The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of DevOps adoption on organizational agility. The first chapter establishes through literature review and a pilot study, a theoretical definition of DevOps and identifies through survey data, the key DevOps adoption capabilities. The definition and key capabilities identified during the pilot study establishes the foundation through which a subsequent study is performed. The second chapter details an examination of the effects of DevOps adoption capability on organizational agility. Through capability theory, we propose that DevOps adoption capability positively affects organizational agility. We also propose that the capabilities of collaboration/communication, continuous monitoring, measurement and automation positively affect DevOps adoption capability and likewise; the capabilities of responsiveness, competency, flexibility, and quickness affect organizational agility capability. We test our model with survey data collected from 333 respondents and find that our hypotheses are supported and that DevOps adoption capability has a positive effect on organizational agility capability. / Business Administration/Management Information Systems

In our knowledge-intensive economy, charismatic managers of organisations are increasingly adopting innovation and knowledge management strategic imperatives to improve products and services for service delivery and competitive edge. However, organisations implementing homogeneous and intellectual resource organisational capabilities such as Innovation Capability (INNO) and Knowledge Management Capability (KMC) suffer inertia, lack of understanding and organisational capability inefficiencies caused by multiple influences, complex building blocks and depleted organisational capability. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to examine if Organisational Capability Efficiency (OCE) is improved by aligning/synthesising organisational capabilities when implementing Innovation Capability and Knowledge Management Capability in organisations. The main objective of the study was to develop a conceptual framework for the alignment of Innovation Capability (INNO) and Knowledge Management Capability (KMC) that would assist managers in organisations during implementation to improve Organisational Capability Efficiency (OCE). This study adopted a positivist research philosophy. The variables derived from the theory for this study were Innovation Capability (INNO), Knowledge Management Capability (KMC) and Organisational Capability Efficiency (OCE). An in-depth literature review was undertaken to develop the constructs for the conceptual research model. The hypothesis and research questions were developed from the theory. The variables were operationalised into definable measurable indicators and a research survey instrument was used to measure the variables and operationalise the indicators to test the hypothesis. Quantitative research was used in this exploratory study and data were collected from a representative sample. No sampling was done in this study because the researcher conducted a census survey. A semi-structured questionnaire, mainly utilising the five-point Likert scale, was used to collect data. The target population consisted of all organisations, including national government departments, state-owned enterprises and listed SA companies engaged in innovation and knowledge management in South Africa. The data were analysed statistically, primarily by means of factor analysis, to determine the significant factors that contributed to the validation of the conceptual framework. The Structured Equation Model in chapter 4 (figure 4.7), which shows the interrelationships between Innovation Capability, Knowledge Management Capability and Organisational Capability Efficiency, and the conceptual framework described in chapter 5 (section 5.3.1), which offers insight into the aligned/synthesised implementation of Innovation Capability and Knowledge Management Capability are considered to be contributions to the body of knowledge. In terms of the research result, it is recommended that organisations implementing Innovation Capability consider Knowledge Management Capability concepts and, where applicable, align/synthesise them with the appropriate Innovation Capability, using their order of importance to prioritise implementation for the organisation and attain Organisational Capability Efficiency. It was found that implementing Innovation Capability and Knowledge Management Capability separately did not produce Organisational Capability Efficiency. However, aligning/synthesising Innovation Capability and Knowledge Management Capability coherently allowed managers and practitioners to achieve cohesive implementation strategies, optimised utilisation of resources, reduced redundancy of effort, improved investments and accessibility to scarce and skilled resources. / In die hedendaagse kennisekonomie gee charismatiese maatskappybestuurders voorkeur aan innovering en kennisbestuur om hulle organisasies se produkte en dienste te verbeter en ʼn mededingende voordeel te behaal. Organisasies wat homogene en intellektuele hulpbronvermoëns, soos Innoveringsvermoë (INNO) en Kennisbestuursvermoë (KBV), implementeer, openbaar egter mettertyd ʼn traagheid, ʼn gebrekkige begrip en ondoeltreffendheid as gevolg van verskeie invloede, waaronder ingewikkelde boustene en verminderde organisasievermoëns. Daarom probeer hierdie studie vasstel of Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid (OVD) verbeter indien organisasievermoëns gekorreleer of gesintetiseer kan word deur Innoveringsvermoë en Kennisbestuursvermoë in organisasies te implementeer. Die doel van hierdie studie was om ʼn konseptuele raamwerk vir die korrelering van Innoveringsvermoë (INNO) en Kennisbestuurvermoë (KBV) te ontwikkel wat tydens die implementering van Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid (OVD) vir maatskappybestuurders van nut kan wees. Hierdie studie het ʼn positiwistiese navorsingsbenadering gevolg. Die veranderlikes wat uit die teorie afgelei is, is Innoveringsvermoë (INNO), Kennisbestuursvermoë (KBV) en Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid (OVD). Die literatuur is grondig bestudeer om die konstrukte van die konseptuele navorsingsmodel te ontwikkel. Die hipotese en navorsingsvrae het uit die teorie voortgespruit. ʼn Navorsingsopname-instrument is gebruik om die veranderlikes te meet en in omskryfbare en meetbare aanwysers te operasionaliseer ten einde die hipotese te toets. Kwantitatiewe navorsing is in hierdie verkennende studie onderneem, en data is uit ʼn verteenwoordigende steekproef versamel. Geen steekproef is vir hierdie studie geneem nie, aangesien die navorser ʼn sensusopame gedoen het. Data is met behulp van ʼn halfgestruktureerde vraelys volgens die vyfpunt-Likert-skaal ingesamel. Allerlei organisasies, van staatsdepartemente en ondernemings in staatsbesit tot genoteerde plaaslike maatskappye wat by innovering en kennisbestuur in Suid-Afrika betrokke is, het A conceptual framework for the relationship between the implementation of innovation and knowledge management and its link to organisational capabilities Page 7 of 260 die teikenpopulasie gevorm. Die data is grotendeels aan die hand van ʼn faktoranalise statisties ontleed om die faktore te bepaal wat die geldigheid van die konseptuele raamwerk bevestig. Die Gestruktureerde Vergelykingsmodel in hoofstuk 4 (figuur 4.7) en die konseptuele raamwerk wat in hoofstuk 5 (afdeling 5.3.1) beskryf word, lewer ʼn bydrae tot die geheel van kennis. Eersgenoemde toon die onderlinge verbande tussen Innoveringsvermoë, Kennisbestuursvermoë en Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid, en laasgenoemde bied insig in die gekorreleerde of gesintetiseerde implementering van Innoveringsvermoë en Kennisbestuursvermoë. Wat die navorsingsuitslag betref, word aanbeveel dat organisasies wat Innoveringsvermoë implementeer, die Kennisbestuursvermoëkonsepte in ag neem en, as dit nodig is, met die toepaslike Innoveringsvermoë korreleer of sintetiseer, en volgens hulle eie prioriteite in werking stel om Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid moontlik te maak. Daar is bevind dat wanneer Innoveringsvermoë en Kennisbestuursvermoë afsonderlik geïmplementeer word, Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid nie verbeter nie. Indien Innoveringsvermoë en Kennisbestuursvermoë egter samehangend gekorreleer of gesintetiseer word, is bestuurders en praktisyns se implementeringstrategieë samehangend, word hulpbronne optimaal aangewend, verminder onnodige inspanning, verbeter beleggings, en is skaars en opgeleide hulpbronne meer toeganklik. / Olwazini wethu lomnotho obanzi, abaphathi abanobuntu bezinhlangano baya ngokuya bamukela izindlela ezintsha zokuphathwa kolwazi nokwenza ngcono imikhiqizo nezinsizakalo zokulethwa kwezinsiza kanye nokuncintisana. Kodwa-ke, izinhlangano ezisebenzisa amandla amakhulu wezinsizakusebenza ezinokuqonda okufana nAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha (Innovation Capability INNO) kanye nAmandla okuPhatha uLwazi (Knowledge Management capability KMC) zihlupheka ngokweqile, ukuntuleka kokuqonda nokungakwazi ukwenza kahle kwenhlangano okubangelwa yimithelela eminingi, izakhi zokwakha ezibucayi namandla aphelile enhlangano. Ngakho-ke, inhloso esemqoka yalolu cwaningo bekuwukuhlola ukuthi ngabe Amandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano (Organisational Capability Effeciency OCE) athuthukisiwe ngokuvumelanisa / ukuhlanganisa amandla enhlangano lapho kufakwa Amandla Ezindlela Ezintsha kanye nAmandla Okuphatha uLwazi ezinhlanganweni. Inhloso esemqoka yalolu cwaningo bekuwukuqamba uhlaka oluzwisisekayo lokuqondiswa kwAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha (Innovation Capability INNO) nAmandla okuPhatha uLwazi (Knowledge Management capability KMC) oluzosiza abaphathi ezinhlanganweni ngesikhathi sokuqalisa ukwenza ngcono Amandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano (Organisation capability Performance OCE). Lolu cwaningo lwamukele ucwaningo lolwazi olususelwa ezintweni zemvelo nobudlelwano bazo (positivist philosophy). Ukwehlukahluka okususelwa kumcabango walolu cwaningo bekungAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha (Innovation capability INNO), Amandla okuPhatha uLwazi (Management Capability KMC) kanye nAmandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano (Organisation capability OCE). Ukubuyekezwa kwezincwadi okujulile kwenziwa ukuze kuthuthukiswe ukwakhiwa kwesifaniselo socwaningo olucatshangelwe. Imibuzo ehlongozwayo njengesisekelo sobufakazi bokuqala uphenyo locwaningo yathuthukiswa kusuka emcabangweni. Izinto eziguqukayo zazisetshenziselwa izinkomba ezikwazi ukuqondakala futhi ithuluzi lokuhlola lusetshenziselwe ukukala okuguquguqukayo futhi kusebenze izinkomba ukuhlola umqondo Kusetshenziswe uhlobo locwaningo olufuna ukuhumusha ukuqonda emininingwaneni ezosiza ukuqonda impilo yenhlalakahle (quantitative research) kulolu cwaningo lokuhlola futhi imininingwane iqoqwe kusampuli emelwe. Akukho sampula eyenziwe kulolu cwaningo ngoba umcwaningi wenze inhlolovo yokubalwa kwabantu. Uhlu lwemibuzo olwakhiwe kancane, ikakhulukazi olusebenzisa isilinganiso samaphuzu amahlanu kaLikert, lwalusetshenziselwa ukuqoqa imininingwane. Abantu ababehlosiwe babehlanganisa zonke izinhlangano, kufaka phakathi iminyango kahulumeni kazwelonke, amabhizinisi aphethwe nguhulumeni kanye nezinkampani ezikleliswe ohlwini lweNingizimu Afrika ezisebenza ezindleleni ezintsha nokuphathwa kolwazi eNingizimu Afrika. Imininingwane yahlaziywa ngokwezibalo, ngokuyinhloko kusetshenziswa ukuhlaziywa kwezinto, ukuthola izinto ezibalulekile ezaba nomthelela ekuqinisekisweni kohlaka lomqondo. ISakhiwo Esilungisiwe Sesifaniselo esahlukweni 4 (isithombe 4.7), esikhombisa ukuxhumana phakathi, kwAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha, Amandla okuPhathwa koLwazi kanye nAmandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano, nohlaka lomqondo oluchazwe esahlukweni 5 (isigaba 5.3.1), olunikeza ukuqonda ngokuhambisana / ukuqaliswa okwenziwe kwaAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha kanye nAmandla okuPh athwa koLwazi kubhekwa njengegalelo emzimbeni wolwazi.Ngokomphumela wokucwaninga, kuphakanyiswe ukuthi izinhlangano ezisebenzisa Amandla Ezindlela Ezintsha zibheke imiqondo yAmandla okuPhathwa koLwazi futhi, lapho kusebenza khona, zikuqondanise / zikuhlanganise nAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha ezifanelekile, zisebenzisa ukuhleleka kokubaluleka kokubeka phambili ukusebenza kwenhlangano futhi zithole Amandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano. Kwatholakala ukuthi ukusebenzisa Amandla Ezindlela Ezintsha kanye nAmandla okuPhathwa koLwazi ngokwehlukanisa akuzange kukhiqize Amandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano. Kodwa-ke, ukuvumelanisa / ukuhlanganisa Amandla Ezindlela Ezintsha kanye nAmandla okuPhathwa koLwazi kuvumele ngokuqinile abaphathi nabasebenza ngempumelelo ukufezekisa amasu wokusebenzisa okuvumelanayo, ukusetshenziswa kahle kwezinsiza, ukunciphisa kwemizamo engadingekile, ukuthuthukiswa kokutshalwa kwemali kanye nokufinyeleleka kwezinsizakusebenza ezinamakhono. / Business Management / D.B.L.

Weenen Nature Reserve (WNR) has a long history of unwise land use that resulted in severe overgrazing and soil degradation. Since 1948 several soil conservation and reclamation programs have been undertaken to halt the degradation process and regain the agricultural potential of the area. This study evaluates the current agricultural potential of the reserve under rainfed cultivation primarily based on climatic, soil, topographic and crop requirement data collected from different sources. Spatial information on each of the land resources parameters was digitally encoded in a GIS database to create thematic layers of the land resources. Crop requirement information on seven different crops that were selected as representative crops under rainfed agriculture in the area namely, maize, Sorg):mm, cotton, dry bean, soya bean, potato and cabbage was compared with the land resources parameters. The thematic layers of the land resources were then overlyed using a GIS to select areas that satisfy the crop requirements. The results showed that WNR has two major limitations in relation to its use for rainfed agriculture, namely its shallow and rocky soils and its arid climate. Consequently, the resulting land suitability maps indicate that WNR has very low suitability for all of the crops considered. Dry beans are relatively well adapted to the area followed by sorghum. Maize and soya beans are preferred over cotton. Potatoes'and cabbages are least adapted to the area because of the high temperatures during thCl/growing season. It was concluded that generally the reserve is not suitable for rainfed agriculture. However, there is a small area of land in the northern part of the reserve that can be cultivated. The rugged area in the central part of the reserve can be used for grazing with careful managemeIit. The eastern and southern parts can only be used as habitats for wildlife owing to their steep topography and inaccessibility, whereas the highly degraded areas in the western parts of the reserve should be kept under soil conservation and reclamation. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

Crafting Alliances Between A Mexican Agribusiness And The Base Of The Pyramid: An Action Research Into Strategizing By Sergio Quinones-Romandia May 2016 Committee Chair: Lars Mathiassen Major Academic Unit: J. Mack Robinson College of Business More than 4 billion people in the world face hunger every day. In addition to this imperative shortcoming, the world’s poor confront other side effects of poverty as well, including violence, forced mobility, lack of access to education and early death. In a globalized world where capitalism has become the prevailing economic ideology, alleviating poverty can no longer be the exclusive responsibility of governments, richer nations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Today, the private sector must also “take the torch” and contribute to easing the suffering of more than half the world’s population. The Base of the Pyramid (BOP) strategy is an important opportunity for the world’s private sector to create new business opportunities while at the same time helping address and alleviate poverty. However, while the literature describes several study cases, we still have limited knowledge about the process through which managers engage in BOP strategizing. Against this backdrop, this dissertation provides a detailed account of how a Mexican agribusiness: Agroservicios Nacionales, SAPI de CV (ANSA) developed and implemented a BOP strategy to co-create value with its distributors and poor corn farmers. Our Georgia State University (GSU) research team combined Dynamic Capability Theory (DCT) and Option-Driven Strategizing (ODS) and adopted action research to establish close collaboration among the firm’s top directors, a select group of its managers, designated local distributors, and our researcher team members. This dissertation presents a detailed account of the strategizing process, how AgroEstacion was conceived, how it was implemented, and the outcomes and experiences of the overall process. I also discuss the challenges our team faced, how they were resolved, and the opportunities that emerged from the strategizing process. Finally, I describe an Integrated Model that firms can use to strategize BOP opportunities in a way that benefits both their business and the surrounding society. This dissertation also represents the challenges of utilizing DCT in a practical case, following the suggestions of several authors as Teece, Pisano, Shuen, Zollo, Winters and others, from major works of writing that encourage researchers to take this theory into a more aggregate system and apply it in a practical case.

The enterprises that deliver capability are trying to evolve into through-life businesses by shifting away from the traditional pattern of designing and manufacturing successive generations of products, towards a new paradigm centred on support, sustainability and the incremental enhancements of existing capabilities from technology insertions and changes to process. The provision of seamless through-life customer solutions depends heavily on management of information and knowledge between, and within the different parts of the supply chain enterprise. This research characterised and described Capability Engineering (CE) as applied in the defence enterprise and identified to BAE Systems important considerations for managing knowledge within that context. The terms Capability Engineering and Through Life Capability Management (TLCM), used synonymously in this thesis, denote a complex evolving domain that requires new approaches to better understand the different viewpoints, models and practices. The findings and novelty of this research is demonstrated through the following achievements: • Defined the problem space that Requirements Engineers can use in through-life management projects. • Made a contribution to the development of models for Systems Architects to enable them to incorporate 'soft' systems within their consideration. • Independently developed a TLCM activity model against which BAE Systems validated the BAE Systems TLCM activity model, which is now used by UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). • Developed, and published within INCOSE1, the INCOSE Capability Engineering ontology. • Through the novel analysis of a directly applicable case study, highlighted to Functional Delivery Managers the significance of avoiding the decoupling of information and knowledge in the context of TLCM. • Through experimentation and knowledge gained within this research, identified inadequacies in the TechniCall (rapid access to experts) service which led to the generation of requirements for an improved service which is now being implemented by BAE Systems. The results showed that managing knowledge is distinct when compared to information management. Over-reliance on information management in the absence of tacit knowledge can lead to a loss in the value of the information, which can result in unintended consequences. Capability is realised through a combination of component systems and Capability Engineering is equivalent to a holistic perspective of Systems Engineering. A sector-independent Capability Engineering ontology is developed to enable semantic interoperability between different domains i.e. defence, rail and information technology. This helped to better understand the dependencies of contributing component systems within defence, and supported collaboration across different domains. Although the evaluation of the ontology through expert review has been accomplished; the ontology, KM analysis framework and soft systems transitioning approach developed still need to undergo independent verification and validation. This requires application to other case studies to check and exploit their suitability. This Engineering Doctorate research has been disseminated through a number of peer reviewed publications.

It is theorized that competition in the global market requires highly skilled human capital with different types and levels of skills, and with transferable skills. Internships are intended to nurture the skills and make students better professionals, better innovators, and more likely to get employment. In this thesis I evaluated these claims by examining the effect of the skills developed by internships on the professional performance, innovation capability and employability of Mexican students. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate both the mandatory internship program in its ability to improve employability and to test some of the educational theories of workforce improvement and of what skills contribute to workers’ innovation capacity. Internships prepare students for the workplace by giving them opportunities to develop relevant skills. The Committee on the Assessment of 21st Century Skills of the U.S. National Research Council (NRC), identified three categories of workplace skills enabling individuals to face 21st Century challenges: cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills. I tested the relevance of these skills to interns’ professional performance using intern evaluation data on interns working at a multinational enterprise in the global steel industry, Ternium Mexico. A general model of internship outcomes was used to predict Main task and learning performance internship outcomes, and ordered logistic regression was used to predict Overall internship performance. The results confirmed that (1) cognitive intelligence or technical skills are necessary but not sufficient for success in executing professional tasks and (2) certain interpersonal and intrapersonal skills were also significantly associated with better professional performance as an intern. vi The ability to innovate is one of the most important and desired meta-skills for individuals, firms, and economies. It is believed that nurturing students’ innovation capability will improve their employability and their ability to deal with a rapidly changing future. A recent conceptual model of Individuals’ Innovation Capability, the D4 innovation model, has four stages: defining, discovering, developing, and demonstrating. Using the same internship evaluation data set, I determined whether the four D innovation skills: defining, discovering, developing and deploying skills, predicted Individuals’ Innovation Capability. The study confirmed that three of the innovation skills, discovery, developing and deploying, increase Individuals’ Innovation Capability. The foundation skills of oral communication and ability to self-update, and the professional competencies of establishing priorities and explicit knowledge also foster individual innovation capability. Internships have often been required for graduation by institutions of higher education because internships are perceived to help students increase their employability as well as provide educational value. I conducted statistical analyses to test whether students’ performance as interns and the number of internships they completed are predictive of their Probability of Employment, controlling for various labor-market conditions. The study analyzed the records of graduates at a private Mexican university who had completed undergraduate degrees as well as mandatory internships. A logistic regression model for job placement four months following graduation included: individual factors, personal circumstances, external conditions, and interactions with external conditions. This study revealed that the performance as an intern played an important role on employment and that employability depended on the interaction of a vii graduate’s personal assets, his/her family connections, and whether or not the labor market was contracting. This thesis is an empirical exploration of educational theory concerning the value of internships and also the skills that internships should foster. Since educational policy is frequently driven by theory, such validation is a potentially useful reality-check for policy makers. This work can inform educational policy and provide the underpinnings for shaping initiatives that benefit students, firms and the region.

One of the great challenges to increasing the use of wind generation is the need to ensure generation adequacy. In this dissertation, we address that need by investigating and assessing the planning and operational generation adequacy of power systems with significant wind generation. At the onset of this dissertation, key metrics are presented for determining a power system’s generation adequacy assessment based on loss-of-load analytical methods. With these key metrics understood, a detailed methodology is put forward on how to integrate wind plants in the assessment’s framework. Then, through the examination of a case study, we demonstrate that wind generation does contribute capacity to the system generation adequacy. Indeed, results indicates that at wind penetration levels of less than 5%, a wind plant’s reliability impact is comparable to an energy equivalent conventional unit. We then show how to quantify a wind plant’s capacity contribution by using the effective load carrying capability metric (ELCC), providing a detailed description of how to implement this metric in the context of wind generation. However, as certain computational setbacks are inherent to the metric, a novel noniterative approximation is proposed and applied to various case studies. The accuracy of the proposed approximation is evaluated in a comparative study by contrasting the resulting estimates to conventionally-computed ELCC values and the wind plant’s capacity factor. The non-iterative method is shown to yield accurate ELCC estimates with relative errors averaging around 2%. Case study findings also suggest the importance of period-specific ELCC calculations to better evaluate the variable capacity contribution of wind plants. Even when considering a well-planned system in which wind generation has been appropriately integrated in the adequacy assessment, wind plants do create significant challenges in maintaining generation adequacy on an operational level. To address these challenges, a novel operational reliability assessment tool is proposed to quantitatively evaluate the system’s operational generation adequacy given potential generator forced outages, load and wind power forecasts, and forecasting deviations. / text

A project was undertaken as part of the University of Canterbury Master of Engineering Management Programme that addressed the issue of how Orion New Zealand Limited can improve their asset capability information and associated business processes. An audit approach was used to review data quality and availability, information systems integration, management processes and information flows that would support the development and implementation of branch and cyclic/dynamic ratings. The project found the existing Orion environment does not fully support asset capability information management. Information systems are well integrated, complex and hold substantial, but incomplete asset capability data. Asset policies, plans and documentation are comprehensive, but do not specifically reference asset capability information. The project concluded implementing a full asset capability information management regime was not considered feasible at the time. However, there was merit in improving existing data acquisition, system integration and business processes to enable the development of asset branch and cyclic/dynamic ratings in order to enhance network utilisation. Recommendations focus on establishing a standard for asset capability information, improving information system solutions through further integration and refining existing business processes through incremental changes. Field-­‐testing, computer modeling and load flow analysis on the effects of cyclic/dynamic ratings were recommended to confirm the merits of full implementation.

Public sector organizations are in need of new approaches to development and innovation. There is a need to develop a capability to better understand priorities, needs and wishes of public sector service users and become more proactive, in order to meet the demands on keeping costs down and quality high. Design is increasingly put forward as a potential answer to this need and there are many initiatives taken across the world to encourage the use of a design approach to development and innovation within public sector. In relation to this trend there is a need to improve the understanding of how public sector organizations develop ability to exploit design; how they develop design capability. This is the focus of this thesis, which through an exploratory study has observed the two initiatives aiming to introduce design and develop design capability within healthcare and social service organizations. One main contribution of this work is an understanding of the design capability concept based on a structured review of the use of the design capability concept in the literature. The concept has previously been used in relation to different aspects of designs in organizations. Another important contribution is the development of an understanding for how design capability is developed based on interpretations founded in the organizational learning perspective of absorptive capacity. The study has identified how different antecedents to development of design capability have influenced this development in the two cases. The findings have identified aspects that both support and impede the development of design capability which are important to acknowledge and address when aiming to develop design capability within a public sector organization. In both cases, the set up of the knowledge transferring efforts focus mainly on developing awareness of design. Similar patterns are seen in other prior and parallel initiatives. The findings however suggest that it is also important to ensure that the organization have access to design competence and that structures like routines, processes and culture support and enable the use of design practice, in order to make design a natural part of the continuous development work.

This thesis focuses upon the surprising connection between two separate bodies of work: the capability approach and Daniel Hausman’s 2015 book Valuing Health: Well-Being, Freedom, and Suffering. Proponents of the capability approach, such as Martha Nussbaum, have argued that the state has an important role to play in promoting well-being. Hausman seems to hold a position quite dissimilar from this, as he argues that standard practices in health economics are seriously flawed because the liberal state should not be promoting well-being. However, I argue that there exists an unexpectedly great degree of similarity between the two positions and suggest that it seems as though Hausman is, in fact, calling for the promotion of well-being. In illuminating conceptual similarities between the two views, I also point to areas where Hausman’s proposals might be strengthened or enhanced by work from CA theorists. This paper provides the foundation for further research to be undertaken exploring how these views might enhance one another.