Background: Climate changes and global warming call for behaviour changes from mankind and for new business models to introduce sustainable innovations. Financial analysis plays an important role in guiding the choice of these business models. However, assumptions and uncertainties pose challenges to the use of financial analysis in business modelling. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a proactive systematic approach of financial analysis in business modelling. Accounting for the important role of assumptions and uncertainty factors, the approach should guide the choices of capital structure, revenue model, and strategic partnerships in the business model. Methodology: The developed approach combines the use of different methods to assess different business models for a public fast-charging stations for electric heavy-duty vehicles in Sweden. The used techniques are DCF analysis, What-If analysis, Tornado diagram, Monte-Carlo simulation, and multiple linear regression analysis. Results and analysis: Applied to the case of a public fast-charging station for electric heavy-duty vehicles, the approach leads to the identification of potential viable business models. Under the condition of using financial leverage through debt, additional revenue sources such as per-charge event user fee and advertising as well as partnership with the public sector in the form of grants, it is possible to achieve a viable business model. Conclusions: A systematic proactive approach of the use of financial analysis in business modelling was successfully developed and applied to the case of fast-charging stations for electric heavy-duty vehicles. The identified viable business models rely on financial leverage through debt, additional revenue sources and partnership with the public sector in the form of grants. Recommendations for future research: Simulations with more input parameters as well as combinations with observational studies of existing business models can be further investigated.

Innovations based on sustainable technologies have been widely considered as a remedy for addressing societal and environmental problems in many industries. However, the large-scale adoption of such innovations goes beyond technology and requires organizing the business in a way that drive industrial transformations across actors and system layers, such as market structures, institutional frames, consumer behavior, and business values.  The aim of this dissertation is to understand how industrial firms organize for system change towards sustainability. The study is a compilation of two papers within the same research context: the development of sustainable technology in the construction industry. The overlapping unit of analysis for both papers is business model innovation. Paper I examines how industry firms combine and complement business models with different innovation types to accelerate sustainable technology. Paper II identifies how a change in the business model and value creation logic that occur on a firm level accelerate sustainable technology and shape the socio-technical system. Together, both papers help paint a more complete picture of the business model role in transitions towards sustainability. The theoretical frame of this dissertation spans several domains: business model, innovation management, and sustainability transitions. Building on a multi-disciplinary premise, the study takes into account the organizational and the systemic parts of the change process by linking the company perspective (business models) to the wider governance of sustainability transitions.  The findings underline the importance of business models that combine production efficiency with higher customer engagement and more collective value creation for driving larger-scale transitions toward sustainability. Moreover, business models in combination with different innovation types, such as product, process and positioning, act together and complement each other to achieve high sustainability and business outcomes. / Innovations based on sustainable technologies have been widely considered as a remedy for addressing societal and environmental problems in many sectors of our economy. However, the large-scale adoption of such innovations goes beyond technology and requires organizing the business in a way that drives transformations across actors and industries. This dissertation aims to understand how industrial firms organize for system change towards sustainability. The study is a compilation of two papers within the same research context: the development of sustainable wood technology in the construction industry. The overlapping unit of analysis for both papers is business model innovation. Paper I examines how industry firms combine and complement business models with different innovation types to accelerate sustainable technology. Paper II identifies how a change in the business model and value creation logic that occur on a firm level accelerate sustainable technology and shape the socio-technical system. Together, both papers help paint a more complete picture of the business model role in transitions towards sustainability. The theoretical frame of this thesis spans several domains: business model, innovation management, and sustainability transitions. Building on a multi-disciplinary premise, the thesis takes into account the organizational and the systemic parts of the change process by linking the company perspective to the wider governance of sustainability transitions.  The thesis outlines two main contributions. First, the results show that business model innovation acts with and complements different innovation types to achieve high sustainability and business value outcomes. Second, the results reveal that scaling sustainable technologies require combining production efficiency with higher customer engagement and more collective value creation. Combining layers of different value creation logics unlocks the potential of novel technology and shape the entire industry towards more sustainable development.

Due to digitalization as a technology shift, many incumbent manufacturing firms face challenges to maintain their position on the market. One solution to tackle this technology shift is by servitization, which has shown great opportunities for value creation in various industries. Services are harder to imitate and have therefore potential to create competitive advantage. However, because of the limited number of studies examining the transition from one business model to another in combination with servitization and digitalization, a gap is identified in the literature. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore how an incumbent manufacturing firm can create and obtain value by implementing servitization and digital services in its current business model. The purpose of this thesis is achieved through a single case study of an incumbent manufacturing firm within the dairy farming industry. The findings suggest that implementing digital services in an incumbent manufacturing firm improves competitive advantage as they increase the barriers of adoption to competitors and third-parties; thus, improve the customer loyalty and the customer lock-in effect. When conceptualising servitization and digitalization, it is important to establish a clear framework for digital services, which should be aligned with the company’s overall strategies and processes. To meet the growing demand for more efficiency and flexibility, it is proposed to lay additional focus on the construction and development of the digital platform. Further, this study investigates how the development of digital services for predictive maintenance affects the business model of an incumbent manufacturing firm. From the conceptual framework developed in this study, it is emphasised that five business model elements are important to focus on in the era of digitalization, namely: value proposition, revenue streams, channels, customer relationships and key partner networks. The findings suggest to use adapting services such as performance-based contracting with a subscription model and add-ons. In addition, co-creation with customers in an early stage of the innovation process is deemed key to develop suitable services, while improving the customer relationship. Moreover, it is important to have in mind that digitalization enhances the transparency of information; thus, it is crucial to develop standardised frameworks to retain a trustworthy customer relationship. Consequently, it is argued as important to update the revenue model for digital services with a cohesive pricing strategy worldwide. Furthermore, this study suggests moving step by step towards direct selling, while remaining a good relationship with the external dealers. Due to the fact that not all customers have the prerequisites for implementing digital services, the degree of digitalization and direct selling must be adapted to the unique situation and service provided. By analysing how servitization as an effect of digitalization affects the business model of an incumbent manufacturing firm, this thesis contributes to extant knowledge within the fields of servitization, digitalization and business models. Furthermore, this thesis contributes to managerial knowledge with an in-depth contextualised knowledge of a possible servitization transition as a business model innovation. / På grund av digitalisering som teknologiskifte tvingas många etablerade företag att kämpa för att behålla sin position på marknaden. En lösning till detta är tjänstefiering, vilket har visat på stora möjligheter för värdeskapande i olika industrier. Dessutom är tjänster svårare att imitera, vilket leder till ökad konkurrenskraft. Idag finns det ett begränsat antal studier som undersöker övergången från en affärsmodell till en annan i kombination med tjänstefiering och digitalisering, vilket har lett till ett gap i litteraturen. Därav syftet med denna masteruppsats: att undersöka hur ett etablerat tillverkningsföretag kan skapa och förädla värde genom att integrera tjänstefiering och digitala tjänster i den nuvarande affärsmodellen. Syftet med denna studie uppnås genom en fallstudie hos ett etablerat tillverkningsföretag inom mjölkproduktionsindustrin. Rapportens resultat indikerar att en implementation av digitala tjänster i ett etablerat tillverkningsföretag förbättrar konkurrenskraften då den ökar barriärer för konkurrenter och tredjeparter, därmed ökas kundlojaliteten och förhindrar kunden från att byta leverantör. Vid konceptualisering av tjänstefiering och digitalisering är det viktigt att skapa ett tydligt ramverk, vilket även bör anpassas till företagets övergripande strategier och processer. För att möta den växande efterfrågan av ökad effektivitet och flexibilitet bör ytterligare fokus läggas på konstruktion och utveckling av den digitala plattformen. Vidare undersöker denna studie hur utvecklingen av digitala tjänster för förebyggande underhåll påverkar affärsmodellen hos ett etablerat tillverkningsföretag. Utifrån det konceptuella ramverket, skapat i denna studie, har fem affärsmodellelements valts ut som anses extra viktiga för studien: värdeerbjudandet, intäkter, kanaler, kundrelationer och partners. Studiens resultat föreslår anpassade tjänster såsom prestationsbaserade kontrakt med prenumerationsmodell och tilläggsval. Dessutom anses samverkan med kunden i ett tidigt skede av innovationsprocessen vara en nyckel till att utveckla rätt tjänster, samtidigt som kundrelationen förbättras. Det är även viktigt att tänka på att digitalisering ökar informationstransparensen och därför är det viktigt att utveckla standardiserade ramverk för att bibehålla tillförliten i kundrelationer. Således argumenterar studien för att uppdatera inkomstmodellen för digitala tjänster med en sammanhängande prissättningsstrategi över hela världen. Vidare anses det viktigt med ett stegvist skifte mot direktförsäljning, samtidigt som det är nödvändigt att bibehålla en bra relation med de externa återförsäljarna. På grund av det faktum att alla kunder inte har samma förutsättningar att erhålla digitala tjänster måste graden av digitalisering och direktförsäljning anpassas till den unika situationen och tjänsten. Genom att analysera hur tjänstefiering som en effekt av digitalisering påverkar affärsmodellen för ett etablerat tillverkningsföretag bidrar denna avhandling till existerande kunskap inom tjänstefiering, digitalisering och affärsmodeller. Vidare bidrar denna avhandling till ledningskunskap för chefer med fördjupad kontextualiserad kunskap i en fallstudie genom att föreslå en tjänstefieringsövergång som en affärsmodellsinnovation för att anpassa sig till dagens digitala värld.

The main objective of this study was to contribute to direct-to-customer (D2C) companies on the Swedish market by establishing guidelines. Despite the growing use of the model, there is meager research of its success factors. Through the investigation of the apparel and aligned industry, customer insights of components were collected. A deductive approach was used by firstly conducting a literature review and establishing a cross-referencing framework and extracting rough factors to serve as a guide. Empirical data was collected through a quantitative survey in an online questionnaire format. Analysis of the empirical findings developed six new factors; Social Media, Customer Service, Product Knowledge, Integrity, Website Manageability and Unique Value Addition, which were found imperative for the D2C customer experience. Website Manageability demonstrated the highest significance, emphasizing the importance of user-friendliness and navigation. Furthermore, Product Knowledge and Integrity also proved to be paramount to consumers. Customer Service was found to be impactful during various stages of the decision-making process. The report contributes to the subject by presenting customer insights into which elements are most valued during their online shopping experience and their impact during the different stages of the decision-making process.

Background: In the recents decades, one of humanity's biggest challenges has been the climatecrisis where emissions of greenhouse gases are the main problem. This has forced companies toact more environmentally friendly due to laws and regulations but also due to customer demand.Circular economy has become a hot topic with various definitions. One of the definitions isopen-loop supply chain and this essay will focus on explaining the concept of open-loop supplychain. Research question: 1. What can a business model look like for an intermediary for reusable durable goods in anopen-loop supply chain? 2. What challenges exist within reuse of durable goods between suppliers and intermediaries inan open-loop supply chain? Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to, through a multiple case study, develop a businessmodel on how intermediaries for reusable durable goods can work with an open-loop supplychain and how it can be applied in future industries. Method: Primary data through semi-structured interviews and secondary data through scientificarticles. Conclusion: The essay developed a business model for intermediaries for reusable durablegoods in an open-loop supply chain which is applicable to other industries. The essay alsodefined some of the challenges for intermediaries operating in an open-loop supply chain whichare transaction costs, building relationships, loss of control and long transportations. Furthermorethe level of relevance of these challenges depends on the amount of responsibility theintermediary has taken upon itself.

The fast fashion industry is considered to be the second most polluting industry in the world, facing many challenges regarding environmental sustainability. Due to the rising interest and awareness in environmental sustainability, this study was conducted to discover how fast fashion companies make decisions regarding environmental sustainability and how these decisions are affected by the fast fashion business model. A qualitative case study approach was employed, focusing on the Swedish activewear brand Stronger as the case study company. An in-depth interview was conducted with the company to gain valuable insights into the relationship between the fast fashion business model and firms decisions related to environmental sustainability. The analysis of the data revealed key themes and patterns, highlighting the challenges, opportunities, and potential strategies for firms aiming to incorporate environmental sustainability into their operations within the fast fashion industry. The findings indicated that the fast fashion business model contradicts the principles of environmental sustainability, requiring significant modifications to align with sustainable practices. Based on the findings and analysis, it was also concluded that the firms’ decisions are influenced by the fast fashion business model, however it is possible to make decisions that prioritize environmental sustainability despite the constraints of the business model.

Fueled by the success of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, blockchain technology has emerged as an interesting and promising technological solution in a variety of industries. However, it remains unclear to what extent blockchain technology possesses the potential to transform existing business models or to enable new business models. So far, scientific studies have been predominantly technologically driven; the economic viability, e.g., in the form of innovative, sustainable business models, as well as the acceptance of blockchain technology have not been sufficiently investigated. This dissertation addresses this research gap and focuses on three domains: The financial sector, the temporary employment industry, and the healthcare sector. To investigate the impact of blockchain technology on business model innovation as well as its impact on existing business models, quantitative and qualitative methods are applied in the form of a mixed-method approach. Within this approach, (acceptance) models, tools, methods, and prototypes are developed. Moreover, recommendations for decision makers are elaborated and central economic, ecological, political, legal, social, and ethical challenges and opportunities of blockchain technology for business models and business model innovations are identified and discussed. The results of this dissertation support economic and political decision makers as well as researchers in the fields of blockchain technology and business model innovation.

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The financial industry has been greatly influenced by the Internet revolution and mobile technology, which has laid a solid foundation for innovation in the field of FinTech. However, we need to be concerned that the revolutionary digital technologies employed by FinTech companies can only be profitable if they can be brought to market with a suitable business model, which means that FinTech companies rely on their business logic, value network, and company position. Therefore, it is particularly important to adopt an efficient business model or even an innovative business model. In the FinTech industry, many innovative business models have emerged that can effectively generate value across a company’s numerous variables to build strong competitiveness. FinTech business models are often modifiable, flexible, and innovative. The generic business model innovation process consists of seven steps, namely Analysis, Ideation, Feasibility, Prototyping, Decision-making, Implementation, and Sustainability. In FinTech's business model innovation, two key points facilitate this process, which are the organizational structure and customer relationship management based on the Klarna case study. / Finansbranschen har i hög grad påverkats av internet-revolutionen och mobilteknologin, som har lagt en solid grund för innovation inom FinTech. Vi måste dock vara medvetna om att de revolutionerande digitala teknologier som används av FinTech-företag endast kan vara lönsamma om de kan föras ut på marknaden med en lämplig affärsmodell, vilket innebär att FinTech-företag förlitar sig på sin affärslogik, värdenätverk och företagsposition. Därför är det särskilt viktigt att anta en effektiv affärsmodell eller till och med en innovativ affärsmodell. I FinTech-branschen har många innovativa affärsmodeller dykt upp som effektivt kan generera värde över ett företags många variabler för att bygga en stark konkurrenskraft. FinTechs affärsmodeller är ofta modifierbara, flexibla och innovativa. Den generiska affärsmodell innovationsprocessen består av sju steg, nämligen Analys, Idéation, Feasibility, Prototyping, Beslutsfattande, Implementering och Hållbarhet. I FinTechs affärsmodell innovation är det två nyckelpunkter som underlättar denna process, vilket är organisationsstrukturen och kund relationshanteringen baserad på fallstudie av Klarna.

Background: With the emerging and disruption of new technologies, digital transformationhas heavily impacted on businesses of all kinds, especially SMEs. Consequently, organizations must innovate their business model to adapt the changeable environment in many ways such as providing new products & services, developing new markets, more collaborations with partnership, and investing digital tools to deliver more value to the customers. It is therefore necessary for organizations and academicians to understand the dynamic capabilities framework for the business model innovation. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out the role of dynamic capabilities in the digital transformation of business model innovation (BMI) in SMEs. During this process, we also explore digital transformation and make future explanations of the key elements of BMI in our case companies. Method: In order to understand how SMEs build up capabilities for digital transformation inthe business model innovation, we carry out this study by using semi-structured interviews with open answered questions. The interviews consisted of 6 participants in various senior management positions at 5 case companies. The participants are either the company owners or the department managers. Findings: From the interviews, we studied that all the case companies had been in process of digital transformation for a certain extent. In terms of their business model, the digitaltransformation reflects in 3 domains: new digital products & services, new markets & segments,and key partnerships. In addition, companies build dynamic capabilities for their digital business model via a total of 8 activities, including digital scouting, digital learning & planning, digital mind-set, agile working, investment in digital assets, collaboration with partners, creating digital culture, and redesigning organizational structure. Relevant management skills are the enablers throughout the whole innovation process. Finally, our study studies theenabling role of management in building dynamic capabilities and reacting to change.