Circular economy addresses the environmental crisis and its urge to adapt and reshape economic models towards more sustainability. Recent literature has provided rich knowledge on the concept and important conceptual research. Moreover, consequent existing research about drivers to engage in circular economy focuses on consumers and businesses but it is almost always limited to a commercial context. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore motivational factors to involve in a non-commercial context in circular economy. Through a qualitative approach, the single case study of a leisure bank network was conducted in Sweden. The concept of leisure bank is to lend sport and leisure equipment like a library would lend books for free. The findings show that some motivational factors previously identified in a commercial circular economy context also apply to a non-commercial circular economy context. However, this study contributes with the improvement of welfare as one additional driver for non-commercial circular economy engagement. Additionally, the findings revealed unexpectedly positive effects regarding commercial actors who are substantively affected by the network.    In line with this, circular economy has gained widespread interest among scholars and practitioners. This initiative to improve upon business models to cater the contemporary challenging social, economic, and environmental paradigm. Following a lead to expand research in this discipline, an empirical case study of a circular economy network is undertaken. A network based on exchange is identified as an important basis for the case and the study was undertaken following qualitative research in the form of interviews to those involved in the network. By gathering and analysing their insight, the importance of a network structure based on the exchange of resources was identified, finding that the interaction between the participants as a process which creates value in forms that contribute to an increase of welfare.

Pricing strategy for a company, business or organization is crucial in all industries. Being able to offer attractive prices affects suppliers and customers. Understanding a good and flexible pricing is essential for a company to get good results. Pricing models are a concept used to deepen the analysis of how pricing strategically affects organizations. In SaaS and startups, pricing models and pricing strategy are not always the focus, a common misconception companies do is focusing more on the product and therefore ending up in a market-based pricing strategy automatically because it is the easiest way of pricing. This is a problem because the product might be of higher value that a customer is willing to pay more for. The purpose of this study is to deliver a pricing strategy for the company Pickit. The study was divided into two sub-areas; customer and competitor. The project has been delimited by not examining which pricing models or pricing strategies competitors use. The work has also been limited to not following up on whether the solution will be accepted or implemented in the business. The study began with interviews with the company to create a deeper understanding of the problem. Subsequently, various interviews were conducted with customers and employees, literature studies, data collection of potential customers and competitors. Observations in the office were also made in order to study the culture. From the customer analysis, it was found that three out of forty customers’ accounts for 44% of total sales. From the competitor survey it was found that the competitors today are fulfilling the customer need in a broader way than Pickit can offer, but Pickit´s product has a value that is unique on the market. The project's conclusion suggests Pickit to base their pricing from a customerbased perspective with elements of competitor-based pricing in order to stay relevant on the market. The Equalizer pricing model supports the chosen pricing by visually making it clear to see what is included in Pickits pricing. / Prissättningsstrategi för ett företag, verksamhet eller organisation är avgörande i alla branscher och industrier. Att kunna erbjuda lockande priser påverkar både leverantörer och kunder vilket kan avgöra affärer. Att ha en förståelse för en bra och flexibel prissättning är väsentligt för ett företag ska få bra resultat. Prismodeller är ett koncept för att fördjupa analysen av hur prissättning strategiskt påverkar organisationer. Inom SaaS och startup är prismodeller och prisstrategi inte alltid i mest fokus, en vanlig miss är att företagen fokuserar mer på produkten och hamnar i en marknadsbaserad prissättningsstrategi automatiskt eftersom prissättning inte anses som det viktigaste, vilket gör att företagen tar den enkla lösningen först. Syftet med denna studie är att leverera en prissättningsstrategi för företaget Pickit. Studien delades in i två delområden; kund och konkurrent. Projektet har avgränsats genom att inte undersöka vilka prismodeller eller prissättningsstrategier konkurrenterna använder. Arbetet har även avgränsats till att inte följa upp huruvida lösningen kommer att accepteras eller implementeras i verksamheten. Studien inledes med intervjuer med företaget för att skapa en djupare förståelse för problemet. Därefter gjordes diverse intervjuer med kunder och anställda, observationer på kontoret för att exempelvis studera deras inställning mot förändring, datainsamling av potentiella kunder samt konkurrenter. Av kundanalysen kom det fram att tre av fyrtio kunder står för 44% av den totala omsättningen. Av konkurrentkartläggningen kom det fram att kundbehovet som konkurrenterna uppfyller i dagsläget bredare än vad Pickit kan erbjuda men att det värdeerbjudande Pickit erbjuder på marknaden är unikt. Projektets slutsats innebar att prissättningsstrategin som Pickit borde utgå från är kundbaseradprissättning med inslag av konkurrentbaserad prissättning för att hålla sig relevant på marknaden. Prismodellen Equalizer stödjer arbetet genom att visuellt göra det tydligt att se vad Pickit tar betalt och stärkte slutsatsen om vilken strategi som passar företaget.

Risk and return management is one of the core competencies of venture capital companies (VCCs) as they invest in young, innovative firms with a high return potential, but also high risk potential. Due to the liability of smallness, newness and financial constraints young, innovative firms are constantly under the threat of failure. In the scope of this dissertation are four related studies – three empirical studies and one literature review – analyzing the risk and return management of VCCs. In particular, risk assessment and risk management and value adding activities in the post investment phase were examined. In the first article, authors analyze which risks are relevant over the whole venture capital (VC) investment process and show how VCCs assess and documents risks in their deal documents. The second article studies risk management practices of VCCs. We show that the experience and the skills of the corresponding investment manager have a significantly negative impact on the failure risk of a venture. Article three analyzes value creation measures applied by VCCs. The results suggest that VCCs are highly engaged in supporting ventures in financial and human capital issues as well as in establishing strong governance mechanisms. The fourth article also deals with the foregone topic. This paper provides a literature analysis on value adding activity measures in VC investments, synthesizes the variables measuring the main levers of value adding and identifies directions for improvement in terms of data, variables and methods.:1. Introduction 2. The entire research project 3. Risk and return management of venture capital companies in the post-investment phase 3.1 Risk types and risk assessment in venture capital investments: A content analysis of investors´ original documents 3.2 Risk management in the venture capital industry: Managing risk in portfolio companies 3.3. Value adding activities of venture capital companies: A content analysis of investor´s original documents in Germany 3.4 Value adding activities in venture capital literature: A review on data, variables and methods 4. Further research in the venture capital field

his dissertation advocates that value and its creation are often misunderstood concepts since both lack robust comprehensive conceptual foundations from which to advance rigorous theoretical development and analysis. Furthermore, this dissertation characterized value as the subjective assessment of the total worth of benefits received for the price paid or costs, i.e. money, time, energy, etc. The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct a holistic examination of value through the lens of service-dominant logic (S-D) and several historical economic periods of thought. I conducted a comprehensive S-D literature review in conjunction with a conceptual Boardman Soft Systems Methodology to develop a systemigram that captured the most critical S-D concepts and interrelationships to clarify its purpose and future research opportunities. During this process, value was recategorized and simplified into five primary dimensions, i.e. nature, perspectives, measures, storage, and creation. I employed Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory to illustrate that value at the lowest level of abstraction is the efficient satisfaction of human needs. I also investigated value creation and introduced a comprehensive value creation conceptual framework. Value creation is seen as a continuum of activity of key processes, i.e. value co-production, value in exchange, and value co-creation, and key procedural elements, i.e. actors, resource integration, ecosystems, services exchange, institutions and institutional arrangements as essentials to value creation. In addition, this dissertation also presented a Leyden value concept to the S-D lexicon. This concept complements use-value to capture associate upstream co-production activities and efforts as stored potential value. This dissertation then employed this conceptual framework to perform two survey based empirical studies. The first tested Lusch et al. (2007) value-co-production framework and incorporated other constructs such as transaction cost, satisfaction, and future purchase intent into a single testable model. This study leveraged covariance based structural equation modeling with 477 respondents to simultaneously test the proposed model and advance Self Determination Theory and Transaction Cost Economics within the realm of value creation and S-D Logic. This research found that most of Lusch et al. (2007) hypotheses were supported and found statistical support for the inclusion of transaction cost as a construct that influences value-co-production. In addition, this study illustrated that value-co-production has a positive statistical association with satisfaction and its impact on consumer future purchase intent. Managerial, this study highlighted those customer characteristics and behaviors necessary to maximize value generation during co-production opportunities. Finally, this dissertation empirically investigated the importance of benefits and equivalent cost reductions to entice consumer purchase intention across two different products and services scenarios. In total, this research gathered over 2,500 observations through a series of eight between subject survey experiments. This research found that consumers choose benefits such as warranty enhancements for new vehicle purchases and complementary desserts for dining experiences to enhance purchase intention. In addition, this research often revealed that consumers significantly decrease purchase intention when offered small value enhancements, i.e. 1% price reductions. This research also discovered that narcissism is negatively associated with those consumers who chose a donation to social causes. Finally, enhanced value offerings for expensive vacations, either through benefit enhancements or cost reductions, fail to significantly impact consumer purchase intention. The results of this research advance rational choice theory into the realm of value creation and S-D. Managerially, this research found that benefits, whether singular or offered as a menu, are powerful tools for retailers to employ to enhance consumer purchase intention.

Today, manufacturing firms have started using e-commerce to sell their products and services online. The adoption of e-commerce has made it possible to move the interaction that has traditionally been made between a salesperson and customer through telephone or e-mail, towards making transactions online. However, even though e-commerce can help increase revenue or create competitive advantages, it is important for firms to understand the interaction that occurs when value is co-created in ecommerce. It is evident that there are strong drivers, but also challenges that firms need to be aware of in order to form a successful e-commerce strategy. Since little research exists on the interaction that takes place when value is co-created through e-commerce, the purpose of this study is to describe this interaction along with drivers and challenges that are associated with it. To answer the research questions, a qualitative study was conducted by interviewing managers from B2B manufacturing firms that are using ecommerce. The results show that interaction between provider and customer is improved by e-commerce. Easy access to information and new digital value proposals were found to be central interactions. Traditional dialogue is largely replaced by the ability for self-service, where the customer can themselves access information and manage orders. The main driver for providers to use e-commerce is strategic/competitive advantages with secondary drivers being efficiency/lower internal costs, and increased revenue. There are challenges associated with e-commerce. Primarily system integration and data security. The results from this research suggest that manufacturing firms should consider e-commerce in order to improve interaction with their customers to stay competitive in the future.

Background: In the past, the majority of products were sold in the retail industry through physical stores, making it possible for customers to interact and be personal with the retailers. The development of technology has made retailers move their operations to an online environment.    Problem: The problem of this paper is how companies that operate in an online environment can create relationships with their customers in the context of value creation. There exists limited research on how online retailers can create value creation and co-creation through e-commerce and m-commerce.   Purpose: This research aims to investigate what actions that are influencing value creation and value co-creation between firm and customer in the online sector of e-commerce and m-commerce. The thesis will examine if there exists a difference between e-commerce and m-commerce in terms of value creation and co-creation.    Method: This thesis is based on a qualitative research approach, the empirical findings were collected through an interview with the CEO of Please the Swede (PTS), followed up with six semi-structured interviews with the company's customers.   Results: It is evident that PTS carries out two different value-creating actions that enable the company to co-create value with its customers in e-commerce and m-commerce. Customer service and social media were identified as the two services that co-create value. It was also concluded that it did not exist any differences in terms of how value co-creation was created through PTS e-commerce and m-commerce.

Moving towards a more circular economic model is necessary in order to secure the sufficiency of vital raw materials and to achieve a balance between both economic and environmental prosperity. However, the discussion regarding circular economy from a business perspective is still rather limited, and the practical applications of circular economy are mostly related to waste management and industrial applications. Needless to say, circular economy is much more than just large-scale recycling. Circular economy, as a system which aims to ensure a more circular flow of resources, materials and energy, can embody a variety of expressions from closing resource loops to redesigning products, services and the nature of ownership towards favoring renting, sharing, reusing and other alternative ways of maximize the resource efficiency and extend product life. Hence, the principles of circularity can be applied across all industries, instead of just those operating in the industrial sector. Standing on the way of the development of a global circular economy is the perceived mismatched objectives of profit seeking businesses and sustainability advocators. Businesses want high sales levels and profit margins, whereas at the core of environmental sustainability is often to promote conscious consumption and cut down on activities resulting in pollution and waste. And because circular economy is often strongly associated with sustainability matters, businesses tend to stray away from it as it is considered to work against a company’s purpose of making profit. Yet here is the catch – instead of seeing circular economy just as a sustainability tool, it can also be considered as a viable business opportunity which when effectively exploited, can be a source of competitive advantage and a source of economic value

Som en konsekvens av den tekniska utvecklingen levereras affärssystem alltmer som en molntjänst. Detta innebär att IT-konsulters värdeskapande förändras vid implementering av molnbaserade affärssystem. Besitter IT-konsulterna inte rätt expertis kan det leda till felaktiga beslut samt ineffektiva lösningar. Därmed är det av yttersta vikt att undersöka hur IT-konsulters värdeskapande förändras som konsekvens av implementeringen och användandet av molnbaserade affärssystem. Syftet med studien är att bidra med ny kunskap om hur IT-konsulters värdeskapande kompetens och aktiviteter förändras som konsekvens av implementeringen och användandet av molnbaserade affärssystem. Med hjälp av datadriven tematisk analys har studien undersökt hur IT-konsulters värdeskapande förändras. I studiens slutsats presenteras sex förändringar i hur IT-konsulters värdeskapande kompetens och aktiviteter förändras som konsekvens av implementeringen och användandet av molnbaserade affärssystem. Ett exempel är att IT-konsulters värdeskapande blir att anpassa kundorganisationers affärsprocesser snarare än systemets processer. / Because of the technological development, Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are increasingly being delivered as a cloud service. This means that IT consultants' value creation may change when implementing cloud-based ERP-systems. If the IT consultants do not possess right expertise, it can lead to erroneous decisions and ineffective solutions. Thus, it is of the utmost importance to investigate how IT consultants' value creation has changed because of the implementation and use of cloud-based ERP-systems. The purpose of the study is to contribute new knowledge about how IT consultants' value-creating skills and activities changes because of the implementation and use of cloud-based ERP-systems. By using a data-driven thematic analysis the study examined how IT consultants' value creation changed because of cloud-based ERP-systems. The study's conclusion presents six changes in how IT consultants' value-creating skills and activities change because of the implementation and use of cloud-based ERP-systems. An example is that IT consultants' value-creation will be to adapt customer organizations' business processes rather than the system's processes.

Manufacturers dealing with complex products or systems are widely dependent on new technologies which can be utilized to create new business models. Servitization literature express an increased demand for advanced service offerings for manufacturers where revenues are generated by the performance and availability of their product. This stream of literature agree that maintenance organisations hold an important part of capturing the advantages of advanced servitization business models but that manufacturers often struggle with the deployment of digital technologies. Furthermore, studies within servitization imply that digital implementations and information management create value for manufactures, but a gap exists regarding how value is created. This study therefore explores and furthermore identifies the role of digitalized product information in maintenance services and how it creates value. The aim is to contribute with new insights regarding the realisation of advanced services within the service operations area. The research design is a multiple embedded case study including 10 interviews and a cost analysis. Technicians and maintenance managers are interviewed within companies who are i) manufacturers of complex products or systems and ii) have their own maintenance organisation. Two themes, “Convenience” and “Sustainability” were derived from the interviews to describe how value is created by the usage of DPI. Value is created by simplified processes, optimized time management, reduced consumption, optimized life-expectancy etc. through the usage of DPI in maintenance services of complex products or systems. Economic value in terms of cost reductions, sales optimizations and economic stability could be identified as holistic value created for the organizations, enabled by the two main themes. The results of the study indicate overlapping similarities with the existing literatures and address important aspects of how to realise the benefits of advanced services for manufacturers and what digital capabilities related to maintenance that can be utilized to successfully implement such services. / Tillverkande företag som hanterar komplexa produkter eller system är starkt beroende av ny teknologi som kan utnyttjas för att skapa nya affärsmodeller. Forskning inom tjänstefiering visar en ökad efterfrågan av avancerade tjänsteerbjudanden för tillverkande företag där intäkter genereras av produkternas prestanda och tillgänglighet. Dessa forskare är eniga om att underhållsorganisationer spelar en viktig roll för att fånga fördelarna med dessa avancerade tjänsteerbjudanden men att tillverkande företag ofta har svårigheter med att implementera digital teknik. Studier inom tjänstefiering påvisar att digitala implementationer och informationshantering skapar värde för tillverkande företag, men att ett forskningsgap som beskriver hur detta värde skapas existerar. Denna studie syftar därför till att utforska och identifiera rollen av digitaliserad produktinformation i underhållstjänster och hur det skapar värde. Målet med studien är att bidra med nya insikter angående förverkligandet av avancerade tjänsteerbjudanden inom litteratur för tjänstefiering. Studien är utformad som en multipel fallstudie som inkluderar 10 intervjuer och en kostnadsanalys. Tekniker och underhållschefer är intervjuade inom företag som är i) tillverkare av komplexa produkter eller system och ii) har en egen underhållsorganisation. Två teman, ”Bekvämlighet” och ”Hållbarhet”, härleddes från intervjuerna för att beskriva hur värde skapas genom användandet av DPI. Värde skapas genom förenklade processer, optimerad tidsåtgång, minimerad konsumtion, optimerad livslängd hos produkter osv. genom användningen av DPI i underhållstjänster av komplexa produkter eller system. Ekonomiskt värde i form av kostnadsreduceringar och optimerad försäljning kunde identifieras som holistiskt värde skapat för organisationerna, realiserat av resultatets två huvudteman. Studiens resultat indikerar överlappande likheter med existerande forskning och adresserar viktiga aspekter angående hur avancerade tjänsteerbjudanden förverkligas och vilka digitala förmågor relaterat till underhåll som kan utnyttjas för att på bästa sätt implementera sådana tjänster.

Det övergripande syftet med den här avhandlingen var att utreda om network coopetition, samarbete mellan konkurrerande aktörer, kan öka värdeskapandet inom hälso- och sjukvården. Inom hälso- och sjukvården är network coopetition ett ämne som fått liten uppmärksamhet i tidigare studier. För att besvara syftet utvecklades en modell för network coopetition inom hälso- och sjukvården. Modellen applicerades sedan på en del av vårdkedjan för patienter i behov av neurokirurgisk vård. Resultaten från avhandlingen visar att: (1) Förutsättningarna för network coopetition i vårdkedjan för patienter i behov av neurokirurgisk vård är uppfyllda. (2) Det finns exempel på horisontell network coopetition i den studerade vårdkedjan. (3) Det existerar en diskrepans mellan hur aktörerna  ser  på  sitt  eget  och  de  andra  aktörernas  värdeskapande. (4)  Värdeskapandet bör utvärderas som ett gemensamt system där hänsyn tas till alla aktörer och utvärderas på process- nivå där hänsyn tas till alla intressenter. Dessa resultat leder fram till den övergripande slutsatsen är att network coopetition bör kunna öka värdeskapandet för högspecialiserade vårdkedjor med en stor andel inomlänspatienter. / The overall purpose of this thesis was to investigate whether network coopetition, cooperation between competitive actors, can increase the value creation within the health care system. Within health care, network coopetition is a subject granted little attention in previous research. To fulfil the purpose a model for network coopetition within the health care system was developed. The model was the applied to one part of the chain of care for patients in need of neurosurgery. The results from this thesis show: (1) The conditions for network coopetition in the chain of care for patients in need of neurosurgery are fulfilled. (2) Examples of horizontal network coopetition have been found in the studied chain of care. (3) There is an existing discrepancy between how each actor recognizes its own and the other actors’ value creation. (4) The value creation ought to be evaluated as a common system where all actors are taken into account and at a process level where all stakeholders are considered. These results supports the final conclusion that network coopetition ought to be able to increase the value creation for highly specialized chain of cares with a large share of within-county patients.