This study investigates the relationships between firm's technology, absorptive capacity and the internationalization process in the high-tech SMEs. The research identifies the most influential factors that affect the international activities and expansion decisions of New Zealand high-tech SMEs with core capabilities in agro-technology. Mixed methods, qualitative and quantitative elements in the data collection and analysis, were employed in this research for a reason that a deeper understanding of the research subject and the analysis of complex issues such as the internationalization process and absorptive capacity required methodological variety. The use of qualitative and quantitative methods took place in parallel. Both methods were used to study the same subject but they had specific objective related purposes and they offered the possibility of developing rich empirical data as well as a more comprehensive understanding of the subject under the study. The findings show that it is absorptive capacity that explains internationalization process, not internationalization process that explains absorptive capacity. The practice of internationalizing is as much a reflection of a firm's absorptive capacity as it is its determinant. The research identifies that high-tech SMEs possess technological and non-core absorptive capacity which in a different way influence firms' strategies. The research suggests that firm's technological capabilities and the advantage of specialized knowledge along with their limited non-core absorptive capacity act as constraints to the development of the future international strategy in high-tech SMEs. The study expands the existing literature on internationalization by developing variables for evaluating absorptive capacity in firms. This helped develop an absorptive capacity model which can be used as a valuable tool for self-assessment by firms to facilitate gaining insight towards further growth and development. The research suggested that if firms were able to measure its absorptive capacity this may result in improved business activities and enhanced presence in the world market. The results of this study should encourage firms to identify, capture and articulate knowledge achieved by their ventures. Managers must develop and nurture skills that ensure effective integration of learning as their firms expand, particularly internationally. These findings and absorptive capacity model offered as a tool should encourage managers to explore when, where, and how to best use firm's resources in the business operations. This is particularly important in regards to the research context (high-tech SMEs) where scientists are managers as well.

The electrification within the automotive industry goes faster than ever, which drives an increased demand for more knowledge about batteries. Vehicle manufacturers should be able to tell how long the batteries will last and have a service program for electrified vehicles, just as there is for traditional, fuel-driven ones. Scania is in the process of developing new service methods for their hybrids and fully electrified vehicles where this thesis has been a part of this development by investigating the possibilities of having a workshop test to measure the capacity of the propulsion batteries.  During the thesis, essential parameters for cycling the batteries and measure the capacity with high accuracy have been identified and investigated by conducting lab tests. In parallel to defining the properties of a successful capacity measurement, the implementation of such a measurement at a workshop has been studied alongside a brief discussion about scheduling strategies. Conducting a capacity measurement in a workshop environment introduce new challenges, and the critical question arises, how long can the capacity measurement take? It is identified that the state of charge window size, the temperature, and the relaxation time are essential parameters to control. From the experimental part of the thesis, it can be concluded that the start temperature should lay in the range of 15-25 °C with a relaxation time of 5-10 minutes providing a satisfying accuracy. A SOC window size of 20-80% seems to be the most optimal balance between time spent and accuracy in the measurement. Furthermore, it is identified that the workshop's equipment is heavily influencing the time it takes to conduct a test. It is concluded that it is necessary to be able to charge and discharge the batteries. / Elektrifieringen av fordons industrin går snabbare än någonsin, vilket driver en högre efterfrågan på mer kunskap om batterier. Fordons tillverkare ska kunna redogöra för hur länge batterierna kan användas och ha ett service program för elektrifierade fordon, likt det som redan finns för traditionella, bränsledrivna fordon. Scania håller på att utveckla nya service metoder för sina hybrider och elektriska fordon där detta examensarbete har varit en del av denna utveckling genom att undersöka möjligheterna kring en verkstadsmetod för att mäta kapaciteten hos framdrivnings batterier.  Under examensarbetet har väsentliga parametrar för cykling av batterier och mätning av kapacitet med hög noggrannhet identifierats och undersökts med laboratorietester. Parallellt med arbetet för att definiera egenskaperna hos en precis kapacitets mätning har implementationen av en sådan mätning i en verkstad studerats tillsammans med en kort diskussion om strategier för schemaläggning av dessa tester. Det introducerar nya utmaningar att utföra kapacitets mätningen i en verkstad och den viktiga frågan uppstår, hur lång tid tar en sådan kapacitets mätning? Det har identifieras att SOC fönster storleken, temperaturen och relaxeringstiden är essentiella parametrar att kontrollera. Slutsatserna är att temperaturen bör ligga i intervallet 15-25 °C med en relaxeringstid på 5-10 minuter ger en tillfredställande noggrannhet. Ett SOC fönster motsvarande 20-80% är förefaller vara den mest optimala i avvägningen mellan tidsåtgång och precision. Vidare kan den tillgängliga utrustningen på verkstaden pekas ut som en starkt påverkande faktor till tiden det tar att utföra ett sådant verkstadstest.