Companies are going through a phase that is called “Industrie 4.0” where the aim is to adapt their organization and culture toward the industrial revolution that is going on. There are multiple cultural aspects to look at while going into this process. This study applied Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to go in depth when it comes to the cultural development and Industrie 4.0 Maturity Index-model to create a foundation for digital transformation to measure the digital maturity of the organization. As one of the variable is distance work and the impacts on culture development, a quantitative study has implemented to clarify the connection between these variables, but also measuring the current stage of the digital maturity of the organization. Thus, a questionnaire was shared with employees from 9 different countries to compare the responses both country wise but also department wise. Therefore, the questionnaire covered following variables: digital maturity, digital transformation, effective workforce, distance work/remote work, cultural dimensions. Additionally, hypotheses were discovered and thereafter the results were put into SPSS system and then the authors analyzed the graphs and shortly compiled the outcomes of the study. The main result showed that employees are expecting the company to take next steps on its journey toward a more digitalized company, but they are not willing to move into a hybrid model that force them to work from home more than once a week since they are satisfied with their current system. However, the company should take into account the cultural differences and attitudes that employees carry before doing any radical changes.

This research project is a quantitative enquiry focused specifically on the value consumption of digital business platforms (DBP's) in relation to how informal sector traders (IST's) are using them to buy, sell and market their product and services in their daily trade functions. This study has adopted the approach of classifying the social media platforms, internet banking platforms and mobile payments platforms, as a single collective and defined under the banner of Digital Business Platforms. The advantage to this approach, is that it provides a multi-dimensional view of the perceived value-axis based on positive and negative experiences of using a variety of digital platforms including messaging, payments, and banking applications on their mobile phones in their daily trading functions. This study examines the positive experiences of perceived value (PV), collectively in the form of social value (SV), emotional value (EV) and functional value (FV). On the opposite end of the value spectrum, are the negative experiences of perceived risk in the form of price risk (PR) and technical barriers (TB) for the same group of informal sector traders. Understanding the relational impacts of these positive and negative experiences of value consumption, may lead to an understanding of their influence in the perceived usefulness (PU) and the perceived ease of use (PEoU) of DBP's. The results of these relationships will shed some light towards the behavioural intention (BI) to adopt DBP's and their actual usage in the long term. The analysis yielded the following results: for positive experiences, emotional value had the least impact on both perceived ease of use and usefulness and functional value was higher than social value. This means that IST's place more value on the utility of DBP's, than the emotional and social values. Regarding the negative experiences, price risk had the most significant impact on the willingness to adopt DBP's by ISTs.

Denna studie fokuserar på att undersöka förutsättningarna för svenska banker att investera i artificiell intelligens (AI) för att förbättra kundnöjdheten. I ljuset av den pågående digitala transformationen och de teknologiska innovationerna som skett inom banksektorn har det analyserats hur bankerna anpassar sig för att möta kundernas förväntningar och behov. Genom att integrera insikter från teoretiska ramverk och intervjuer med representanter från banksektorn och privatpersoner har det utforskats kring strategiska initiativ, såsom digitalisering, användning av AI och förändringar inom kundservice.  Studien finner att bankernas anpassningsförmåga till digitala förväntningar har en direkt inverkan på hur de investerar i artificiell intelligens och därigenom påverkar kundnöjdheten. En framgångsrik integration av AI-teknik, särskilt inom områden som kunder förstår, är kritisk för att möta varierande kundbehov och öka effektiviteten hos banktjänster. Resultaten från vår analys visar konkreta exempel på hur implementeringen av specifika AI-verktyg har påverkat bankernas förmåga att effektivt hantera kundkontakt och öka effektiviteten. Genom att grunda oss på dessa resultat kan det härledas tydliga samband mellan de identifierade behoven och de implementerade åtgärderna. Sammanfattningsvis belyser våra resultat den strategiska betydelsen av att svenska banker kontinuerligt anpassar sig till digitala förväntningar och ansvarsfullt implementerar AI för att säkra en hållbar framtid och bibehålla konkurrenskraft. Denna insikt är central för att förstå hur banksektorn kan navigera genom de utmaningar och möjligheter som den digitala eran innebär.

Background Digitalisation is transforming our society in several ways, bringing sev-eral new opportunities and challenges. It changes how organisations in-teract with their customers and generally has a positive effect on reve-nue. Maserhallen AB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Borlänge municipality and wants to grow as an organisation. Maserhallen AB aims to improve its quality of service, customer value and increase rev-enue by implementing a digitalised system into its organisation. The study is needed to construct a framework and strategy that can aid Maserhallen AB on the challenges and pathways of adopting new tech-nology. Aim This study highlights the challenges and pathways that await a tradi-tional organisation when trying to adopt a new digital system. Method There are two sources of data collection; the first is a literature study, and the second is a questionnaire. In the questionnaire, nine volunteers have participated, the age ranging of volunteers are from 24-60 years old. The targeted participants were the organisation management team and receptionist. Results The results gathered from both the case study and questionnaire indi-cate that the case company needs a new digital system. The thesis exam-ines two core areas: digitalisation strategies and the use of new technol-ogy to develop an analysis framework. The outcome is a framework that blends theoretical and digital strategy principles with successful ap-proaches in concepts and new technologies. Conclusions For Maserhallen AB to avoid obstacles when facing implementation of digitalisation, it is necessary to adopt new technology with the help of digital strategy and framework. This is not only needed for efficiency and cost reasons, but also it will assist in increasing customer value and quality of service. The framework provided in this case study will aid Maserhallen AB in adopting a new digital system.

Aging infrastructure, along with the escalating occurrence and severity of extreme weather events linked to climate change, and the growing demands of an increasing population, have placed significant strains on wastewater and stormwater systems. Consequently, there has been a rise in instances of Combined and Sanitary Sewer Overflows (CSOs and SSOs), among other related problems. These challenges have intensified the impact of sewershed issues on both society and the environment. Fortunately, recent advancements in technology, such as sophisticated sensor technologies, more powerful processors, and advanced mathematical modeling techniques, have opened up new possibilities for developing intelligent water systems in the United States that are capable of making well-informed, data driven decisions. While the technological capabilities of these tools are advancing, their application in the water sector is limited and often siloed. Water utilities face a variety of challenges related to digitalization of sewershed management and require a more structured approach for their digital transformation. This research aims to present a comprehensive framework called iWISE (Intelligent Water Infrastructure Systems Engineering) that will serve as a blueprint to facilitate the implementation of Intelligent Sewersheds for water utilities across the country. The proposed framework will focus on enhancing our understanding of various aspects, including system of systems thinking, data management, modeling techniques, decision-making processes, and service delivery, in order to adopt a more intelligent and efficient approach to managing sewersheds. This framework was piloted with small, medium and large scale utilities to capture feedback on the proposed building blocks from a real world perspective and the findings from these interviews reveal that most utilities are in the preliminary stages of intelligent water systems implementation, and is more common among large utilities as compared to their small and medium counterparts. / Master of Science / Water infrastructure in the United States is facing several challenges like the deterioration of infrastructure with time, increasing extreme weather events like flooding due to climate change, and growing population demands. These issues are putting a lot of pressure on wastewater and stormwater systems, leading to more instances of Combined and Sanitary Sewer Overflows (CSOs and SSOs) and other related problems that have significant negative impacts on both the society and the natural environment. Fortunately, recent advancements in technology like remote sensing, internet of things, increased computing power and advanced data analysis tools like artificial intelligence and machine learning, have provided opportunities for water utilities to improve their sewershed management practices. This research introduces a comprehensive framework called iWISE (Intelligent Water Infrastructure Systems Engineering) to help implement the new technologies and practices available for water utilities nationwide to improve the efficiency and reliability of sewershed management. The framework focuses on improving our understanding of different aspects like how a sewershed and its components are defined, collecting and managing data parameters, modeling techniques, decision-making, and service delivery. The framework was piloted with small, medium, and large scale utilities to get real-world feedback. The findings showed that most utilities are in the early stages of adopting intelligent water systems, and larger utilities are more likely to use these technologies compared to smaller ones.

From changing consumer relationships to demands for new experiences, performing arts institutions are under increasing pressure to embrace digital transformation. Technology is altering how audiences engage with the arts. Preferences and consumption habits are rapidly evolving. Strategies to sustain existing formats, customers, and revenue models are unlikely to succeed. Cultural institutions in general and performing arts such as orchestras, ballets, and operas are rapidly adopting technology – with millions of social media followers, streaming services, and online ticketing. Yet, these initiatives are fragmented, hard to assess, and there is very little known on how to digitally transform performing arts institutions overall. This research asks: What are the mechanisms driving digital innovation in performing arts institutions, and specifically in orchestras? The research approach includes three qualitative studies, which use a semi-structured questionnaire with fifty performing arts organizations. Study 1 explores the overall practice of digital innovation in the performing arts. Study 2 more specifically examines the role of engagement as a mechanism to understand digital transformation in the performing arts in general, and orchestras in particular. Study 3 maps the mechanisms of digital engagement to uncover digital transformation in the performing arts and defines engagement. This research makes several contributions to theory and practice by identifying the performing arts as an important area for applying digital transformation. A research framework was developed through synthesis of performing arts, innovation, business model, and engagement literature. Engagement was defined and identified as an important construct for digital transformation. The components, development, instantiation, and impact of engagement were elaborated in a set of propositions that summarize the role of digital transformation in the performing arts. Finally, the research provides recommendations and action items for arts administrators. / Business Administration/Management Information Systems

Background: Digital transformation has become crucial for success in the global automobile industry. Emerging digital technologies are imposing new challenges and offering new opportunities to automotive firms and are fuelling the business model innovation in the global automotive sector. This research study explored the nature of business model innovation during the digital transformation process and the dynamic capabilities that automobile organizations need to build for successful transformation. Research Question: How could digital transformation-driven business model innovation be successful by building dynamic capabilities, and what key lessons could be learned from Volvo- a Swedish automobile manufacturing company? Conceptual Framework: Dynamic capabilities theory provides a theoretical basis to understand how digital transformation-led business model innovation encourages automotive firms to build their dynamic capabilities to ensure survival and dominance in the quickly changing market. Methodology: A qualitative empirical research study is conducted on chosen case organization- Volvo. The thematic analysis of 10 interviews conducted with the Volvo managers yielded some interesting insights. Conclusion: Volvo is proactive in adopting emerging digital technologies (like IoT, big data, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, etc.) to keep pace with changing world. Volvo actively builds its dynamic capabilities to invest in the emerging business model innovations fuelled by the digital transformation, which enables the firm to maintain its digital dominance. When automotive organizations build dynamic capabilities, it lays a strong foundation for business model innovations. Dynamic capability framework can be a useful guidance tool for building organizational capabilities in a digital transformation context.

Platform-centric startups that generate value by facilitating interactions between two or more interdependent groups digitally transform and disrupt the business environment, leading to significant changes in how people purchase, sell, communicate, and even live. Some of these, such as Uber and Airbnb, have become among the most beloved and successful brands, though they had serious challenges in building up their brands at the early stages due to lack of resources. The purpose of this dissertation is to develop a framework of branding in platform-centric startups by identifying the pillars of brand‐building and linking the relevant factors. This study employs qualitative method to propose a four-level framework including passion, innovation, co-creation, and moralization for brand-building in startups. The novelty of this framework reveals that the locus of brand-building is gradually expanding from the founders to the company, then to the customers, and finally to a larger societal constituency. The framework can assist founders and stakeholders in monitoring the growth of a new venture in the real business world while guiding branding scholars to investigate the discipline of startup branding.

The work of peace practitioners was already complex before the fourth industrial revolution took place. Since then, it has gotten increasingly challenging. What is the current status quo of technology in terms of peacebuilding? How can peace practitioners work with instead of against Goliath? This research included qualitative semi-structured interviews with five peace practitioner experts working in the field of peacebuilding. Through a thematic analysis six themes could be identified, which have the names as follows: Let the positive peace grow, Recipe for disaster, In agreements we trust, Batman’s utility belt, Duct tape and hope. The urgency for progress from the side of social media platforms as well as more education and experience with the platforms from the side of peace practitioners is discussed in this paper. It comes to the conclusion that there is a need to bring everyone to the table and, through that, ensure long-term and sustainable peace. Further, the demand for a still ongoing work process of “duct tape and hope” / Fredsarbetares arbete var komplext redan innan den fjärde industriella revolutionen. Sedan dess har det bara blivit mer och mer utmanande. Vad är teknikens nuvarande status quo när det gäller fredsbyggande? Hur kan fredsarbetare arbeta med, istället för mot, Goliat? Den här uppsatsen omfattar kvalitativa semi-strukturerade intervjuer med fem fredsaktörer/experter som arbetar inom området för fredsbyggande. Genom en tematisk analys kunde sex teman identifieras: låt den positiva freden växa, dömt att misslyckas, lita på överenskommelser, Batmans verktygsbälte, silvertejp och hopp. I denna uppsats diskuteras behovet av utveckling bland sociala medieplattformar samt mer utbildning och erfarenhet av plattformarna bland fredsarbetare. Slutsatsen är att det finns ett behov av att bjuda in alla till förhandlingsbordet och på så sätt säkerställa en långsiktig och hållbar fred. Dessutom krävs en kontinuerlig arbetsprocess med “silvertejp och hopp”

The Doctoral Thesis explores Sustainability-oriented transition mechanisms (SUS) at different levels of analysis (Country, inter-organizational, and organizational levels). The focus of the study is Digital Transformation (DT) and the Collaborative (multi-stakeholder) (COL) dimensions. By disentangling between COL and DT, the thesis proves that Digital Transformation and the Collaborative dimension are sufficient conditions to achieve Sustainable outcomes. In particular, the Collaborative dimension mediates the impact that Digital Transformation has on Sustainability transitions, which the existing literature identifies as a direct effect. The motivation behind these results seems to emerge from the explorative longitudinal case study, where a digital platform represents a tool able to increase the efficiency of collaboration dynamics and enable sustainable outcomes. After five years, the platform ecosystem collapsed as the leading ecosystem firm failed to effectively engage with multiple stakeholders toward sustainability outcomes and began transitioning towards lower levels of sustainability.