Purpose: The study that has been conducted is a comparative one, where the group compared different innovation management strategies used by three different globally- known Swedish firms that are in the manufacturing industry. The study is aimed at describing, analyzing and making conclusions of the innovation strategies used during the process of product development in the chosen companies bycomparing their similarities and differences. Method: The Study was carried out using a comparative study drawing on the qualitative data. Conclusion: Volvo CE and ABB CRC have similar strategies in internal idea generation because both firms have formalized systems, by using strong online data bases for idea sharing and evaluation. Volvo CE uses a pronounced forum called “Innovation Jams” for online idea sharing among Volvo Group employees whereas ABB CRC uses a strong data base called “ABB Inside” to evaluate ideas within the group. On the other hand, Scania R&D’s internal idea generation process is more informal as it is based on “person-to-person”. When it comes to external idea generation, Scania R&D has a more established strategy of using suppliers and customers for inspiration of ideas. However, ABB CRC generates inspirations from customers through its business centers, whereas Volvo CE has no customer system in place. But one thing that is common in all the three companies is that they are highly collaborating with universities for idea generation and human resource.

Living in the era of globalization and the Internet, the demand for faster innovation cycles is increasing. Thus companies have the aim to explore new innovation strategies. Therefore the basis of this study is to investigate the development from the traditional way of innovation to Open Innovation practices. If companies want to get a benefit of Open Innovation, many structural and cultural changes have to be overcome. The protection of company secrecies and the retention of the core competencies are the most elementary factors, which have to be considered if external stakeholders are involved in the innovation process. In addition to that, the purpose of this is to examine and declare the limitations and challenges of Open Innovation strategies. Through a multiple case study of three companies, including semi-structured interviews with key individuals, who have extensive experiences in the research and development department, the empirical findings are deducted and connected with the framework. Furthermore the gathered data is analysed on the basis of a research model, which was developed from the existing literature. The research model contains the most common challenges when adopting Open Innovation. These challenges are intellectual property, flexibility, internal structure, trust, acceptance and integration. In the course of this study, different significant manifestations of the respective factors were determined. Moreover it can be identified that some factors are related to each other or have several similarities. This study shows that the structure and the size of a company is the most crucial challenge by adopting Open Innovation practices in the ongoing innovation process. The challenge of company size is affecting the corporate and process structures. This includes the organization of intellectual property as well as the cooperation with companies of different sizes. The second important challenge is the generic term of trust, which is related to the overall acceptance of the company towards Open Innovation. Moreover, the factor of trust is influencing the level of integration of suppliers and customers in the innovation process. To find the right balance between trusting and supporting the internal innovation department and be open for external knowledge is the key factor for success. Additionally, it can be recommended to implement a central innovation department, which is only responsible for Open Innovation.

Abstract Title: The relationship between Open innovation and Swedish forest companies - Why do Swedish forest companies choose to either implement or to not implement Open innovation? Course: 2FE897, Master`s thesis in Entrepreneurship, Department of Business Studies. Key Words: Open innovation, closed innovation, innovation process, collaborative innovation, Swedish forest companies.  Purpose: Aims to identify the reasons why or why not Swedish forest companies implement open innovation, but also to find out if there is an ideal open innovation form among Swedish forest companies. Methodology: Abductive approach and qualitative method. Semi structured interviews areconducted with managers from five Swedish forest companies and one startup. Theoretical perspectives: We collected and created a theoretical framework based on open and closed innovation models. We will also bring up different forms of open innovation. Empirical foundation: The empirical data in this thesis are based on our semi structured interviews. Conclusions: Companies prefer a mix of open and closed innovation. Why companies use Open innovation: cost effective, more efficient, boost brand reputation and remain competitive with external knowledge. Why companies continue to use closed innovation: Easier to measure results, keep control, manage and estimate budgets. Collaborative innovation is concluded to be the ideal open innovation form.

Business leaders must adopt new business practices to sustain their organizations and meet the paradigm of global competition. In the 21st century, innovation and market readiness have become the primary criteria for sustainability of an organization. Some organizational leaders should adopt open innovation strategy to stay competitive and foster a positive impact on their organizations' performance while practicing a systematic inclusion of knowledge from sources outside of the organization. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies business leaders use to cultivate a sustainable open innovation culture. The population consisted of leaders from 200 high technology organizations in the Washington, D.C. area. Purposeful sampling was used to select 4 organizations whose leaders demonstrated successful cultivation of open innovation culture. Schein's culture theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and review of the organizations' annual reports, publications, websites, and brochures. Data analysis was based on Vaismoradi, Turunen, and Bondas's systematic content and thematic analysis approach, proceding from study data to codes to themes. The outcome led to 4 primary themes: organizational strategic alignment, collaboration as a force multiplier for innovation, organizational culture change, and expert understanding of the customers' needs. Implications for positive social change include fostering innovative organizations whose members bring to the market cost-effective solutions and bridge between market needs and technological solutions. Members of innovative organizations impact underserved communities in terms of material wealth, social welfare, and employment opportunities.

Background: Most of the existing literature regarding innovation and innovation strategies focus on high-tech industries. In contrast low- and medium-technology industries are receiving very little attention despite the category is making up the largest part of the manufacturing industries in OECD countries. The phenomenon could be the result of misconceptions regarding innovation process in low- medium-tech industries and existing pre-eminence of linear model of innovation. Investigating the realities of innovation strategies in the low- and medium technology industries would help crystallise the understanding of innovation strategies within low- and medium technology industries uncovering key factors for innovation under the industry category. Research question: How do organisations under low- and medium-technology industry category innovate and what is the impact the chosen innovation strategy or a combination of innovation strategies have on the organisation? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand which innovation strategies (open, closed, exploitative, explorative or a combination of these strategies) organisations under low- and medium technology industry implement and how such innovation strategies impact the organisation. The aim of the study is to crystallise the understanding in how LMTs innovate, which innovation strategies they select and what influences the selection of innovation strategy. Method: Abductive research approach is used for the study. Qualitative research method is a primary source of data gathered from 8 organisations operating under low- and medium- technology industry category. The data was gathered via semi-structured interviews with C- level executives and management responsible for innovation initiatives. Theoretical framework: The literature will present knowledge based view and outline the link between knowledge and open, closed, exploitative and explorative innovation strategies. Findings & conclusion: Ability to identify relevant knowledge and assimilate it drove innovation within the LMTs assessed. Innovation strategies were selected based on understanding of additional information requirements and market environment in their respective markets. Various combinations of innovation strategies were used at the assessed organisations. Some of the assessed organisations used more open or more closed innovation strategies based on business circumstances. Open innovation strategies enabled fast knowledge accumulation and problem solution discovery. Organisational cultures influence the choice of innovation strategies. Peoples’ knowledge drives performance.