Information Technology (IT) enables organizations to involve consumers as co-creators of new products. By facilitating increased interaction between consumers and developers. IT allows consumers to influence and tailor product designs, but also allows developers to make use of distant knowledge to enhance and extend their product offerings and marketing. However, while much is said about the promises of IT-enabled co-creation, little is known of the strategic challenges associated with such IT use. To address this gap, we drew on IT literature to conduct a qualitative case study of IT-enabled co-creation in four video game development firms. In particular, we tried to understand how IT is affecting relationships between consumers and developers and when and why IT can be strategically used to enable co-creating coalitions in development processes. In so doing, it became clear that the promises of IT-enabled co-creation are associated with key strategic challenges. In particular, we identify three challenges that organizations must address in order to harness the strategic value of IT-enabled co-creation: the silent majority, quality assurance and managing expectations. We conclude this paper by discussing the future of IT and digital product development as well as implications for research and practice.

Electronic Software Distribution(ESD) sprung up in the U.S.A. from 1994. The business volume of global ESD market was 2.5 hundred million in 1996 and the growing rate was over 100% every year. ESD attains to maturity in the U.S.A. and Europe, but the concept of ESD is still in the initial stage in Taiwan. There are a few firms offering services in this scope. However, consumers do not understand ESD clearly. Furthermore, there are very few researches about ESD in Taiwan. All the circumstances are unfavorable for popularizing and promoting ESD in Taiwan. For the above mentioned reasons, this study will seek to further our understanding of consumers¡¦ purchasing behavior and purchasing factors through ESD and how important the purchasing factors affect consumers¡¦ behavior. This study got the purchasing factors of ESD by analyzing and generalizing the functions of distribution in the Web, the characteristics of Internet marketing and digital product, and the Internet consumers¡¦ purchasing factors. After that, this study analyzed the importance of these ESD consumers, purchasing factors. A web survey was conducted on one ESD web site, called SoSoft.net. The total valid sample is 95 consisting of 37 ESD patrons and 58 ESD non-patrons. And the main findings of this research are as the following: 1.The purchasing frequency of the ESD patrons is unfixed, the rate of repurchase is high and the average amount of purchasing is medium. 2.The characteristics of the responded majority are young, highly educated, and are students or employees of the IT industries. 3.The ESD consumers had long histories of using Internet. They tend to be frequent and long hour Web surfers. About half of them have Broadband (ADSL) access to the Internet. 4.For the ESD patrons, six factors are extracted from the questions on ESD purchasing factors. The factors are ¡§purchasing process¡¨, ¡§characters of Internet marketing¡¨, ¡§variety of service¡¨, ¡§option of products¡¨ and ¡§transaction costs¡¨. As for the ESD non-patrons, six factors are extracted from the questions on ESD purchasing factors as well. The factors are ¡§design of the website content¡¨, ¡§characters of Internet marketing¡¨, ¡§distinctive products and service¡¨, ¡§efficiency of purchasing process¡¨ ¡§Web security¡¨ and ¡§availability of try-before-you-buy service¡¨. 5.The ESD non-patrons are much more concerned with the security of payment and the privacy of personal data. 6.With ESD purchasing experience or not, the Consumers value all the purchasing factors with the same importance. 7.The ESD patrons¡¦ concerns of ¡§purchasing process¡¨, ¡§variety of service¡¨ and ¡§option of products¡¨ are influenced by their different age. And their occupations influence their concerns about ¡§variety of service¡¨. As for ESD non-patrons, their gender and education influence their concerns about ¡§distinctive products and service¡¨. ¡§efficiency of purchasing process¡¨ is influenced by the difference in monthly income. 8.The area of residence, Internet connection speed, and the period in history of contacting Internet do not influence the ESD consumers¡¦ concerns of purchasing factors.

The purpose of this research is to investigate and understand the current situation of the suppliers in the textile and apparel industry, who are located in Asia, towards the Digital Product Passport (DPP). In particular, this research intends to assist in understanding if the suppliers of this industry are aware of the DPP legislation, which is their attitude regarding this topic, and how prepared they are to follow its prerequisites. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts an exploratory qualitative research approach. The goal is to explore and gain further knowledge about the current attitude and preparedness of the Asian suppliers regarding the DPP and finally to lay the groundwork for further studies. An inductive approach was followed since this research was conducted by interrelating relevant literature with new findings with the purpose of providing the existing literature with new empirical data. Data were collected through interviews and new knowledge and discussions were produced as a result of the research process. Findings: The findings of this research show that the suppliers’ attitude towards the DPP is positive rather than negative. There is a willingness to learn more about this topic and follow the prerequisites. However, several difficulties were encountered that should be taken into account carefully. In addition, with regard to their preparedness, the suppliers are considered not ready. However, it was noted that for some of them, the implementation might be easier than for others. Originality/value: In the literature, there is a gap with regard to the current situation of the suppliers in the textile and apparel industry, who are located outside the European Union, and particularly in Asia, towards the DPP. Studies have been focused on the DPP, but not with an explicit focus on the suppliers in Asia and in the textile industry. Therefore, this research is considered original and valuable since it is regarded as one of the first to describe the current situation of the Asian suppliers regarding the DPP and with a specific focus on the textile industry. Paper type: Master Thesis

Purpose: The study explores the integration of blockchain technology with Digital Product Passports (DPP) to facilitate information transparency to address industry-wide concerns. Methodology: This research employed a qualitative exploratory design, utilizing detailed semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the relative field. The research synthesized insights from industry reports, academic discourse, and empirical data to offer a holistic perspective on the subject matter. Findings: The study reveals a pressing need for standardized and transparent mechanisms for sharing information within the industry's supply chains. As an initial stage, adopting a Digital Product Passport contains many challenges. The research identifies three key categories of challenges (i.e. Technological, Organizational, and Regulatory challenges) and tries to investigate the role of blockchain technology in the supply chain to solve them. Implications: The integration of DPPs and blockchain holds the potential to revolutionize supply chain collaboration, enhance consumer trust, and facilitate the transition to a circular economy. The study underscores the importance of stakeholder collaboration, education, and the establishment of industry-wide standards to unlock the full transformative potential of these technologies. Value: This research contributes to the growing discourse on circular supply chains by explaining the role of DPPs and blockchain technology in promoting transparency, and traceability. The study offers a comprehensive framework for understanding the data requirements of digital product passports, bridging the gap in the existing literature. The findings serve as a foundation for informed decision-making by industry practitioners, policymakers, and researchers.

No description available.

Bakgrund: Marknadsföring är ett ständigt föränderligt område, och den tekniska utvecklingen har medfört både problem och lösningar. Digital produktplacering, vilket möjliggör infogning av produkter och varumärken i efterbearbetningen av en film- eller tv-inspelning, kan ses som en lösning på den traditionella produktplaceringens brister. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att presentera en konceptuell jämförelse mellan traditionell och digital produktplacering med fokus på att, inom ramen för det senare, beskriva, analysera och skapa en förståelse för fenomenet. Studien innefattar att en definition av digital produktplacering skapas, samtidigt som dess bransch exemplifieras och framtidstron utreds. Genomförande: Efter genomförd förstudie användes dokumentstudier, och intervjuer med fem aktörer inom produktplaceringsbranschen samt en medieforskare, för att studera fenomenet utifrån vårt valda syfte. Slutsats: Vår definition av digital produktplacering, ur marknadsföringssynpunkt, lyder: Digital infogning av produkter, eller varumärken, i tidigare inspelat medieinnehåll i syfte att påverka den avsedda målgruppen. Fenomenet anser vi komplettera traditionell produktplacering som marknadsföringsmetod och kommer därför troligen inte att ersätta densamma, utan istället verka i symbios. Däremot tycks framtiden se positiv ut för de båda fenomenens användande. / Background: Marketing is a constantly changing field, and technological developments have brought both problems and solutions. Digital product placement, which enables the insertion of products and brands during the post-production of a television program or film, can be considered a solution to the flaws of traditional product placement. Aim/Purpose: The aim of this study is to present a conceptual comparison between traditional and digital product placement, focusing on describing, analyzing, and creating an understanding for the latter. The study involves creating a definition of the phenomenon, as well as exemplifying its industry, and investigating the beliefs regarding its future. Completition: Following a pre-study, document studies and interviews with five industry players within the product placement industry, and one media researcher, was used to study the phenomenon. Conclusions: Our definition of digital product placement, from a marketing point of view, is: Digital insertion of products, or brands, into previously recorded media content aiming to influence the intended target group. We believe that the phenomenon complements traditional product placement, which is why it will probably not replace the same, but rather operate in a symbiotic relationship. Nevertheless, the future seems to be positive regarding the use of both phenomenons.

Manufacturers dealing with complex products or systems are widely dependent on new technologies which can be utilized to create new business models. Servitization literature express an increased demand for advanced service offerings for manufacturers where revenues are generated by the performance and availability of their product. This stream of literature agree that maintenance organisations hold an important part of capturing the advantages of advanced servitization business models but that manufacturers often struggle with the deployment of digital technologies. Furthermore, studies within servitization imply that digital implementations and information management create value for manufactures, but a gap exists regarding how value is created. This study therefore explores and furthermore identifies the role of digitalized product information in maintenance services and how it creates value. The aim is to contribute with new insights regarding the realisation of advanced services within the service operations area. The research design is a multiple embedded case study including 10 interviews and a cost analysis. Technicians and maintenance managers are interviewed within companies who are i) manufacturers of complex products or systems and ii) have their own maintenance organisation. Two themes, “Convenience” and “Sustainability” were derived from the interviews to describe how value is created by the usage of DPI. Value is created by simplified processes, optimized time management, reduced consumption, optimized life-expectancy etc. through the usage of DPI in maintenance services of complex products or systems. Economic value in terms of cost reductions, sales optimizations and economic stability could be identified as holistic value created for the organizations, enabled by the two main themes. The results of the study indicate overlapping similarities with the existing literatures and address important aspects of how to realise the benefits of advanced services for manufacturers and what digital capabilities related to maintenance that can be utilized to successfully implement such services. / Tillverkande företag som hanterar komplexa produkter eller system är starkt beroende av ny teknologi som kan utnyttjas för att skapa nya affärsmodeller. Forskning inom tjänstefiering visar en ökad efterfrågan av avancerade tjänsteerbjudanden för tillverkande företag där intäkter genereras av produkternas prestanda och tillgänglighet. Dessa forskare är eniga om att underhållsorganisationer spelar en viktig roll för att fånga fördelarna med dessa avancerade tjänsteerbjudanden men att tillverkande företag ofta har svårigheter med att implementera digital teknik. Studier inom tjänstefiering påvisar att digitala implementationer och informationshantering skapar värde för tillverkande företag, men att ett forskningsgap som beskriver hur detta värde skapas existerar. Denna studie syftar därför till att utforska och identifiera rollen av digitaliserad produktinformation i underhållstjänster och hur det skapar värde. Målet med studien är att bidra med nya insikter angående förverkligandet av avancerade tjänsteerbjudanden inom litteratur för tjänstefiering. Studien är utformad som en multipel fallstudie som inkluderar 10 intervjuer och en kostnadsanalys. Tekniker och underhållschefer är intervjuade inom företag som är i) tillverkare av komplexa produkter eller system och ii) har en egen underhållsorganisation. Två teman, ”Bekvämlighet” och ”Hållbarhet”, härleddes från intervjuerna för att beskriva hur värde skapas genom användandet av DPI. Värde skapas genom förenklade processer, optimerad tidsåtgång, minimerad konsumtion, optimerad livslängd hos produkter osv. genom användningen av DPI i underhållstjänster av komplexa produkter eller system. Ekonomiskt värde i form av kostnadsreduceringar och optimerad försäljning kunde identifieras som holistiskt värde skapat för organisationerna, realiserat av resultatets två huvudteman. Studiens resultat indikerar överlappande likheter med existerande forskning och adresserar viktiga aspekter angående hur avancerade tjänsteerbjudanden förverkligas och vilka digitala förmågor relaterat till underhåll som kan utnyttjas för att på bästa sätt implementera sådana tjänster.

Mechanical engineers have difficulties when attempting to convey three-dimensional product information in a two-dimensional style. Effective collaboration between various users requires capability to deliver standardized data in a digital format. By digitizing product information and making it available for users apart from designers, Model-Based Definition (MBD) provides a solution by defining to product digitally in a three-dimensional environment. The use of MBD in mechanical design processes can have a positive impact on cost, time, and quality of the final product. Although there are standards for defining digital products, they sometimes do not satisfy specific needs of a variety of product landscapes, necessitating company-specific rules. For a successful deployment of MBD the IT infrastructure must be mature, and a company-tailored guideline document is required to bridge current gaps from standards to corporate needs. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse software tools and verify if the IT infrastructure is ready to support transition from drawing-based engineering to model-centric practice. Changes are identified and recommendations will be given. The gained experience from creating models in CAD software along with requirements and feedback from stakeholders and users of the product and manufacturing information is input for creation of the guideline and manual for MBD data practices. This supports the company’s transition to a more efficient product definition. With release of the guideline for applying MBD, the milestone is set to sustainably rely on models instead of drawings for communicating product and manufacturing information. The applied CAD programmes provide all functions transcribing MBD according to applicable standards. The resulting data sets can be interpreted by humans and machines, bringing significant benefits when advancing to model-based enterprise where models are used in all business operations. / Maskiningenjörer och konstruktörer från av olika brancher har svårigheter när de försöker förmedla tredimensionell produktinformation på ett tvådimensionellt sätt. Ett effektivt samarbete mellan olika användare kräver kapacitet att leverera standardiserad data i digitalt format. Genom att digitalisera produktinformation och göra den tillgänglig för andra användningsområden än design ger Model-Based Definition (MBD) en lösning. Användningen av MBD i den mekaniska designprocessen kan ha en positiv inverkan på kostnaden, tiden och kvaliteten på slutprodukten. Även om det finns standarder för att definiera digitala produkter, tillfredsställer de ibland inte de specifika behoven hos en mängd olika produktlandskap, vilket kräver företagsspecifika regler. För en framgångsrik implementering av MBD måste företagets IT-infrastruktur vara mogen, och ett riktlinjedokument krävs för att överbrygga de nuvarande klyftorna från standarderna till företagets behov. Därför analyseras mjukvaruverktygen om dessa är redo att stödja övergången från ritningsbaserad teknik till modellcentrerad praktik. Förändringar identifieras och rekommendationer ges. Erfarenheten från att skapa modeller i CAD-programmen kom tillsammans med input från intressenter och användare av produktdatainmatningen för skapandet av manualen för datapraxis för digital produktdefinition. En nedströmsstudie för interoperabilitet begränsades av en grov programvara tillgänglighet. Med lanseringen av manualen för tillämpning av MBD är milstolpen satt att på ett hållbart sätt förlita sig på modeller istället för ritningar för att kommunicera produkt- och tillverkningsinformation. De tillämpade CAD-programmen tillhandahåller alla funktioner som transkriberar MBD enligt tillämpliga standarder. De resulterande datamängderna kan tolkas av människor och maskiner, vilket ger betydande fördelar när man går vidare till det modellbaserade företaget där modellen används i hela nedströmsströmmen.

With an increasing population and decreasing housing supply, students in large cities get entangled in a societal crisis. Concurrently, the intermediary rental websites are scattered and insufficient. An emerging technology; PropTech is in the nascent phase, aiming to streamline the rental process by assisting target users. Through an exploratory approach, this study thoroughly investigated the sequences which prospective tenants encounter during the rental process. Simultaneously, their challenges and needs got examined. The data collection consisted of a landscape analysis, and semi-structured interviews combined with a focus group. The identified sequences which need to be incorporated into a rental PropTech platform are (1) Finding the listings, (2) Filtering the listings, (3) Contact with landlord, (4) Viewing the property, (5) Closing a deal, (6) Moving in, and (7) Post moving feedback. Throughout such a platform, it is essential to implement functions that support transparency, reliability, privacy, and feedback.

In the last decade, the European Union has looked to become more sustainable toreach the global environmental goals. With The European Green deal, a transition towards a circular economy has been set in place. One of the proposals is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) that will improve the circularity and sustainability of almost all categories of physical goods. The digital product passport is a significant part of the ESPR with the goal to enable circular economy and carbon reduction plans by providing product information in a digital format and enable traceability. The purpose of this study is to investigate the Digital Product Passport in product design and manufacturing and to assess the potential opportunities and challenges associated with its introduction. The study also identifies the key traceability aspects that need to be considered when implementing this technology. A qualitative study has been conducted with a focus on small-to-medium sized enterprises in the Swedish furniture industry. In this study, the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework has been used to identify key factors that will have an impact on the future implementation of Digital Product Passport. Based on empirical findings and the literature review, an adapted model of TOE is presented in the discussion. The study has identified several opportunities in the Swedish furniture industry, such as transparency, digital identification, marketing and competitive advantages, value chain collaboration and the traceability aspect. Challenges found were organizational resources, decentralised databases, lack of frameworks, establishing access levels and digital platforms. A traceability aspect that needs to be considered are the security and privacy. Blockchain solution could be seen as a traceability enhancer that provides security, while interoperability between different blockchain networks is questioned. / Under det senaste decenniet har Europeiska unionen försökt bli mer hållbar för att nå de globala miljömålen. I och med EU:s gröna överenskommelse har en övergång till en cirkulär ekonomi inletts. Ett av förslagen är förordningen om ekodesign för hållbara produkter (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, ESPR) som kommer att förbättra cirkulariteten och hållbarheten inom nästan alla kategorier av fysiska varor. Det digitala produktpasset är en viktig del av ESPR med målet att möjliggöra planer för cirkulär ekonomi och koldioxid minskning genom att tillhandahålla produktinformation i digitalt format och möjliggöra spårbarhet. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka det digitala produktpasset i produktdesign och tillverkning samt att bedöma de potentiella möjligheter och utmaningar som är förknippade med dess införande. Studien identifierar också de viktigaste spårbarhetsaspekterna som måste beaktas vid införandet av denna teknik. En kvalitativ studie har genomförts med fokus på små till medelstora företag inom den svenska möbelindustrin. I denna studie har ramverket Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) använts för att identifiera nyckelfaktorer som kommer att ha en inverkan på den framtida implementeringen av Digital Product Passport. Baserat på empiriska resultat ochlitteraturstudien presenteras en anpassad modell av TOE i diskussionen. Studien har identifierat flera möjligheter i den svenska möbelindustrin, såsom transparens, digital identifiering, marknadsföring och konkurrensfördelar, samarbete i värdekedjan och spårbarhetsaspekten. Utmaningar som hittades var organisatoriska resurser, decentraliserade databaser, brist på ramverk, fastställande av åtkomstnivåer och antalet digitala plattformar. En spårbarhetsaspekt som måste beaktas är säkerhet och integritet. Blockkedjelösningen kan ses som en spårbarhetsförbättring som ger säkerhet, medan interoperabiliteten mellan olika blockkedjenätverk ifrågasätts.