Corporate entrepreneurship has gained renewed interested in research since global markets are evolving and industries become more and more competitive. Information is transferred across the globe rapidly so that products and processes can be copied quickly. In order to be competitive, companies need to enhance creativity, their technological knowledge and market know-how. This high competitiveness leads to a dilemma where innovation is a key to survive whilst the size and administration may signify barriers to replicate entrepreneurial behavior through the entire business.   Considering the relevance of corporate entrepreneurship in the rapidly changing market of the 21st century, our purpose was to develop a deeper understanding of how corporate entrepreneurship can be used by companies. We then looked deeper into the subject of organizational transformation and decided to do a case study. The aim of the research was to make a theoretical contribution by examining the subject in the context of a medium-sized enterprise in a specific environment where corporate entrepreneurship is vital. Therefore, we chose a medium-sized German company that operates in the increasingly complex and competitive process automation industry. The Gefeba Elektro GmbH was found to be an interesting case for a case study for several reasons. The company was situated in a highly competitive market, in the heart of the industrial ‘Rurhgebiet’, with numerous competitors. However, and despite the lack of resources faced by this SME, Gefeba is an important actor in the automation industry.   Although researchers have examined various factors that promote corporate entrepreneurship, the literature has focused on defining factors in isolation without linking them to architectural factors, especially when it comes to SMEs. These factors are defined in our study as leadership, culture, structure and strategy. Acting within the extremes of small businesses and large corporations, we focus our study on a single medium-sized company that enables us to reach different levels of the organization and grasp a holistic understanding of this specific organization in relation to its use of CE. In accordance to this, the main research question is: How does Gefeba Elektro GmbH use corporate entrepreneurship in the automation sector industry?   The study was conducted using a qualitative research method. One of the major findings is that the Gefeba Elektro GmbH is using a balance between the organizational antecedents of common values and flexibility to build a mechanism that aligns the organizational architecture towards the development of corporate entrepreneurship. Another aspect is the fact that every architectural factor is used for the development of CE, even if some architectural factors such as leadership and culture seem to have more importance in this development. Thereby, the findings about organizational antecedents and architectural factors are relevant for the managerial implications in others SMEs facing the same context as Gefeba Elektro GmbH, which are willing to implement corporate entrepreneurship without knowing exactly how to do it. Indeed, the lack of resources of an SME could however allow developing organizational transformation through a sensitive equilibrium between the common values and beliefs for the control and the flexibility for the innovation. Moreover, another point highlighted in our findings is the crucial role of the individual in the implementation and development of corporate entrepreneurship.

British manufacturing Abstraot Companies have been slower to automate their facilities, and computerise their information systems, than many of their overseas competitors in Europe, North America and Japan. Initially, this research studied advanced manufacturing technology, (AMT), systems theory, the UK economy and investigated the underlying reasons for and against company' s decisions to automate. Automating procedures were studied for a sample of 20 Engineering companies with particular attention paid to their; systemic approach to implementing AMT, inter-business activity communications, individual company strategies, operational tactics, and implications from previous installations. This information was supported by questionnaires targeted at UK design engineers' and equipment suppliers. Interviews with Trade Unions, financial institutions, professional institutions and Government, were also arranged. The research found that correctly implemented AMT, with the optimum balance of flexibility and complexity, improved businesses' competitiveness, although many operational efficiencies could be attained merely by rationalising existing systems. When a company implements AMT it is critical that they synchronise the equipment with additional complementary systems and manufacturing resources. However, every company has their own unique solutions due to the historical evolution of factory facilities, product ranges and employee skills. The restrictive practices adopted the financial accountants and many of the Trade Union were found to restrain the rate of implementation for AMT and the move towards total integrated businesses. The research analysis yielded a ten point model for the strategic and tactical management of advanced manufacturing systems. Finally, the work concludes by identifying "accounting systems", and procedures for "designing for manufacture", as areas which deserve further investigation.

This master thesis is done at CrossControl, a company in the automation industry. A literature review was done covering state of the art technology of eye-tracking and gaze control and how it can be used in the automation industry. One purpose with the study was to indentify features important for an eye-tracker in automation applications. Findings suggests that there are no standard methods for measuring the performance of trackers and further that performance in regard to gaze control is limited by physiology of the eye rather than limitations of the devices. The differences between trackers are found in robustness when it comes to differences in people or conditions in the environment. A prototype was made for demonstration. The prototype was built on equipment used in the industry combined with an eye-tracker from Tobii. A library, where coordinates from the eye-tracker were used to indicate what object in the interface was gazed upon, was implemented and used to demonstrate concepts such as buttons outside the screen activated by gaze.

The process to identify and describe target markets can be challenging for marketers due to the complexity of B2B markets and industrial products. This case-based study aims to bridge the gap between theory and praxis by developing a process to determine target markets for Siemens SIMATIC controllers, which are highly technological products designed for process control and used in industrial applications. The author conducted a literature review to investigate the current understanding of B2B market segmentation and target marketing and collected qualitative data from Siemens. This study defines segmentation variables leveraging segmentation models as a foundation to build and describe customer clusters. Next, target markets for SIMATIC controllers, focused on redundant systems, are selected and mapped. On that basis, the author derives a process for reviewing and defining target markets for the existing controller portfolio and future product launches.

Purpose - The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how Industry 4.0, with a focus on automation, can influence the need for production personnel in production. Industry 4.0 is upon us, therefore it is interesting to see what importance does production personnel have for prodcution today? And how is the production staff's role in production affected by increased automation? Method - In order to fulfil the purpose of this thesis a study was made to enlighten the problem area. Together with literature study, a solid theoretical reference frame was created that further strengthens the problem area. Lastly, interviews were made with three businesses. Once all this information was gathered, an analysis was made, that lead to conclusions.  Findings - The result of this study shows that employees today are not as interchangeable as feared. The first step is semi-automation, but that does not equal the cancellation of the working man. Instead there will be a cooperation between the employees and machine. There is a risk that the number of employers in production will decrease, but machines will never replace them entirerly. The result shows that production personnel have no reason to fear technology or see it as a threat, beacuse the employee today is till an important resource.  Implications - According to the result, automation as a whole is not as big of a threat today as feared, the first step is instead semi-automation. Since the writer chose to look at bigger companies instead of focusing on smaller ones that lack the possibility to even out the difference between automation and production personnel, it might have been interesting to have their view of the matter. It might have shown a different result.  Limitations - This thesis strives to answer above mentioned questions, focus has been put on bigger, and more developed, companies. Furthermore, no attempt has been made to look closer at the employees of these companies, instead all interviews have been made with personnel working at an executive level as well as those knowledgeable in automation.

Die europäische Fertigungsindustrie steht vor großen Veränderungen, die durch die zunehmende Nachfrage der Kunden nach maßgeschneiderten und/oder intelligenten Produkten, Industrie 4.0 Lösungen und Öffnung der Produktionsketten für Newcomer getrieben werden sowie durch die Veränderung hin zu Wertschöpfungsketten, in denen die Rollen von Lieferanten, Herstellern und Einzelhändlern verschwimmen. Diese sich dynamisch wandelnde Umwelt erfordert eine Anpassungsfähigkeit der Mitarbeiter, Fertigungswerkzeuge und Prozesse. Neue IKT-basierte Lösungen erleichtern einen Paradigmenwechsel, der Fabrikarbeiter als zukünftige "Wissensarbeiter" in den intelligenten Fabriken sieht, welcher nicht nur durch die Einführung neuer Technologien in die Fabriken gelingen kann. Arbeitsabläufe müssen umgestaltet werden und neue Ansätze zur kontinuierlichen Weiterentwicklung sind erforderlich. Bei der Verschiebung der Arbeitsaufgaben hin zur Wissensarbeit müssen bei der Anpassung der Arbeitsumgebungen zunehmend die Unterschiede bei den kognitiven Fähigkeiten berücksichtigt werden. Das hier vorgestellte Forschungsprojekt Factory2Fit zielt darauf ab, die menschlich zentrierte Fertigung auf ein neues Niveau zu bringen, indem den Mitarbeitern eine führende Rolle bei der Anpassung und Entwicklung ihrer eigenen Aufgaben zukommt. Das Hauptziel des Projektes ist es, adaptive Automatisierungslösungen zu entwickeln und zu pilotieren, die den Arbeitsablauf verbessern, den Arbeitnehmer dabei unterstützen, seine Kompetenzen zu entwickeln und die Mitarbeiter dazu befähigen, Wissen zu teilen und sich an der Gestaltung ihrer eigenen Arbeit zu beteiligen. Das Projekt Factory2Fit wird von Horizon 2020 (H2020/2014-2020), dem Programm für Forschung und Innovation der Europäischen Union, unter der Zuwendungsvereinbarung Nr. 723277 gefördert.

The diploma thesis deals with the analysis of the current situation of the company in terms of automation and digitization of its production process and the subsequent de-sign of measures respecting the principles of lean manufacturing, which aim to help the company achieve its goals and gain a competitive advantage in the market. An integral part of this work is also the subsequent discussion of the conditions necessary for suc-cessful implementation, as well as discussion of the resulting risks and benefits of the proposed measures.