This thesis investigates the performance of business model innovation (BMI) by incumbent power utility and clean-tech start-up firms influenced by the German Energiewende. It emphasises the factors that impact BMI from a managers’ perspective, examines success factors for managers to overcome BMI challenges, and addresses contingencies to perform BMI in a more structured way. The research is driven by the German Energiewende. It has been chosen as Germany is considered one of the world’s leading markets for renewable energies and a transformation of the power sector is currently underway. Therefore, established power utility firms face severe changes, which have the characteristics of a potential disruption to their business model (BM). At the same time, new players are challenging these incumbents with new BMs. The research is underpinned by the extant literature on BMs and BMI. The research approach is based on two case studies; the incumbent power utility and the clean-tech start-up sector. The qualitative study comprises of 24 semi-structured interviews conducted with top tier managers, from 18 firms, responsible for BMI within these firms. Key findings: This study extends our knowledge of BMI in both a start-up and an incumbent environment that is influenced by various contingent events. It portrays barriers to BMI and depicts critical success factors for BMI that point out solutions on how to overcome these barriers. It provides a structured BMI framework for established firms and illustrates future BM archetypes in this sector. It clearly documents the German Energiewende is regarded as a disruptive threat from the perspective of incumbent power utility managers. The theoretical contribution of this thesis is a process framework including all identified drivers and challenges for BMI in both established and start-up firms. Contributions to practice include critical success factors for BMI, recommendations to overcome barriers to BMI and future BM archetypes within the newly evolving Energiewende industry based on sustainable technologies.

The economic development of the world in the last centuries has brought manypositive things, but also some new problems. The linear approach long used isbased on a long-term, unsustainable approach to economic activity and newmodels are required. The purpose of this report is to investigate newsustainability requirements that drive innovation with regard to business modelsand product development.A case study was carried out at the company Ecostrate, which is launching anew product with clear sustainability ambitions. A Triple Layered BusinessModel Canvas (TLBMC) is made for their product and from this case the roleof Circular Economics (CE) and sustainability in the formation of new businessmodels is evaluated. The case study was based on interviews made withcompany employees and other people in a focus group and on secondary dataprovided primarily from Ecostrate, but also other organizations and companies.From the case study, it can be seen how the business model of the product was,from start, designed in accordance with circular economic principles and with afocus on sustainability, where the starting point was a used material that wasthen altered to once again provide the consumer with a value offer. Accordingto profitability estimates, the product will competitive while significantenvironmental and social savings are possible. General conclusions can bedrawn that CE and sustainability are an important part of future business modeldesign, without which companies will not be competitive in the future andfuture markets with increasing raw material prices, stricter regulations and moreaware and sustainability-prioritizing customers.The primary limitation has been the calculations, which were not carried out asexhaustively as would have been needed in order to give the case study a morestable empirical foundation. In this study, they have been used as approximativevalues to draw generalizable conclusions so to understand the product, itsimpact and in order to get more precise implications for the rest of the market,there exists possible future research.

Ces dernières décennies ont été marquées par l’apparition d’un nouveau contexte en faveur du développement soutenable, dans lequel de nouveaux modes de consommation et de production émergent. Ce nouveau contexte tend à se substituer à l’innovation intensive, les entreprises industrielles à réorienter leur business model vers l’innovation soutenable. Cependant ce changement nécessite des bouleversements stratégiques et organisationnels que certaines entreprises ne parviennent pas à surmonter. Ces situations d’entreprises révèlent un double enjeu : la nécessité de caractériser l’innovation soutenable d’une part et l’intérêt de définir une stratégie d’évolution et de diffusion de l’innovation soutenable au sein des entreprises d’autre part. Afin de caractériser l’innovation soutenable, trois notions sont mobilisées : le business model, la soutenabilité et la fonctionnalité. Les résultats de cette exploration suggèrent l’utilisation du business model comme objet intermédiaire afin de favoriser la co-construction et l’évolution de business models. L’étude de la soutenabilité du business model conduit à la proposition de l’association de l’économie de fonctionnalité - business model serviciel - à l’éco-conception - modèle de conception environnemental - comme déclinaison de l’innovation soutenable. L’analyse de la fonctionnalité révèle une complémentarité de ces deux démarches. Celles-ci permettent de définir de nouvelles offres du point de vue des valeurs d’usage et permettent d’intégrer l’utilisateur dans la définition de l’offre. L’exploration de ces trois notions conduit également à la proposition d’un changement de paradigme en faveur du paradigme soutenable suivi du développement de trajectoires de business models afin de garantir aux entreprises l’atteinte à long terme des plus hauts niveaux de l’innovation soutenable. Ces résultats théoriques servent ensuite au développement d’une méthode d’aide à la décision : Business Model Explorer for Sustainability (BMES). La méthode BMES permet aux entreprises de concevoir de nouveaux business models soutenables et de définir des trajectoires vers ces business models soutenables comme stratégie de diffusion de l’innovation soutenable à long terme. Elle s’appuie sur la notion d’upgradabilité comme déclinaison opérationnelle de l’innovation soutenable. La méthode est développée et testée avec les deux industriels partenaires du projet IDCyclUM : Neopost et Rowenta. Une des principales perspectives de recherche proposée consiste à engager des travaux visant à poursuivre la définition de l’innovation soutenable qui reste un concept ambigu pour lequel il n’existe pas de consensus à l’heure actuelle. / Over the past decades, a new context in favor of sustainable development emerged. New models of consumption and production are developed. This shift from intensive innovation to sustainable innovation leads some companies to rethink their business model. However, this business model evolution requires strategic and organizational changes that some companies fail to overcome. These companies’ situations reveal a double challenge : the need to characterize sustainable innovation on the one hand and defining a strategy for disseminating sustainable innovation on the other hand.To characterize sustainable innovation, three notions are mobilized : the business model, sustainability and functionality. The results of this exploration suggest the use of the business modelas an intermediary object to promote the co-construction and the evolution of business models. The study of sustainable led us to associate functional economy - servicial business model - to eco-design- environmental design - as a declination of sustainable innovation. Functionality concept analysis revealed the complementarity of functional economy and eco-design approaches. This allows us to define new offers from the use-values point of view. The exploration of these three notions also leads to propose a paradigm shift in favor of sustainable paradigm. This paradigm shift is followed by the development and characterization of business models trajectories. These trajectories guide companies in achieving the highest levels of sustainable innovation on the long term. These theoretical results were used to develop a method called Business Model Explorer for Sustainability (BMES). The BMES method allows companies to develop sustainable business models and to define trajectories toward these business models. The method is based on the upgradability concept as operational application of sustainable innovation. The method was developed and tested with the two industrial partners of IDCyclUM project : Neopost and Rowenta. One of the main proposed research perspectives is to continue defining sustainable innovation. This concept remains indeed ambiguous and there is still no consensus about its definition at present.

The purpose of this thesis is to uncover and examine the processes that start-up entrepreneurs go through while designing and then developing their business models. This is done with the intent of deciphering the kind of development that might ultimately lead to a unique or innovative business model. This study uses primary qualitative data generated from interviews with founding entrepreneurs and managers who still participate in running the organization. Each of these organizations participates in the men’s retail market. The research design and methodology of this research uses a grounded-theory coding procedure to analyze the data. Three questions guide this research forward and the findings are threefold. First, for these organizations two business model design paths were followed, herein referred to as the path to ‘Alleviate Pain’ and as the path to ‘Adopt and Modify.’ Second, entrepreneurial leaders tended to act as arbiters when developing their business models, mediating between the set of information accrued during operations and three identified factors. Thirdly, new research into whether or not business model innovations are the result of ex-ante insights or ex-post operational learning is presented. And the findings tend to indicate that both ex-ante insights and ex-post learning are important, but their importance is temporally induced. Lastly, a brief discussion is carried out on how this research informs the entrepreneurial business model creation process (see entrepreneurial practicum) and how it adds to the current literature on business models and business model innovation.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to explore capabilities needed to deploy a use-oriented businessmodel (UOBM) for consumer durables with low utilization rate. Therefore, the study seeks to uncover activities needed to realize business model capabilities and the capabilities impact on business performance. Method - The study was conducted with an explorative single case study research approach, investigating an incumbent original equipment manufacturing (OEM) firm of consumer durables based in Sweden. The study adopts a qualitative approach where 34 interviews were conducted in three waves, and results were derived using thematic analysis. Findings ­– The study results in a framework which illustrates 13 key capabilities within the three dimensions of the business model (value creation, delivery, and capture) needed to successfully deploy a UOBM in a consumer market. The capabilities were generated through findings of 47 key activities within all three dimensions that build the business model specific capabilities. Based on the data, additional findings of organizational preconditions needed to deploy the UOBM were found and presented in the framework. Theoretical and Practical Implications – The study contributes to the limited previous research of Product-Service Systems (PSS) in a consumer context through empirically developing the PSS B2C business model research. By the identifying business model specific capabilities, we have given practitioners an operational map in business-critical capabilities as well as capabilities that can be built over time to improve business performance.   Limitations and Future Research – The study is limited to one single case study of an OME in the early stages of deploying the UOBM. Hence, future research is recommended with a wider set of data to further examine the generalizability of our study, also, to both confirm the recognized capabilities and to possibly find others.

Idag influeras samhället allt mer av digitaliseringens ständiga utveckling. Denna utveckling inkluderar nya digitala verktyg och processer vilka förändrar verksamheter och dess affärsmodeller. För revisionsbranschen tillkommer automatisering som ett komplement vilket ska effektivisera delarna i revisionsprocessen och möjliggöra att revisorer fokuserar mer på rådgivning. De digitala verktyg som digitaliseringen medför gör att de mindre revisionsbyråerna är utsatta för högre kostnader då implementeringen av verktygen är kostnadskrävande. Dessutom påverkas inte enbart kostnadssidan av digitaliseringen utan hela verksamhetens affärsmodell. Därav är studiens syfte att undersöka och analysera i vilken utsträckning revisionsprocessens delar har digitaliserats och digitaliseringens inverkan på affärsmodellen i små revisionsbyråer. Studiens vetenskapliga ansats är av deduktiv karaktär med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Delarna av revisionsprocessen är planering, granskning och rapportering. Vid undersökningen av affärsmodeller har delar ur business model canvas analyserats. De som undersökts är följande: kundsegment, kundrelationer, nyckelresurser samt intäkts- och kostnadsstrukturen. Resultatet påvisar att revisionsprocessens delar har digitaliserats olika mycket, planering- och granskningsfaserna har utvecklats mer av digitaliseringen än vad rapporteringen har gjort. Dock har samtliga delar effektiviserats mer på grund av de digitala verktygen som byråerna har implementerat. Under planeringsfasen har informationsinsamlingen underlättats då tillgången av information har ökat som ett resultat av internet. Vid granskningen har digitala verktyg, såsom analysverktyg underlättat och effektiviserat revisorernas arbete, detta eftersom redskapen medför att risker och avvikelser enklare framkommer. Avvikelser påträffas då revisorerna gör analyser genom stickprov ur SIE4-filer, vilka är kundens bokföringsunderlag. För rapporteringen, konstateras det att den delen är mitt i övergången gällande digitaliseringen. Det skapas fler digitala rapporter som sedan signeras digitalt jämfört med tidigare då all rapportering var i pappersform. För affärsmodellen fastställs det att fyra av de fem utvalda blocken har påverkats av digitaliseringen. Digitaliseringen har medfört att byråerna nu kan utvidga sitt kundsegment mot övriga orter eftersom avstånden har minskat i form av att underlag skickas digitalt. Vidare har kundrelationerna stärkts eftersom revisorerna är mer lättillgängliga och kan svara på kundernas frågor snabbt. Implementeringen av digitala verktyg har medfört högre kostnader för byråerna, dock kompenseras detta genom att de tar in fler kunder. Det blocket som inte har påverkats av digitaliseringen är nyckelresurserna: de immateriella tillgångarna och humankapitalet. Endast de materiella tillgångar har påverkats då byråerna har behövt införskaffa mer inventarier. / Today, society is increasingly influenced by the constant development of digitalization. Thisdevelopment includes new digital instruments and processes that change businesses and theirbusiness models. For the auditing industry, automation is added as a complement, which willstreamline the parts of the auditing process and enable auditors to focus more on advice. Thedigital instruments that digitalization entails mean that the smaller auditing firms are exposedto higher costs as the implementation of the tools is costly. Furthermore, not only the cost sideof digitization is affected, but the entire business model of the business. Hence, the purpose ofthe study is to investigate and analyze the extent to which parts of the audit process have beendigitized and the impact of digitization on the business model in small auditing firms. Thestudy's scientific approach is of a deductive nature with semi-structured interviews. The partsof the audit process that were analyzed were planning, review and reporting. During theinvestigation of business models, parts of the business model canvas have been analyzed.These are the following areas that were examined: customer segments, customer relationships,key resources and the revenue and cost structure. The results show that parts of the audit process have been digitized to varying degrees, the planning and review phases have been developed more by the digitization than the reporting has done. However, all parts have been made more efficient due to the digital tools that the agencies have implemented. During the planning phase, information gathering has been facilitated as the availability of information has increased as a result of the internet. During the audit, digital tools, such as analysis tools have facilitated and streamlined the auditors' work, as the tools make it easier to identify risks and deviations. Deviations are found when the auditors perform analysis by sampling from SIE4-files, which are the customer's accounting basis. For the reporting, it is stated that the part is in the middle of the transition regarding digitization. More digital reports are created which are then signed digitally compared to before when all reporting was in paper form.  For the business model, it is established that four of the five selected blocks have been affected by digitization. Digitization has meant that the agencies can now expand their customer segment to other locations as the distances have decreased in the form of data being sent digitally. Furthermore, customer relationships have been strengthened because the auditors are more accessible and can answer customers' questions quickly. The implementation of digital tools has entailed higher costs for the agencies, however, this is compensated by the fact that they bring in more customers. The block that has not been affected by digitalization is the key resources: intangible assets and human capital. Only the tangible assets have been affected as the agencies needed to purchase more equipment.

Problematisering: En begränsad mängd forskning på tidningsbranschen har genomförts i svensk kontext. Oenighet råder bland forskare vilken del av affärsmodellen som påverkas och på vilket sätt, dessutom är det tvetydigt hurdana affärsmodellsinnovation är framgångsrikt. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att utforska digitaliseringens påverkan på företag i tidningsbranschen och tidningsföretagens strategier med hjälp av affärsmodellkanvasen och teorier inom affärsmodellsinnovation samt branschstruktur. Frågeställningar: (1) Hur har digitaliseringen upplevts av och påverkat tidningsföretag? (2) Hur har tidningsföretag agerat för att bemöta digitaliseringen med hjälp av sin strategi och affärsmodellsinnovation? (3) Hur har digitaliseringen påverkat företag i tidningsbranschen, med avseende på branschstruktur? Metod: Studien grundar sig på det epistemologiska forskningsparadigmet som grundar sig på ett interpretivistiskt synsätt. En kvalitativ forskningsmetod med semi-strukturerade intervjuer ligger till grund för studien som bygger på en deduktiv ansats med induktiva inslag. Studien genomförs med en tematisk analys. Slutsats: Tidningsföretagen har upplevt och påverkats av digitaliseringen på liknande sätt och intäkterna hotas. Genomgående för samtliga företag är att digitaliseringen har varit bristfällig, det främsta utnyttjandet är dataanvändning. Tidningsföretagen använder dual strategi med fokus på digital strategi för att bemöta digitaliseringen. Strategin med multi-plattformar har inte gett önskad effekt och digitala tidningskiosker upplevs inte vara en framtidsstrategi i Sverige. Samtliga företags affärsmodeller är i stor utsträckning identiska och affärsmodellsinnovationer har inte löst problemen i branschen än. Det har uppstått både inom- och mellanbranschkonvergens till följd av digitaliseringen. Branschförändringen identifieras som en radikal förändringsväg men tidningsföretagen behandlar förändringen som progressiv. Studiens bidrag: Studiens teoretiska bidrag är att tidningsbranschen har fått ett större utrymme i akademisk kontext med ett brett och djupt fokus på digitalisering, företagsaspekter och branschstruktur. Studiens praktiska bidrag är att studiens insikter kan hjälpa företag i tidningsbranschen att bemöta digitaliseringen. / Background: A limited amount of research regarding the industry has been conducted in a Swedish context. Studies differ regarding what part of the business model that is affected and in what way. Whether or not business model innovation is successful is ambiguous. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of digitalization on companies in the newspaper industry and the newspaper companies’ strategies applying the business model canvas and theories within business model innovation and industry structure. Research questions: (1) How has digitization been experienced by and influenced newspaper companies? (2) How have newspaper companies acted to respond to digitalization with their strategy and business model innovation? (3) How has digitalization affected companies in the newspaper industry, regarding to industry structure? Methodology: The study is based on the epistemological research paradigm that is based on an interpretivist approach. A qualitative research method with semi-structured interviews forms the foundation of the study, which is based on a deductive approach with inductive elements. The study is conducted applying a thematic analysis. Conclusion: The newspaper companies have experienced and been affected by digitalization in a similar way and revenues are threatened. The adaptation has been problematic, the main utilization of digitalization is the use of data. In this study the newspaper companies use dual strategy with a focus on digital strategy to respond to digitalization. Digital newsstands are not perceived as a future strategy in Sweden and the multi-platform strategy has not had the desired effects. The company's business models are to a great extent identical and business model innovation has not solved the industry problems yet. In this study the industry change is identified as a radical change however, newspaper companies respond to the industry situation as progressive. Contribution: The theoretical contribution is that the newspaper industry has gained a greater scope in academic context with a broader and deeper focus on digitalization, business aspects and industry structure. The practical contribution is that the study can help companies in the newspaper industry to respond to digitalization.

In light of the many environmental challenges that the world currently faces, new sustainable solutions are called for. The concept of autonomous heavy vehicles (AVs) is considered to be one of the next megatrends within transportation and this technology shift is predicted to improve safety and logistics as well as to cut driver costs and reduce CO2-emissions. However, from a company's perspective, technology shifts are not without risks as technical disruptions can cause core competencies to become obsolete and radical technology innovation can be fatal to a company that does not innovate its business models simultaneously. Due to the complexity and novelty of the AV technology, business model innovation within the field has been lagging behind and there is an area of uncertainty regarding how a future business model for AVs could be formulated. In order to investigate potential business models for AV applications, this study has been carried out as an exploratory case study of two industry specific applications for goods transports within confined areas at the heavy vehicle manufacturer Scania in Södertälje, Sweden. The Business Model Canvas tool developed by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) has been used to map the business models of these two cases with the purpose of combining them into a general model. Furthermore, four important capabilities at the company have been identified and determined as to whether they qualify as core competencies based on the criteria presented by Prahalad and Hamel (1990) and then discussed in relation to how they can be leveraged in a future business model. The findings of this study help to formulate a business model perspective for future AV goods transport applications that consists of a service-based model characterised by a focus on collaboration and value co-creation, an adaptable level of integration with the customers' systems, transfer of ownership of products to the manufacturer and a value-driven source of differentiation. Lastly, the study concludes that Lean production and modularity are two existing core competencies of Scania that could be leveraged dynamically in a future business model connected to this technology shift. / Mot bakgrunden av de många miljömässiga utmaningar som världen står inför idag krävs nya hållbara lösningar. Konceptet självkörande tunga fordon (eng. autonomous heavy vehicle - AV) anses vara en av de nästa megatrenderna inom transportindustrin och detta teknikskifte förutspås förbättra säkerhet och logistiksystem samt sänka förarkostnader och minska koldioxidutsläpp. Från ett företags perspektiv är teknikförändringar dock inte utan risker då tekniska disruptioner kan göra kärnkompetenser föråldrade och radikal teknisk innovation rentav kan innebära en dödsdom för ett företag som inte simultant innoverar sina affärsmodeller. Till följd av teknikens komplexitet och låga mognadsgrad har affärsmodellsinnovation inom fältet hamnat efter och det finns ett område av osäkerhet gällande hur en framtida affärsmodell för självkörande fordon skulle kunna formuleras. I syfte att undersöka potentiella affärsmodeller för AV-applikationer har denna studie genomförts som en utforskande fallstudie av två industrispecifika applikationer för godstransporter inom avgränsade områden hos lastbilstillverkaren Scania i Södertälje, Sverige. Verktyget Business Model Canvas, utvecklat av Osterwalder och Pigneur (2010), har använts för att kartlägga affärsmodellerna för dessa två applikationer i syfte att kombinera dem till en generell modell. Vidare har fyra viktiga kapabiliteter i företaget identifierats och fastställts huruvida de kvalificerar som kärnkompetenser baserat på kriterierna som presenteras av Prahalad och Hamel (1990) och sedan diskuterats i relation till hur de kan utnyttjas i en framtida affärsmodell. Resultaten av denna studie hjälper till att formulera ett affärsmodellsperspektiv för framtida AV-godsapplikationer som innebär en servicebaserad modell kännetecknad av ett fokus på samarbete och värdesamskapande, en anpassningsbar integration till kundernas system, överföring av ägandeskap av produkter till tillverkaren och en värdedriven differentiering. Slutligen dras slutsatsen att Lean produktion och modularitet är två befintliga kärnkompetenser hos Scania som skulle kunna utnyttjas dynamiskt i en framtida affärsmodell kopplat till detta teknikskifte. / <p>Affiliation party: ITRL (Integrated Transport Research Lab)</p>

In light of the many environmental challenges that the world currently faces, new sustainable solutions are called for. The concept of autonomous heavy vehicles (AVs) is considered to be one of the next megatrends within transportation and this technology shift is predicted to improve safety and logistics as well as to cut driver costs and reduce CO2-emissions. However, from a company's perspective, technology shifts are not without risks as technical disruptions can cause core competencies to become obsolete and radical technology innovation can be fatal to a company that does not innovate its business models simultaneously. Due to the complexity and novelty of the AV technology, business model innovation within the field has been lagging behind and there is an area of uncertainty regarding how a future business model for AVs could be formulated. In order to investigate potential business models for AV applications, this study has been carried out as an exploratory case study of two industry specific applications for goods transports within confined areas at the heavy vehicle manufacturer Scania in Södertälje, Sweden. The Business Model Canvas tool  developed by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) has been used to map the business models of these two cases with the purpose of combining them into a general model. Furthermore, four important capabilities at the company have been identified and determined as to whether they qualify as core competencies based on the criteria presented by Prahalad and Hamel (1990) and then discussed in relation to how they can be leveraged in a future business model. The findings of this study help to formulate a business model perspective for future AV goods transport applications that consists of a service-based model characterised by a focus on collaboration and value co-creation, an adaptable level of integration with the customers' systems, transfer of ownership of products to the manufacturer and a value-driven source of differentiation. Lastly, the study concludes that Lean production and modularity are two existing core competencies of Scania that could be leveraged dynamically in a future business model connected to this technology shift. / Mot bakgrunden av de många miljömässiga utmaningar som världen står inför idag krävs nya hållbara lösningar. Konceptet självkörande tunga fordon (eng. autonomous heavy vehicle - AV) anses vara en av de nästa megatrenderna inom transportindustrin och detta teknikskifte förutspås förbättra säkerhet och logistiksystem samt sänka förarkostnader och minska koldioxidutsläpp. Från ett företags perspektiv är teknikförändringar dock inte utan risker då tekniska disruptioner kan göra kärnkompetenser föråldrade och radikal teknisk innovation rentav kan innebära en dödsdom för ett företag som inte simultant innoverar sina affärsmodeller. Till följd av teknikens komplexitet och låga mognadsgrad har affärsmodellsinnovation inom fältet hamnat efter och det finns ett område av osäkerhet gällande hur en framtida affärsmodell för självkörande fordon skulle kunna formuleras. I syfte att undersöka potentiella affärsmodeller för AV-applikationer har denna studie genomförts som en utforskande fallstudie av två industrispecifika applikationer för godstransporter inom avgränsade områden hos lastbilstillverkaren Scania i Södertälje, Sverige. Verktyget Business Model Canvas, utvecklat av Osterwalder och Pigneur (2010), har använts för att kartlägga affärsmodellerna för dessa två applikationer i syfte att kombinera dem till en generell modell. Vidare har fyra viktiga kapabiliteter i företaget identifierats och fastställts huruvida de kvalificerar som kärnkompetenser baserat på kriterierna som presenteras av Prahalad och Hamel (1990) och sedan diskuterats i relation till hur de kan utnyttjas i en framtida affärsmodell. Resultaten av denna studie hjälper till att formulera ett affärsmodellsperspektiv för framtida AVgodsapplikationer som innebär en servicebaserad modell kännetecknad av ett fokus på samarbete och värdesamskapande, en anpassningsbar integration till kundernas system, överföring av ägandeskap av produkter till tillverkaren och en värdedriven differentiering. Slutligen dras slutsatsen att Lean produktion och modularitet är två befintliga kärnkompetenser hos Scania som skulle kunna utnyttjas dynamiskt i en framtida affärsmodell kopplat till detta teknikskifte.

This research investigates mobile service design and engineering in the mobile telecommunications industry. The mobile telecommunication business is shifting from one that was voice-centric to one that is almost all data-centric; thanks to recent rapid advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The underlying reasons behind this shift can be traced back to two main issues that are interlinked. The first and major reason is that telecoms (telecommunication companies) are trying to generate new revenue streams based on data and information transmissions, given the saturation of the voice market. This is rational given the market opportunities in one direction and the pressures being generated by the current economic downturn from the other direction. The second reason relates to the flexibility of data, compared to voice. Indeed, the number of services that can be developed on the basis of data are much greater than those that can be developed on the basis of voice. However, the design and engineering of successful and innovative mobile data services has proven to be a complex undertaking. The number of effective mobile data services is relatively small and the revenue generated from such offerings has generally been below expectations. This research develops an ontological framework to help in changing this situation, and making mobile services engineering more effective and successful, following the design-science research paradigm. Design-science research, in general, aims to solve unstructured but relevant organizational or social problems through the development of novel and useful artefacts. As the current research aims to help in solving the mobile data services engineering dilemma by developing a purposeful ontological framework, the design-science research paradigm is deemed fitting. Within this paradigm, the author develops a novel design approach specified for ontology engineering, termed “OntoEng”. This design approach is used in this research for developing the ontological framework. The developed ontological framework is founded on business model thinking. The idea is that creating innovative mobile data services requires developing innovative business models. Indeed, innovative business models can help translate technological potential into economic value and allow telecoms to achieve their strategic objectives. The ontological framework includes the development of an ontology, termed “V4 Mobile Service BM Ontology” as well as “Mobile Key Value Drivers” for designing and engineering innovative mobile data services. The V4 Mobile Service BM Ontology incorporates four design dimensions: (1) value proposition including targeting; (2) value architecture including technological and organizational infrastructure; (3) value network dealing with aspects relating to partnerships and co-operations; and finally (4) value finance relating to costs, pricing, and revenue structures. Within these four dimensions, sixteen design concepts are identified along with their constituent elements. Relationships and interdependencies amongst the identified design constructs are established and clear semantics are produced. The research then derives six key value drivers for mobile service engineering as follows: (a) Market Alignment; (b) Cohesion; (c) Dynamicity; (d) Uniqueness; (e) Fitting Network-Mode; and (f) Explicitness. The developed ontological framework in this research is evaluated to ensure that it can be successfully implemented and performs correctly in the real world. The research mainly utilizes case analysis methods to ensure the semantic correctness of the ontological framework. Indeed, the developed ontological framework is employed as an analytical lens to examine the design and engineering of three key real-life cases in the mobile telecommunications industry. These cases are: (1) Apple’s iPhone Services and Applications; (2) NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode Services; and (3) Orange Business Services. For further validation, the developed ontological framework is evaluated against a set of criteria synthesized from ontology engineering and evaluation literature. These criteria are: Clarity; Coherence; Conciseness; Preciseness; Completeness; and Customizability. The developed ontological framework is argued to make significant contributions for theory, practice, and methodology. For theory, this research provides (1) a novel ontological framework for designing and engineering mobile data services; (2) a unified framework of the business model concept; and (3) a new design approach for ontology engineering in information systems. For practice, the current research provides practitioners in the telecommunications industry with systematic and customizable means to design, implement, analyze, evaluate, and change new and existing mobile data services to make them more manageable, effective, and creative. For methodology, the use of the design- science research paradigm for ontology engineering signifies the focal methodological contribution in this research given its novelty. This research also contributes to the understanding of the design-science research paradigm in information systems as it is relatively new. It provides a working example in which the author illustrates how recognizing design-science research as a paradigm is essential and useful to the research in information systems discipline.