som använts i den här studien är ett litet konsultföretag som vill stärka varumärkeslegitimiteten med hjälp av differentieringsstrategi på marknaden. Syfte: Syftet med den här studien är att med hjälp av en egenarbetad utvärderingsmodell utvärdera olika långsiktiga styrverktyg inriktade mot små konsult- och tjänsteföretags. Genom att utvärdera för- och nackdelar för tre utvalda styrverktyg och sedan applicera de på ett litet konsultföretag är förhoppningen att studien kan leda fram till rekommendationer gällande styrverktygens nytta och möjlighet till anpassning. Metod: I metodavsnittet förklaras vilka metodiska val som har använts i studien. En presentation av vilken forskningsansats som författarna har utgått efter förklaras också. Vidare så tydliggörs kritiken mot de källor som har använts i studien samt urvalet av data. Slutsats: Efter att styrverktygen utvärderats med hjälp av en egenarbetad utvärderingsmodell konstaterades det att det inte fanns ett optimalt styrverktyg men att alla innehöll värdefulla funktioner. Emellertid visade analysen att det styrverktyg som var mest användbart utifrån fallföretagets förutsättningar var det balanserade styrkortet på grund av dess multipla användbara funktioner och möjlighet till styrning enligt utvald strategi och mål. / Background and Problem: The consulting branch can be recognized by having a high turnover of operators. One reason for this is that the market can be lucrative with its low entry barriers. But why do many operators disappear as soon as they enter the market? Is it because of a lack of strategy and management tools? Could it be due to the difficulty for small businesses to create solid brand legitimacy, and is there a possibility to strengthen it by using management tools? The company used in this study is a small consulting company that desires to strengthen their brand legitimacy with the aid of differentiation strategy in the market. Purpose: With the help of a self-made evaluation model, the purpose of this study is to evaluate different long-term management tools geared towards small consulting and service companies. By evaluating the pros and cons of the three selected management tools and then apply those at a small consulting company, an expectation is that the study could lead to recommendations regarding the management tools benefits and possibilities for adaption. Method: In the methodology section the methodological choices of the study are explained. There is also a presentation of the research approach that has been used. Furthermore, the selection of data and the criticism of the sources used in the study are discussed. Results and conclusion: After that the management tools had been evaluated using the evaluation tool, it was found that there was no optimal management tool but that they all contained valuable features. However, the analysis showed that the management tool that was most advantageous based on the company’s prospects was the balanced scorecard because of its multiple useful features and its ability to control according to the company’s strategy and goal.

TV- och mediabranschen drivs på av teknikutveckling och är under förändring där allt fler konsumenter väljer att konsumera video via internet vilket ställer krav på aktörerna i TV-branschen. Traditionella TV-operatörer försöker förändra sina affärsmodeller, branschgränser blir mer otydliga där bolag som tidigare ansvarat för it-infrastrukturen försöker ta större del av värdekedjan, nystartade företag ser sin chans att konkurrera samt globala aktörer som Google och Apple blir allt större hot. För konsultbolag finns det i TV-branschen därför möjligheter att fylla ett marknadsbehov av branschspecifik rådgivning och resurser för att hjälpa TV- aktörerna med att anpassa sig till digitaliseringen. Konsultbolag som försöker etablera sig inom TV- och mediamarknaden behöver ta ställning till frågeställningar som hur brett erbjudande de ska ha, vilka kompetenser och roller de ska erbjuda och hur de uppnår en stark marknadsposition. Eftersom den framtida utvecklingen av den övergripande marknadskonfigurationen är oklar så skapar det också behov för sådana konsultbolag att förstå hur de skapar förutsättningar för långsiktig konkurrenskraft. Denna undersökning syftar därför till att undersöka positioneringsstrategier för långsiktig konkurrenskraft i konsultbolag inriktade mot branschen av media- och TV- lösningar. Studien har genomförts på företaget Eyevinn med hjälp av en kvalitativ fallstudie. Undersökningens metodik följer det Wahlbinska U:et och har haft ett explorativt angreppssätt för att skapa en bred förståelse för deras positioneringssituation. Den insamlade empiriska datan för studien baseras främst på intervjuer som är genomförda med anställda på fallföretaget Eyevinn och deras kunder. Analysen har utförts med ett holistiskt tillvägagångssätt och är uppdelad i två huvudsakliga områden. Det ena området har sin grund i affärsmodellssynsättet kompletterat med dynamiska förmågor. Det andra området har en bas i generell litteratur inriktat på positioneringsstrategi kompletterat med litteratur för positioneringsstrategi som är specifikt inriktat för konsultbolag. De underliggande analyserna har således blivit Utvärdering av långsiktig konkurrenskraft med grund i företagets förmågor och resurser, Matchning mellan fallföretaget och dess önskade position, Position relativt konkurrenter, Värdeerbjudandets konkurrenskraft, Position i värdekedjan och Utnyttjande av företagets marknadsroll. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att det är relevant för konsultbolag inom branschen av media- och TV-lösningar att förstå vilka mekanismer som finns tillgängliga i deras befintliga och eftersträvda marknadsroll för att förstärka deras konkurrenskraft. Vidare så visas att en differentieringsstrategi som specialist ställer höga krav på värdeerbjudandets substantiering men också att en sådan differentiering i sig själv kan användas för att förstärka substantieringen samt resonansen av värdeerbjudandet. Det visas även betydelsefullt att det internt, bland konsultbolagets personal, säkerställs att det finns en gemensam och enhetlig syn för konsultföretagets positioneringsstrategi och marknadsinriktning. ii Resultatet av affärsmodellsanalysen visar med hjälp av logiken i fallföretagets aktivitetssystem att det finns ett cyklist och självförstärkande samband (virtuos cycle) i aktiviteterna som leder till konsultföretagets förmåga att skapa legitimitet på marknaden för sin expertkunskap. Denna aktivitetscykel identifieras som kritisk för fallföretagets möjlighet att ta ut premiumarvoden och att förflytta sig närmre sin önskade marknadsposition som kunskapsledande. För att skapa förutsättningar för långsiktig konkurrenskraft i ett konsultbolag med en specialistdifferentiering så visar undersökningen att strukturer för hantering av kunskap blir betydelsefulla. Kunskapsstrukturerna bör stödja införskaffande, bevarande samt utvärderande för dess möjlighet att kommersialiseras med anledning att stärka en marknadsposition som kunskapsledande. Rekommendationerna som framtagits är riktade till fallföretaget Eyevinn för att hjälpa de att förstärka sin befintliga marknadsposition och förflytta dem närmre sin önskade position med långsiktig konkurrenskraft. Dessa är att på sikt ersätta deras interna befintliga kommunikationsverktyg och etablera en struktur för kunskapshantering, kunskapsbevarande och kunskapsdelning. I deras marknadsroll ska de för att stärka och skydda sin position hos sina kunder utnyttja mekanismer som förstärker kundernas switching costs. För att hantera interna skillnader i uppfattningen om Eyevinns positioneringsstrategi så föreslås fem grundläggande frågeställningar som de gemensamt bör gå genom. Uppsättning av rutiner för snabb kommersialisering av ny kunskap rekommenderas för att förflytta företaget närmre en position som kunskapsledande. Förbättrad redundans av företagets tillgängliga kompetenser föreslås göras genom ett tillvägagångssätt som innebär att kunduppdrag även stödjs “back office”. Eyevinns säljkommunikation rekommenderas anpassas för att främja deras möjlighet att samla på sig mer erfarenheter och därmed förstärka deras substantiering. Eyevinn rekommenderas att förstärka förtroendet från kunderna genom att fokusera på de aktiviteterna som är inkluderade i den virtuos cycle som skapar legitimitet i att besitta expertkunskap. / The TV and media market is affected by the modern development in technology which is transforming the industry and making it easier for consumers to consume video through the web which in turn puts new requirements and demands on the companies active in that market. Traditional TV-operators are trying to change their business models, market boundaries are becoming more unclear, firms that were previously responsible for the IT-infrastructure are now trying to expand their grasp on the value chain, new start-ups see their chance to compete and global actors such as Google and Apple are becoming an increasing threat. Consulting firms that are active in this market therefore have the opportunity to fulfill customers’ needs of market specific consulting and resources to help companies adapt to the digitalization. Consulting firms trying to establish themselves in the TV and media market needs to ask themselves questions such as what spread their offering should have, what competencies and roles they should offer, and how they should act to attain a strong market position. Since the future development of the marketplace is unclear, there is also a need for such consulting firms to understand how they create foundations for sustainable competitive advantages. This study therefore has the objective to examine positioning strategies that achieves sustainable competitive advantages for consulting firms in the TV and media market. The study has been conducted as a qualitative case study at the consulting firm Eyevinn. The research methods used for the study were based on the principles of Lekvall & Wahlbin and had an exploratory approach to create a genuine understanding of the problem. The collected data was primarily based on interviews conducted with employees at the company Eyevinn and their customers. The analysis has been performed with a holistic approach and is separated into two main areas. The first area has its basis in the business model approach complemented with dynamic capabilities. The second area has a basis in general management literature focused on positioning strategies complemented with literature for positioning strategies that is specifically targeted to consulting firms. The underlying analyses are Evaluation of sustainable competitive advantages with a basis in the company’s capabilities and resources, The fit between the case company and its wanted position, Position in relation to competitors, The value propositions competitive advantages, Position in the value chain and exploiting the company’s market role. The results of the study shows that it is relevant for consulting firms within the TV and media market to understand the mechanisms available in their current and desired market role to strengthen their competitive advantages. It’s also shown that a differentiating strategy as a specialist puts high demands on the value proposition’s substantiation however such a differentiation strategy in itself can also be used to strengthen the substantiation together with the resonance of the value proposition. It’s also of importance that the firm internally, amongst the company’s personnel, makes sure that there is a common and unified view of the consulting firms’ positioning strategy and market direction. iv The result of the business model analysis shows through the logic of the case company’s activity system that there is a cyclic and reinforcing connection (virtuous cycle) in the activities that lead to the consulting firms ability to create legitimacy on the market for their expertise and knowledge. This activity cycle is identified as critical for the case company’s ability to receive a premium price and to move closer to their wanted position as a knowledge leader. To create conditions for sustainable competitive advantages in a consulting firm with a specialist differentiation the study shows that structures for handling of knowledge are important. The knowledge structures should support acquiring, preserving and evaluating its possibility to be commercialized with the reason to strengthen the market position as a knowledge leader. The recommendations that have been formulated are aimed to help the case company Eyevinn with strengthening their current market position and to move them closer to their wanted position with sustainable competitive advantages. In a long term perspective Eyevinn should replace their current internal communication tool and establish a structure for knowledge gathering, knowledge preservation and knowledge sharing. Eyevinn should exploit switching costs-mechanisms available in their current market role to protect and strengthen the position they have. To handle the internal discrepancies in the understanding of Eyevinns positioning strategy we suggest that they should go through five basic questions together to address the situation. Eyevinn should establish processes to support quick commercialization of new knowledge in order to move Eyevinn closer to its wanted position of knowledge leaders in their market. An improvement of the redundancy of the firm’s available competencies is recommended by a process which includes back office support to its customer assignments. Eyevinn’s sales communication is recommended to be adapted to support their ability to gather more experiences which strengthens their substantiation. Eyevinn is recommended to strengthen the trust perceived by their customers by focusing on the activities included in the virtuos cycle that creates legitimacy for their expert knowledge.

Background: Global services, particularly professional services, have become one of the world economy’s fastest growing sectors and professionals are becoming increasingly important as a result of this shift. Inherent differences, characterizing professional services, result in a scarcity of empirical evidence on how marketing communications are perceived and executed. Additionally, clients play a big role in the co-creation of the service, making relationships and communication between clients and PSF critical. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate how PSFs communicate their services to clients. As an example of a PSF, the researchers chose to investigate the digital marketing agency, GA Agency, and their clients. This research aims to contribute to the academic field of services marketing and, more specifically, the stream of literature on PSFs and their communication and propose a theoretical model that represents their findings. Method: This research combines the interpretivism paradigm with qualitative research and an inductive approach, utilizing GA Agency as a single case study, to address the purpose of this research. The researchers designed open-ended, semi-structured research questions that were then posed to 11 employees of GA Agency and 2 of their clients. Conclusion: The findings of this research demonstrated the need for communication that is understandable for the clients, for example, in terms of resources. Additionally, educating the clients is important, to tackle the knowledge gap between agency and client, known as information asymmetry, and therefore build trust. Building a relationship between agency and client can help to enable communication and develop interactions and relationships simultaneously. This is represented in the conceptual model, showing the stages of relationship and according communication.

Globalization in the business environment today is something that affects almost every firm around the world. It has given opportunities not only to multinational enterprises (MNE) but also to small and medium enterprises (SME). In this study SME food service firms has been one of the main subjects and we find it interesting to investigate their internationalization process in the globalized market. This has been investigated with the help of a network approach and the main purpose of the thesis is to gain a deeper understanding in how SMEs in the food industry use a network approach when going into the international marketplace. The study used a qualitative case study as research method and the data has been gathered and analyzed from an interview with the CEO and founder of a food service firm in Sweden. The findings from the study suggest that it is crucial for SME food service firms to use their networks when expanding internationally. Furthermore, it is important to have a well thought out expansion strategy, including agents in the target market extending to strong market research. Our findings also suggest that SME characteristics are not fully applicable for SMEs in the food service industry. In addition to above, the findings also suggest that internal factors, for example a global mindset, is the strongest force in stimulating firms in the food service industry to start an internationalization process.

The purpose of this study is to answer the research question of how a service company (ServiceCo) could achieve a transfer price of its services. This is of particular interest, due to the growth of service firms that have rapidly increased and surpassed the manufacturing firms, as well as the dominant logic shifting towards services. However, the problem with this field of study is that transfer pricing with regards to the service industry, is a rather unexplored phenomenon in which the guidelines and theories are mostly directed towards manufacturing firms. This study uses a single case study approach where ServiceCo’s organizational characteristics were analyzed in order to attain the information required to understand how ServiceCo could achieve a transfer price of its services. Furthermore, this study uses the Eccles (1983) MAP and the OECD Guidelines, as well as incorporating Porter’s (1985) value chain. This study assesses that ServiceCo, in its current state, uses a sub-optimal transfer pricing method of its services. Therefore, a change in the transfer pricing method was suggested to ServiceCo. Given the organizational characteristics of ServiceCo, the results led to the conclusion that ServiceCo could benefit from a residual analysis in the profit split method, in which an actual full cost plus mark-up compensation could be used on its routine functions, and the residual profit could be split between the entities based on the intangible assets employed, functions performed and the risks carried.

Cette thèse a pour objet d’étudier les tensions que traversent les activités de services professionnels (audit, conseil...) depuis une trentaine d’années, à travers le prisme des enjeux d’équilibre de vie. Alors que ces entreprises sont mises en cause dans les medias pour leurs pratiques managériales encourageant leurs salariés à se dépasser sans cesse, elles n’ont jamais été aussi actives dans leur communication sur les enjeux de qualité de vie au travail. A travers l’analyse des travaux existants, nous montrons que le système incitatif en up- or-out des organisations professionnelles repose sur le présupposé que les professionnels aspirent principalement à être récompensés de leurs efforts par des bonus et des promotions. A travers l’analyse de 58 récits de carrière de consultants, nous identifions deux autres dimensions clés de leur expérience au travail : la nature des projets qui leurs sont assignés et l’équilibre de vie. Nous explicitons les techniques qu’ils mettent en œuvre pour tenter de répondre à ces aspirations. Dans un deuxième temps, après avoir analysé le discours managérial en vigueur dans 9 cabinets sur ces questions, nous décrivons - à travers l’étude comparative de deux cabinets de conseil – les ajustements qu’ils mettent en place pour mieux les soutenir. Nous discutons l’ampleur de la remise en cause du modèle d’organisation traditionnel de ces entreprises par ces évolutions, dans un contexte où elles sont de plus en plus menacées, que ce soit par une faible croissance de leurs activités, une pression sur les coûts, la sophistication de la demande des clients ou par un phénomène d’uberisation qui touche de façon croissante les services professionnels. / This thesis aims at studying the tensions that professional service firms (audit firms, consultancies...) have been facing for the past thirty years, through the lens of work-life balance. While these firms are increasingly questioned in the media for their managerial practices that encourage their salaries to excel themselves; they have never been so active in communicating on quality of work-life. Through a review of the literature, I show that the up- or-out incentive system of professional organisations lies on the assumption that professionals all mostly aspire to see their commitment rewarded by bonuses and promotions. Through the analysis of 58 consultants’ career stories, I identify two additional dimensions of their experience at work: the nature of the projects they are assigned and work-life balance. Then, the techniques they use to fulfil these aspirations are described. Second, after studying the managerial discourse on work-life balance in 9 consultancies, through the comparative case study of two firms I analyse the adjustments they have implemented to accommodate individual needs. I discuss the extent to which these evolutions challenge the traditional organisation of professional service firms, at a time when they are increasingly threatened by low levels of growth in the industry; pressure on cost; the sophistication of clients’ demands and the uberisation of the economy, which has also reached professional services.

The evolution of globalization and technology have changed the playground for international business and made it possible for smaller businesses to compete internationally among large and capital intensive companies. Markets become increasingly alike with converging product preferences and changing the world into one large integrated marketplace easily accessible for firms of all sizes. Recent research in the field of International Business has shed light on small firms that rapidly become international market players, called “born globals” (BGs). These firms’ behavior contradicting traditional theory, such as the Uppsala Model, which propose that internationalization is an incremental process where firms must gain market knowledge and psychical distance to markets to internationalize. The Uppsala Model describes internationalization as a relatively resource-demanding process. However, the BGs most often have scarce resources, but still manages to enter several markets simultaneously. Previous studies have focused on manufacturing exporting BGs when investigate this relatively new phenomenon. Yet, little light is shed on BG service firms and their internationalization. The purpose of this study is to investigate the facilitating factors of resource-scarce Internet-based service BGs’ internationalization and barriers connected to it. Thus, this study aims to fill the research field of BG Internet-based service firms with more empirical data. The research questions are formulated as followed: RQ1: What important factors enable internationalization for Swedish born global Internet-based service firms? RQ2: Do the perceived barriers to internationalization for SMEs apply to Swedish born global Internet-based service firms, or are there other barriers present in their internationalization? As a theoretical framework, the researchers have combined three main theories, explicitly the Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities and Business Models. Further, SMEs’ perceived barriers to internationalization are included in the theoretical framework as a sub-theory, to investigate if those barriers apply to BG Internet-based service firms. The researchers have performed a qualitative exploratory multiple-case study including six Swedish companies. The empirical data acquired is presented in a case-by-case structure relating back to the theoretical framework. The data has further been analyzed in a thematic way based on theories using the cross-case analysis technique. From the study, the researchers have found that the most important factors enabling internationalization for Swedish BG Internet-based service firms are an internationally standardized business model, human capital, and the level of dynamic capabilities. Regarding SME’s perceived barriers to internationalization, no clear pattern was found regarding the sample firms’ perceived barriers to internationalization. Which implies that more research is needed in this area.

This dissertation focuses on Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS). It aims to understand what these businesses are and to examine variety among them. In seeking to understand their diversity, I focus especially on the ‘knowledge bases’ at the core of their activities. The dissertation is based on three complementary studies. The first is a systematic review of the literature on KIBS. This is based primarily on a review of 130 carefully selected, relevant articles, and focuses on three questions: how are KIBS defined? how do KIBS compete? and how do KIBS innovate? The review shows that: (i) the literature is fragmented; most research does not build substantially on previous methods or findings; and (ii) while evidently heterogeneous, most of the literature has overlooked variety among KIBS. I also highlight what still needs to be known about KIBS.The second and third papers then focus on variety among KIBS, by classifying them according to their ‘knowledge bases’. In the first of these papers, I classify KIBS according to their primary knowledge bases, following the SAS Model, which identifies three: ‘analytical knowledge’, ‘synthetic knowledge’ and ‘symbolic knowledge’. Firms in three KIBS sectors: ‘architecture and engineering consultancy’; ‘specialist design’; and ‘computer and IT services’ are classified by their primary knowledge base according to information drawn from company websites. I then relate this classification to firm behaviour with respect to innovation, finding differences by primary knowledge base in the nature of the investments firms make to innovate, and in their propensities to innovate. In the second of the papers which relates ‘knowledge bases’ to KIBS, I develop the ‘knowledge bases’ approach conceptually, methodologically and empirically. Conceptually, I identify a hitherto unrecognised knowledge base: ‘compliance knowledge’. This relates to the knowledge of, and to interpretations of, laws and regulations. This knowledge base does not fit with any of the existing SAS types. Methodologically, I extract fuller information from company websites, and develop more sophisticated approaches to measurement, which allows multiple knowledge bases to be present in any one firm. Empirically, I successfully identify ‘compliance knowledge’, alongside ‘analytical’ and ‘symbolic knowledge’. I show that these are unevenly distributed across KIBS industries, including ‘advertising and design’, ‘architecture’, ‘engineering consultancy’ and ‘market research’, but importantly there is no one-to-one mapping between knowledge bases and industries. I discuss the implications of this, including for understanding the diversification of KIBS. This dissertation therefore contributes conceptually, methodologically and empirically to both understanding variety among KIBS and to the ‘knowledge bases’ literature.

This report combines theoretical and empirical findings to create a holistic framework for market oriented practices within professional service firms. Changes in the business environment of technology consultancy firms, has developed a need to adopt more structured procedures in assessing the market place and in responding, both through external activities as well as through internal optimization. An assumption was made that the market orientation concept was of relevance in addressing this need. A qualitative empirical investigation was conducted at a large professional service firm mainly operating within the construction consulting industry in Sweden. The result provides a conceptual framework for practising market orientation, based largely on empirical findings, which in the conclusion is summarized into a model to visualize the interconnection of the different parts of market orientation. The framework developed is ‘The Market Orientation Model’ which is made up four stages; (1) ‘Assess Current State’ in which the goal is to understand the current state of the firm; current market, current services and current competences. (2) ‘Collect Intelligence’ where the collection of market intelligence, using a set of different processes, about the needs and demands of current, new and internal customers should be gathered. (3) ‘Create Insight’ which is the process of identifying the Market Potential or the Market Demand through processes of organization wide dissemination and analysis of the gathered intelligence. (4a) ‘Create Response Initiative’ where the aim is to create new, or develop existing service offerings to meet the demand or need of the market. (4b) ‘Create Sales Initiative’ which is the initiation of a sales attempt of existing services to new or existing customers. The model creates a summarized picture of what constitutes market orientation and how it can be adapted to an organization. It can be used to create a standardized approach for an entire organization in building a market oriented firm. By continuously following this model in a market oriented firm, greater alignment with market should be achieved. / Denna rapport kombinerar teoretiska och empiriska resultat för att skapa ett helhetstäckande ramverk för marknadsorienterad verksamhet inom professionella tjänsteföretag. Förändringar i dessa företags omvärld har utvecklat ett behov av att införa mer strukturerade rutiner för att bedöma marknaden och genom både marknadsinsatser och interna processförbättringar möta dessa förändringar. Ett antagande gjordes att marknadsorientering var ett relevant koncept för att bemöta detta behov. En kvalitativ empirisk studie genomfördes på ett större professionellt tjänsteföretag på den svenska teknikkonsultmarknaden med inriktning mot byggbranschen. Resultatet består av ett konceptuellt ramverk för marknadsorientering, som till stor del bygger på empiriska resultat. Detta sammanfattas i en modell för att visualisera kopplingarna mellan de olika delarna av marknadsorientering. Ramverket benämns som "The Market Orientation Model" som består  av fyra steg; (1) "Utvärdera aktuellt läge" där målet är att förstå den nuvarande situationen för företaget, den aktuella marknaden, nuvarande tjänster och nuvarande kompetenser. (2) "Samla information" med  målet  att  samla  in  marknadsinformation  om  befintliga,  nya  och  interna  kunders tjänstebehov med hjälp av en uppsättning processer. (3) 'Skapa ins ikt’, som är processen för att  identifiera  marknadens  potential  eller  efterfrågan  genom  processer  för  organisatorisk spridning och analys av informationen som erhållits i steg två. (4a) ’Bemötande’ där syftet är att skapa nya, eller utveckla befintliga tjänsteutbud för att möta efterfrågan eller behov på marknaden.  (4b)  'Försäljningsinitiativ’  där  man  skapar  en  riktad  säljinsats  av  befintliga tjänster till nya eller befintliga kunder. Modellen ger en sammanfattad bild av vad som utgör marknadsorientering och hur den kan anpassas   till   en   organisation.   Det   kan   användas   för   att   skapa   ett   standardiserat tillvägagångssätt för en organisation att bygga ett marknadsorienterat företag. Genom att följa denna modell inom ett företag bör en bättre anpassning till marknaden uppnås.

New technology and digital transformations create disruptions for businesses, which new artificial intelligence (AI) technology is projected to do. Knowledge management (KM) and professional service firms (PSFs) play a critical role in the innovation-driven era of the knowledge economy. Both KM and PSFs rely on learning and knowledge, which are concepts that the AI-tool ChatGPT is also closely connected to. Since ChatGPT is newly launched, it is an uninvestigated phenomena. The research purpose is therefore to explore what role ChatGPT has in knowledge-creating processes within PSFs. An inductive, qualitative study is conducted through semi-structured interviews on a case study. Through thematic analysis weidentify who, how, when, and why ChatGPT is used in regards to knowledge-creating processes. The study concludes that ChatGPT is used by knowledge workers and primarily those who rely less on tacit knowledge. ChatGPT’s design results in it mainly being used for knowledge-creating processes involving explicit knowledge, and when such knowledge can be verified. Its main benefits are time efficiency and relevance. / Ny teknik och digitala transformationer gör att företag står inför förändring, vilket även ny artificiell intelligens (AI) förväntas orsaka. Knowledge management (KM) och professionella tjänsteföretag spelar en avgörande roll i den innovationsdrivna eran av kunskapsekonomin. Både KM och professionella tjänsteföretag förlitar sig på lärande och kunskap, vilket även AI-verktyget ChatGPT gör. Eftersom ChatGPT är nylanserat är det ett oundersökt fenomen. Forskningssyftet är således att utforska vilken roll ChatGPT har i kunskapsskapande processer inom professionella tjänsteföretag. En induktiv, kvalitativ studie genomförs genom semistrukturerade intervjuer på en fallstudie. Genom tematisk analys identifieras vem som använder ChatGPT, likaså hur, när och varför verktyget används i kunskapsskapande processer. Studien kommer fram till att ChatGPT används av kunskapsarbetare, främst de som förlitar sig mindre på tyst kunskap. ChatGPTs design resulterar i att den primärt används förkunskapsskapande processer som involverar explicit kunskap, samt när sådan kunskap kan verifieras. Dess främsta fördelar är tidseffektivitet och relevans.