Diploma thesis deals with SCRUM methodology and its uses in innovation management. The main objective of the thesis is creation of a specific framework which will enable to use SCRUM methodology in the innovation process. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part presents theoretical framework important for the main research. This part contains literature review and research dedicated to the SCRUM methodology and innovation process. The second part of the thesis deals with mapping of the SCRUM methodology to Hladik's innovation process. This part also contains own design of the innovation management process. The third part of the thesis is dedicated to the case study. The case study uses described innovation management process for verification of the hypothesis saying that is possible to use SCRUM methodology in the innovation process. The author's contribution lies in creation of a framework which provides agile alternative to the classical innovation management models.

This thesis is focused on the meaning and importance of innovations for small and medium sized businesses. The theoretical part deals with the terms necessary to understand this issue, such as the definition of small and medium sized enterprises; the definition of innovations; and their connection with the strategy and competitiveness of the organisation. Also, the innovation processes, methods, techniques and the support for basic innovation within the EU is described here. In the practical part of my diploma thesis, research on a selected sample of small and medium firms is conducted. This research is concerned with the level of innovations these particular companies are focusing on; in which area of business activities are they innovating; what sources of financing they're reporting in their results.

Companies are pressured by dynamic markets and the increase of innovation speed, technology change and shortening of product life cycles. They need to attend to customer demands and ever-changing environmental conditions, policies and regulations set by governments and institutions in order to stay relevant on the market and be allowed to operate. Innovation has therefore become a must and the innovation processes are a central part of companies’ operations. Futures studies is presented as a systematic way of studying the future that can contribute to a better understanding of the needed direction of innovations. The aim of the study is to investigate how futures studies can be embodied in the innovation process of manufacturing companies in the industry of rail and road vehicles. The structure of an innovation process within the industry of rail and road vehicles is summarized to consist of three different phases: the fuzzy-front-end, the development and the maintenance. The innovation process is further divided by the components of the product and during the entire process there are decision points to evaluate the projects. The organizational aspects which are considered to have the most influence on the innovation process concern the company environment and internal knowledge sharing. Futures studies are moderately performed at different stages of the innovation process and levels of the organization, mainly at corporate level and in the fuzzy-front-end. The people involved in these activities are solely employees from the company in question and the main issue found regarding the activities of futures studies is that the results of the foresight are not communicated properly across the company. Two ways in which futures studies can be embodied in the innovation process are identified to create more high-quality ideas and to tune the product during the process according to the future market, with a third way ensuring alignment with corporate level.  A recommendation is presented consisting of a scenario workshop which enables for futures studies to be embodied in the innovation process of manufacturing companies. Activities and pointers for prior, during and after the workshop are presented. The results of the workshop will further be embodied in the innovation process in three different ways, in the beginning, alongside and as a basis for the corporate strategy.

När innovationsprocessen utvecklas till en mer öppen, osäker samt mer komplex process där utvecklingscyklerna blir allt kortare, blir vikten av förståelse för slutanvändaren allt mer viktig. Tidigare forskning har visat att nio av tio innovationer misslyckats inom loppet av två år på grund av att de inte möter några av användarnas behov. Detta är särskilt viktigt i den ostrukturerade och underutvecklade initiala fasen av innovationsprocessen. Examensarbetets syfte var att undersöka hur tillverkande företag kan få en djupare förståelse för användarnas behov tidigt i innovationsprocessen. Detta examensarbete har haft för avsikt att analysera och sammanställa metoder och processer för att fånga och utnyttja användarnas behov från befintlig litteratur och tillämpa på fallföretagets nuvarande situation. Målet är att bidra med mer insikt samt fastställa utmaningar för att fånga och utnyttja användarnas behov som grund för nya innovationer. Metodiken för detta examensarbete har varit en fallstudie på ett tillverkande företag där enkäter och intervjuer har genomförts parallellt med en undersökning av befintlig litteratur. Fallföretaget tillverkar och utvecklar provningsutrustning och mätinstrument inom elkraftindustrin. Utöver de enkäter och intervjuer som genomförts har en workshop och ett kundbesök genomförts med syfte att testa metoder med användaren och fallföretaget. Resultaten från detta examensarbete avslöjar brister och identifierar möjligheter för fallföretaget för att sätta fokus på användaren i de tidiga faserna av innovationsprocessen. Analysen rekommenderar nya metoder och projektstrukturer, väl integrerade i fallföretagets befintliga processer, för att samla in och utnyttja användarnas behov. Empirin identifierade hinder och begränsningar inom fallföretaget som låg till grund för rekommendationerna. Litteraturen identifierade liknande hinder i den initiala fasen vilket ledde till slutsatsen att liknande företag kommer att möta samma problem. Deltagarna som genomförde workshopen samt kundbesöket ansåg att de implementerade metoderna var framgångsrika med att bidra till en djupare förståelse av användaren. / When innovation processes evolves into more open, uncertain and complex with shorter development cycles, the importance to understand the customer is becoming more essential. Previous research has shown that nine out of ten innovations fails within two years due to not solving any of the customer needs. This is particularly important in the unstructured and under developed first phase of the innovation process. The purpose of this master thesis was to investigate how manufacturing companies can gain a deeper understanding of the user needs early in the innovation process. The main approach was to analyse and compile, from existing literature, methods and process to capture and utilize user needs, based on the case company´s current situation. The aim is to develop richer insights and determine challenges to capture and utilize user needs as a basis for new innovations. The methodology used in this master thesis has been a case study at a manufacturing firm where surveys and interviews with employees have been conducted simultaneously with an examination of existing literature within the field. The case company is a manufacturing firm that develops electrical test equipment and measuring instruments for the electrical power industry. Additional to the surveys and interviews a workshop and a customer site visit have been conducted in order to get a better picture of the customer situation and to verify the proposed methods. The results from this master thesis will uncover gaps and identify possibilities for the case company in order to put emphasis on the user in the front-end of the innovation process. The results recommends new methods and project structures, well integrated in the case company’s existing process, to collect and utilize customer needs in the front-end phase. The empirical study revealed barriers and constrains within the case company, which created the basis for the proposal. The literature identified similar barriers in the front-end, which led to the conclusion that similar companies will face the same problems. According to the employees that conducted the workshop and the site visit, the proposed methods was successful in order to gain a deeper understanding of the customer. Keywords:

Today's business environment has become increasingly competitive, which is partly due to an expansion in globalization coupled with higher consumer demands. This places greater demands on flexibility and consciously of innovation. Traditional innovation measurement focuses on measuring output, which means that it can take years to evaluate and map the innovation process. The aim of the following project is to identify activities that enable companies to monitor and develop their innovative activities. The metrics are tools that help organizations control and develop innovations, to strengthen their innovation process. The study was initiated with a systematic literature review with the objective to highlight important aspects of innovation and innovation measurement. Empirical data was collected through the qualitative method, where 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Three of the interviews were with researchers that have knowledge in the field of innovation. The remaining interviews were conducted with employees at case company Dynapac. Based on the theoretical and empirical findings, a definition of innovation has been identified for the manufacturing sector. Within the case company, the challenge was to analyse the current metrics and develop future metrics. The researchers reveal the importance of implementing a measurement system that drives activities related to the development of innovative work and capabilities, to ensure continuity. Ten metrics have been identified for the innovation process. These have been categorized into input, process, and output to guide companies in the innovation process. The metrics were categorized by four types: capability, organization, market and financial. The objectives with the metrics are to capture the full range of the innovation process and the activities that are relevant to each metrics. The metrics are actively promoting keeping track or supporting reflection about innovation activities.

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.

Service innovation is an important component for service business through its applicability in development and accretion that promotes business operations. The service innovation process can be created and maintained through interaction between the actor and the customer, where mutual value is being created through collaboration. However, disruptive external forces that reconfigure businesses environment and changes behavior of customers can have an impact on the conditions for service processes, where the need for innovative solutions increases to continue to reach customer satisfaction. In addition, it may further impact the underlying processes of innovating services, not at least within the facility service sector since interacting and operating within customer’s sites. Therefore, the authors want to contribute with knowledge regarding how service innovation processes are being affected by disruptive external forces, investigated through a single case study. The empirical data has been collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with six respondents within a global market-leading provider of facility services where the study has addressed the Swedish market. The empirical findings acknowledged that a changed customer behavior imposed by disruptive external forces causes challenges and changes to the business environment of facility services. The collected data highlighted disruptive forces such as technological, environmental and, especially prominent, the pandemic as particularly influential to the processes of facility service innovation. Business environment in a reconfigured state has, among other, affected the parts of developing, testing, and implementing innovative solutions, thereby influencing the implementation process of service innovation. In conclusion, disruptive external forces imposed new areas of focus and requirements from customers, leading to customers becoming more involved in the process of facility service innovation. The case company has been required to adopt a form of Service-Dominated (S-D) logic on the approach of developing value propositions, implicating that the customers are taking an increased and active part in the facility service innovation process. In relation to a changing customer need imposed by disruptive external forces, psychological senses and perceptions have been distinguished to be a requirement of facility service innovation and have therefore constituted an active component of the innovation process.

As innovation plays a predominant role in gaining competitive advantage, profit driving companies within the private sector have found ways to use innovation to succeed on the market. Although the public sector works according to a different set of logic, the demand for innovation within the public sector has been found to be growing due to increasing user needs, as well as increasing expectations on the effectiveness, availability and the quality of the public services. The district administrations, that are partly responsible for delivering such services in the City of Stockholm, face currently also various challenges such as a demographical development. A central strategy for innovation currently exists, but as such is equally important as systematical processes in order to build a long-term lasting capacity for innovation, it was unclear to this point if systematical processes are used at the district administrations to actualize innovation. Therefore, this research investigated how innovation was actualized at the district administrations in the City of Stockholm in order to identify if systematical processes were used, as well as to find which factors potentially hinder innovation from being actualized with systematics. Only the implications of the top-management were examined and the research was conducted as a case study of qualitative sort where interviews with top-executives, projects leaders and managers were conducted in the process. This research found that the district administrations neither address nor facilitate innovation in a systematic manner, as systematical processes were found to be absent for such purposes. Innovation is rather actualized in an unstructured manner, as no systematics was found to be used in relation to any of the stages in the innovation process. Among the factors that were found to affect the use of systematic processes was the absence of a climate that facilitates innovation, the lack of know-how knowledge for managing innovation, as well as communication deficiencies. Internal strategies were found to be absent and continuous learning was found to not be facilitated adequately, as well as knowledge in general was found to not be sufficiently enhanced. Heavy workloads and emergency driven operations cause difficulties to actualizing innovation with systematics. Finally, as much of the daily work at district administrations is budget-driven and as innovation is not referred to as explicit objectives, innovation is overshadowed by the tasks that are related to the daily operations at the district administrations. / Då innovation har visat sig ha en dominerad roll i stärkandet av konkurranskraften hos företag har vinstdrivande organisationer inom den privata sektorn hittat sätt att utnyttja innovation till sin fördel på marknaden. Även om den offentliga sektorn arbetar utifrån annorlunda förutsättningar så har efterfrågan på innovation ökat med åren då användarna både efterfrågar och förväntar sig en högre grad av effektivitet, tillgänglighet och kvalitet av tjänsterna som erbjuds. Stadsdelsförvaltningarna som är delvis ansvariga för att leverera olika tjänster inom Stockholms stad står inför olika typer av utmaningar, så som en kommande demografisk ökning. En central strategi för innovation existerar inom staden, men då forskning påpekar vikten av kombinationen av både strategi och systematiska processer för att erhålla en långsiktig innovationskapacitet, var det fram tills nu oklart om processer används på stadsdelsförvaltningarna för att förverkliga innovation. Av denna anledning blev syftet för denna undersökning att klargöra hur stadsdelsförvaltningarna förverkligar innovation för att identifiera om systematiska processer används, men även att kartlägga vilka faktorer som hindrar sådana från att användas. Undersökningen avgränsades till att enbart undersöka implikationerna som ledningen har i frågan och utfördes som en kvalitativ fallstudie där högsta ledning, projektledare och andra chefer intervjuades i processen. Undersökningen fann att stadsdelsförvaltningarna varken adresserar eller faciliterar innovation på ett systematiskt sätt då systematiska processer för ett sådana syften var frånvarande. Innovation visade sig förverkligas på ett ostrukturerat vis, då ingen sorts systematik identifierades i relation till de olika stegen i innovationsprocessen som användes i undersökningen. Bland faktorerna som identifieras som hämmande för användandet av systematiska processer var bland annat avsaknaden av både ett klimat som främjar innovation samt praktisk kunskap inom ämnet, men även bristande kommunikation i frågan. Det visades sig även saknas interna strategier för innovation och ett kontinuerligt organisatoriskt lärande. Tunga arbetsbördor och en viss grad av akutstyrning visade sig även skapa svårigheter för stadsdelsförvaltningarna att arbeta med innovation. Då budget används som det främsta styrverktyget, men där bland annat innovation inte är inkluderat som explicita mål som man kontinuerligt mäter och följer upp, gör att innovation även hamnar i skymundan av det dagliga operativa arbetet.

Most people are aware of the environmental issues that planet Earth is facing, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, expanding deserts and rising sea level. A report from CDP (2017) shows that 100 companies stand for over 70% of the industrial greenhouse gases in the world. The purpose of the study is therefore to facilitate the innovation process of building a sustainable business and addresses the potentials with it. The target group of the study is startups in Sweden developing physical products. Startups were chosen so that already from the beginning of a business, they could be able to build it sustainable. The innovation process explored in the study is the Lean Startup, as it is the most used innovation process by startups (Bortolini et al., 2018). Circular economy is a concept that optimizes the use of resources, eliminates waste and preserves nature. It has been recognized to have big innovation potentials and opens for new business opportunities. In the circular economy, innovation is co-created with all involved stakeholders related to the business, not the least the customers. Earlier research has developed tools, methods and strategies for circular economy that can be used to develop circular projects. With this in consideration, the author addresses the following research questions. • Have startups in Sweden used the Lean Startup process to develop their businesses? • Have startups in Sweden considered circular economy strategies when creating, capturing and delivering value? • Which circular economy tools, methods and strategies can be integrated into the Lean Startup process for startups to develop environmentally friendly businesses? • How would the Lean Startup process with integrated circular economy tools, methods and strategies look like? The study was an exploratory study that gathered data from the literature review on circular economy and the Lean Startup, and from qualitative interviews with startups and experts in different areas within circular economy. The study resulted in a new framework called the Lean Circular Framework, adapted from the Lean Startup process, but with integrated tools, methods and strategies from the circular economy. / De flesta människor är idag medvetna om miljöproblemen som planeten Jorden står inför, så som klimatförändringar, vattenbrist, expanderande öknar och stigande havsnivåer. CDP (2017) visar att 100 företag står för över 70% av alla industriella växthusgaser i världen. Syftet med studien är därför att underlätta innovationsprocessen till att utveckla hållbara affärer och adressera potentialen för dessa. Målgruppen är företag i uppstart i Sverige som utvecklar fysiska produkter. Företag i uppstart blev den valda målgruppen så att man redan från starten av ett företag ska kunna bygga upp hållbara affärer. Innovationsprocessen som undersöktes i studien var Lean Startup eftersom det är den mest använda processen för företag i uppstart (Bortolini et al., 2018). Cirkulär ekonomi är en metodik som optimerar användandet av resurser, eliminerar spill och avfall och bevarar naturen. Den har blivit känd för att ha stor innovationspotential och öppnar upp för nya affärsmöjligheter. I cirkulär ekonomi är innovation skapat tillsammans med alla intressenter inblandade, inte minst kunderna själva. Tidigare forskning har utvecklat verktyg, metoder och strategier för cirkulär ekonomi som kan användas till att utveckla cirkulära projekt. Med detta i åtanke så har författaren svarat på följande forskningsfrågor. • Har företag i uppstart i Sverige använt sig av Lean Startup processen för att utveckla deras företag? • Har företag i uppstart i Sverige övervägt strategier för cirkulär ekonomi när de skapat, fångat och levererat värde? • Vilka verktyg, metoder och strategier från cirkulär ekonomi kan integreras i Lean Startup processen för företag i uppstart för att utveckla miljövänliga företag? • Hur skulle Lean Startup processen med integrerade verktyg, metoder och strategier från cirkulär ekonomi se ut? Studien var en utforskande studie som samlade data från tidigare litteratur om cirkulär ekonomi och Lean Startup, samt från kvalitativa intervjuer med företag i uppstart och experter inom olika områden för cirkulär ekonomi. Studien resulterade i ett nytt ramverk som kallades Lean Circular Framework, anpassad från Lean Startup men med integrerade verktyg, metoder och strategier från cirkulär ekonomi.

In the emerging global marketplace many companies are forced to disperse their business fromoperating in one market into various markets, which causes challenges regarding innovationperformance. To efficiently use their resources, these organizations are often developing theirproduct adopted to the home market’s customer needs, something that can lead to poor productacceptance by the secondary markets. Hence, absorption and use of market knowledgethroughout the innovation process are important considerations to maintain a competitive advantage.This case study intends to answer the research question; what are the best-practices for innovationat a global car-sharing firm to better align their product to many diverse markets? Thethesis was carried out as an inductive case study at DriveNow, a car-sharing company aroundEurope who are struggling with the product performance at their many diverse markets. Thegoal with the thesis was to propose recommendations on how to manage the complexity ofabsorbing knowledge from diverse local markets, transferring it within the organization andintegrating it throughout the innovation process. In order to do so, a pre-study was conducted,followed by 23 semi-structured qualitative interviews at the headquarter and four of DriveNows’local offices.The results indicate, on the one hand, that firms have to access important market knowledgethrough their local offices to better align the product to their diverse markets. On the otherhand, the efficiency of how the organization are transferring the knowledge and encouraging employeesto do so are also important considerations. Based on results from this study, we suggesta formalization of various processes in order to facilitate ideation, internal communication andthe subsequent transmission of market knowledge over boundaries. Furthermore the developmentof an adopted global product could be a way of manage the complexity of having a globalproduct but satisfy needs of diverse markets. By capturing market knowledge and create localizedfeatures were it is needed the global product could be better adapted to various markets. / På den framväxande globala marknaden tar företag snabbt deras verksamhet från en marknadtill att vara verksamma på flera olika marknader, vilket orsakar stora utmaningar gällandeinnovation. För att på bästa sätt ta tillvara på deras resurser anpassar dessa företag ofta produktentill deras hemmamarknader, vilket kan leda till dålig acceptans av produkten på andramarknader. På grund av detta är absorbtion och användning av lokal kunskap från marknaderviktiga aspekter för att kunna upprätthålla en hållbar konkurrensfördel.Den här fallstudien avser att besvara frågeställningen; vilka är de bästa metoderna för attfrämja innovation hos ett globalt bildelningsföretag i syfte att bättre anpassa produkten tillolika marknader. Den här masteruppsatsen är en induktiv fallstudie på företaget DriveNow,ett bildelningsföretag med verksamhet i Europa som brottas med hur produkten mottas påderas olika marknader. Målet med uppsatsen är att föreslå rekommendationer för att hanterakomplexiteten av att absorbera kunskap från marknaderna, dela den inom organisationen ochföra kunskapen vidare genom innovationsprocessen. För att kunna genomföra detta utfördes enförstudie följt av 23 semi-strukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer på DriveNows huvudkontor ochfyra av dess lokala kontor.Resultatet av studien indikerar, å ena sidan, att organisationer behöver ta vara på kunskapenfrån deras lokala kontor för att bättre anpassa produkten till olika marknader. Å andra sidanhur organisationen hanterar kunskapsöverföring och uppmuntrar anställda att dela med sig avkunskap är också viktiga aspekter. Baserat på resultaten av studien, föreslås formella processerför att kunna förenkla idégenerering, intern kommunikation och kunskapsöverföring. Vidareföreslås en implementering av en anpassad global produkt för att hantera svårigheten av att haen global produkt som samtidigt måste tillgodose olika behov på olika marknader. Genom attta tillvara på den lokala marknadskunskapen och skapa lokaliserade funktioner där det behövs,kan den globala produkten bättre anpassas till olika marknader.