Nesta pesquisa é estudada a atuação de um importante agente no funcionamento na cadeia produtiva do setor da construção civil, quais sejam as Empresas executoras de serviços de obras (EES), geralmente denominadas subempreiteiras (SE) ou empresas especializadas na execução de obras (EEE). Apesar de existirem várias pesquisas relacionadas com o estudo das suas características, existe pouca informação sobre como as EES estão organizadas. Nesse sentido, um marco analítico foi desenvolvido, analisando às EES segundo as capacidades possuídas para entregar seus resultados nas condições de competição encontradas. Para tanto, as causas que, por um lado, provocam o encerramento das atividades ou, por outro, a sua liderança no mercado foram estudadas sob a ótica de várias linhas do marketing relacionadas com a chamada lógica de serviço e com as correntes de vantagem competitiva sustentável (VCS). Tal marco empregou a noção de valor entregue no serviço prestado pelas EES a partir das suas fontes de VCS. Tais fontes foram discutidas em função dos ativos que as EES possuem. Tais ativos são compostos dos recursos tangíveis (como produtos, ferramentas, materiais, etc.) e intangíveis (como sistemas de gestão gerenciais e operacionais), que lhes permitem desenvolver uma estratégia de criação de valor de forma sustentável, também chamados de ativos estratégicos. Para seu desenvolvimento foi utilizado o método teoria fundamentada nos dados, entrevistando-se 6 representantes dos contratantes das EES, um consultor especialista em gestão empresarial, e 24 EES de 11 diferentes especialidades técnicas. As entrevistas ocorreram conjuntamente com a revisão bibliográfica e a análise dos resultados. A utilização do marco permitiu distinguir as EEE, um subconjunto das EES, em função das suas competências e acesso a recursos para produzir os seus serviços. Finalmente, espera-se que a abordagem desenvolvida nesta pesquisa seja utilizada para melhor entender as capacidades que as EES possuem para competir, servindo de base para futuras pesquisas sobre como melhorar as capacidades e condições de competição destas empresas. / This research studied the performance of an important agent in the construction industry, which are the trade executors (EES), usually called subcontractors (SE) and specialty contractors (EEE). Although there are several studies related to the study of their characteristics, little information exists about how EES are organized. In this sense, an analytical framework was developed to analyze the possessed ESS capabilities to deliver their results within the competition bounds. For this, the root causes of the closure activities and market leadership have been studied from the perspective of several lines of marketing related to call service logic and to sustainable competitive advantage (VCS). This framework used the concept of service value delivered by EES from their sources of VCS. These sources are discussed in terms of assets that have EES. Such assets consist of tangible assets (such as products, tools, materials, etc.) and intangible (such as management systems and operational systems) that allow them to develop a strategy to create sustainable value, also called strategic assets. The research method was \'grounded theory\', interviewing 6 representatives of their contractors, an expert consultant on business management, and 24 ESS of 11 different technical specialties. The interviews took place in conjunction with the literature review and analysis of results. The use of this method allowed us to distinguish the EEE, a subset of EES, depending on their possession of skills and access to resources to produce their service. Finally, it is expected that the approach developed in this research is used to better understand the capabilities that EES have within their competition, providing the basis for future research on how to improve the capacity and the competition of these firms.

Em organizações que operam segundo a lógica de serviço há uma mudança estratégica, com o deslocamento da produção de um produto para um valor. Seguindo esta dinâmica, surgiram na Saúde Pública propostas de modelos de atenção alternativos ao hegemônico, centrado em procedimentos e equipamentos. O presente estudo analisou o modelo da Estratégia de Saúde da Família, cuja proposta centra-se nas necessidades do usuário e no vínculo usuário-equipe multiprofissional, tendo como objetivo investigar como a organização e as condições do trabalho influenciam na utilização de recursos imateriais pelas equipes. Consistiu em um estudo de caso realizado junto a oito equipes de saúde da família do município de Caraguatatuba/SP. A metodologia compreendeu observação direta e realização de grupos focais com os profissionais das equipes. A análise abrangeu a categorização dos temas mais relevantes, em especial aqueles que se relacionavam ao uso e desenvolvimento dos recursos imateriais. Os resultados indicaram que, embora os profissionais valorizassem os aspectos relacionais, o processo de trabalho das equipes encontrava-se centrado na produção de procedimentos e informações quantitativos dos atendimentos, não incorporadas às práticas do cuidado. Os recursos imateriais, bem como seus resultados, não encontravam uma forma sistematizada de avaliação. E, dessa forma, enfrentavam desafios para serem apropriados e desenvolvidos como conhecimento pela organização. / Organizations operating according to the service logic imply a strategic change, the shifting of production from that of a product to that of a value. Following such dynamics, new models of attention emerged in the Public Health System, purporting alternatives to the hegemonic model.This study analyzes the model adopted by the Strategy of Family Health, which is focused on the users\' necessities and the bonds between those former and the multi-professional team. Its aim was to investigate how work organization and conditions influence the teams\' utilization of non-material resources. To such purpose a case study was carried out in the city of Caraguatatuba, São Paulo state, Brazil.The methodology comprehended direct observation and focal groups with the teams\' professionals. The analysis covered the categorization of the subjects considered more relevant, especially those concerning the utilization and development of non-material resources. The results pointed out that although relational aspects were valued by the professionals, the teams\' work process was mainly focused on the production of proceedings and information concerning the number of patients assisted, apart from the practices of care.There was no systematic evaluation of the nonmaterial resources and their results, which, therefore, could not be easily appropriated and developed as a knowledge by the organization.

Since the turn of the century, the focus in marketing has shifted to a service-centred view, where co-creation of value between customer and business is central. Services, which are characterized by intangible resources, co-production and heterogeneity, account for the majority of employment in society today. Much research has been done on how customers perceive services and how it affects trust and satisfaction. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the role of the service company in the value creation process by studying how they facilitate the value creation of the customer and how their value offerings can affect the customer's experience of the service. The empirical part of the study is based on interviews made with representatives from two companies, Pinchos (restaurant) and Fysiken (gym), which are classified as experience and credence services. Their perspective on customer experience and expectations has then been compared with their customers' actual experience and expectations through interviews with current or former customers. The study shows that the role of the respective companies in the value creation process in this case is great as the customers of these companies have a lot of responsibility and control over their own experiences. Therefore, value creation is a major part for both companies because they have to offer the resources that the customer needs to independently create value of the service. / Sedan sekelskiftet har fokus inom marknadsföring gått från en varucentrerad till en tjänstecentrerad vy, där samskapande av värde mellan kund och företag är centralt. Tjänster, som karaktäriseras av immateriella resurser, samproduktion och heterogenitet, står idag för majoriteten av sysselsättningen i samhället. Mycket forskning har gjorts om hur kunder uppfattar tjänster och hur detta påverkar tillit och nöjdhet. Därför syftar denna studie på att undersöka tjänsteföretagets roll i den värdeskapande processen genom att studera hur de underlättar för kunden att skapa värde och hur deras värdeerbjudanden kan påverka kundernas upplevelse av tjänsten.Den empiriska delen i studien baseras på intervjuer gjorda med representanter från två företag, Pinchos (restaurang) och Fysiken (gym), som klassats som upplevelse- respektive förtroendetjänster. Deras perspektiv på kundernas upplevelse och förväntningar har sedan jämförts med deras kunders faktiska upplevelse och förväntningar genom intervjuer med nuvarande eller tidigare kunder. Studien visar på att respektive företags roll i den värdeskapande processen i dessa fall är stor då kunderna till dessa företag har mycket ansvar och kontroll över sina egna upplevelser. Därför blir värdeunderlättande en stor del för båda företagen eftersom de måste erbjuda de resurser som kunden behöver för att självständigt kunna skapa värde av tjänsten.

The subject of this research is to find a continuous solution, which allows the description, the creation, the provisioning, and the execution of value-added telecommunication services. This work proposes a framework for an easy and timesaving creation and provisioning of value-added telecommunication services in Next Generation Networks. As research method, feasibility, comparative methods are used in this study. Criteria and requirements for service description, service creation, service execution, and service provisioning, are defined and existing technologies are compared with each other and evaluated regarding these criteria and requirements. Extensions to the selected technologies are proposed and possibilities to combine these technologies are researched. From the results of the previous steps, a framework is defined which offers a continuous solution for the description, creation, provisioning and execution of value-added services. In order to test the proof of concept, this framework is prototypically implemented. For a qualitative analysis of the research targets and the proof of concept, an example service is created and executed within the framework prototype. Furthermore, in order to examine the validity of the quantitative aims and objectives of this research work, a second example service is created, and its characteristics are measured and analysed. The result of this research is a novel continuous approach for the creation of value-added telecommunication services. This research introduces new possibilities for the service description, service creation, service provisioning, and service execution through an extension of the common telecommunication real-time execution environment JAIN SLEE. Value-added services are described by using the business process execution language BPEL. This language facilitates a simple and fast service design. The service can automatically be composed from pre-defined and pre-deployed components.

This study is grounded in the evolving perspective of Service Marketing, Service-Dominant-Logic and ServiceLogic and aims to provide a holistic view of how the digitalization of interactions affects the service provided by the restaurant and in turn the customers’ value creation processes. More exactly, the study examines a digital system for information exchange, order placements and payments in a restaurant on the Swedish market. The study adopts a qualitative approach and data has been collected through the use of unstructured observations and semi-structured interviews. The findings are that the system for digital interactions has both positive and negative effects on valuecreation. It also changes other aspects of the service not directly linked to the system. If this ultimately creates more or less value for the customers is believed to depend on the customers’ individual differences, but if the system is used as a complement to the already existing service rather than as a substitute of the human interaction there are opportunities for a successful implementation.

Ce travail comprend une analyse détaillée des pratiques managériales des communautés virtuelles dans le secteur banquier. Nous nous sommes intéressés aux dynamiques managériales de la co-production parce que la plupart des études liées à la coproduction concernent les produits et les consommateurs. De plus, la littérature actuelle sur la coproduction manque des investigations empiriques dans les services financiers. Nous avons commencé par proposer des définitions pour pouvoir comprendre et analyser les concepts que nous mobilisons. La participation des clients a été définie comme la mesure dans laquelle le client est impliqué dans la production et le dévouement du service (Dabholkar, 1990). La coproduction est également définie comme engageant les clients en tant que participants actifs dans le travail de l'organisation (Lengnick Hall et al, 2000). Nous avons identifié quatre courants importants qui expliquent chronologiquement la participation du consommateur au développement de nouveaux produits/services: Marketing des services, l’approche managériale, la participation basée sur l’innovation, l’approche qui critique la participation du consommateur. La question de recherche centrale est "Comment et pourquoi les banques engagent-elles leurs clients dans un processus de co-production?" Nous avons identifié quatre dimensions au début de la recherche pour pouvoir comprendre les dynamiques managériales. Les dimensions étaient l’objectif, le processus, les résultats et les problèmes de la participation du consommateur. Nous avons décidé d’étudier cinq différentes institutions financières Européennes. Nous avons réalisé une conception de recherche des études de cas multiples afin de répondre à cette question dans un contexte financier. Nous avons identifié différents types de communautés chacune ayant des fonctions et des objectifs différents : communautés de recherche, communautés d'innovation, communauté de coopération ouverte avec des activités. Ces trois types de communauté ont des processus différents. La deuxième découverte est liée à l'évolution de ces communautés avec le temps. Certaines communautés (ING et Cetelem) ont évolué; Nous voyons une transformation de ces communautés selon les besoins et les priorités des institutions financières. Quant aux caractéristiques de ces institutions, processus et problèmes, l'analyse de ces banques montre que trois dynamiques importantes alimentent la construction et la gestion d'une communauté dans un contexte financier: client-centricité, soutien managérial et besoin d'innovation. D’après nos observations, le problème principal porte sur la gestion de la communauté. Il est difficile de gérer une communauté ouverte où n'importe qui peut venir et publier des idées et des critiques négatives. Les problèmes techniques, bureaucratiques et budgétaires existent aussi. La recherche, l'innovation et la coproduction de nouveaux produits et services sont les motifs les plus courants. Cependant, les motivations des communautés ouvertes étaient plus liées aux affaires. Le principal motif d'ouverture des communautés était la réduction des coûts, outre la réduction des coûts, l'augmentation de la fidélité des consommateurs, le contact plus étroit avec les clients, leur engagement et l'attribution de nouvelles tâches à la communauté. Comme indiqué plusieurs fois par Von Hippel (2006) et Kozinets (1999), les communautés en ligne sont des mécanismes efficaces pour l’étude du marché. En plus, les communautés sont également importantes pour accroitre la notoriété de la marque (Seraj 2012), la visibilité et la meilleure communication interne et la coopération (Ramasvamy et Gouillart 2010), le partage du savoir-faire et l'élimination des barrières entre les différents départements. / This work investigates managerial dynamics of customer participation and its evolution in financial context. We are interested in managerial dynamics because most of the studies related in co-production is about consumers and the current literature on co-production lacks empirical investigations in financial services. Despite its increasing popularity in the last decade co-production is not a new phenomenon. Customer participation has existed since a very long period of time especially in services marketing and is still evolving in different industries. The following definitions have been adopted for this research. Customer participation has been defined as "the degree to which the customer is involved in producing and delivering the service" (Dabholkar 1990, p. 484). Lengnick–Hall et al (2000) define co-production as “engaging customers as active participants in the organization’s work”. A comprehensive analysis of marketing literature about co-production and consumer participation issues leads us to four different approaches: a services marketing approach focusing on largely customer participation, a managerial approach that puts the customer at the center of co-creation process, an innovative approach where the customer actively takes part in innovation, a critical approach focusing on working consumer concept. The central question for the research is “How and why do banks engage their customers in co-production? Four constructs have been selected in order to answer this question: motives, processes problems and outcomes. Five European banks have been selected for the study. A detailed multiple case study analysis revealed three different community types: market research communities, Innovation communities, Cooperation communities. Another contribution is about the evolution of these communities in time. Some communities (ING and Cetelem) evolved according to needs and priorities of financial institutions. The analysis of these banks shows that three important dynamics feed building and managing a community in financial context: customer centricity, managerial support and the need for innovation. In addition, these three different community types have different processes. Problems of community management in financial industry are also investigated in detail in order to better answer “how” question. Besides financial, technical and organizational problems, the most important problem seems to be the management of open and harsh criticisms. The second important problem is the efficient community management in financial industry. In addition, internal dynamics, complexity and intangibility of financial services and resistance to change may also complicate effective community management. According to our findings, motives of financial institutions are not much different from motives of other companies. Research, innovation and co-production of new products and services are most common motives. However motives of open communities were different, they were more business related. Main motive for open communities was cost-cutting, besides cost-cutting, increasing consumers’ loyalty, having a closer contact with clients, engaging them and assigning the community new tasks are also important motives. According to our findings, there are also common and different outcomes for these three different communities. As stated several times by Von Hippel (2006) and Kozinets (1999) online communities are efficient mechanisms for marketing research. Our findings also supported their results. Besides, communities are also important in increasing brand awareness (Seraj 2012), visibility and better internal communication and cooperation (Ramasvamy and Gouillart 2010), know-how sharing and breaking down the barriers between different departments.

The amount of people in Sweden who were made redundant during the corona pandemic exceeds both the Swedish financial crisis in 1990 and the global financial crisis in 2008.  The negative economic development led to more pressure on people to work harder and perform better in order for their firm to survive. The purpose of this thesis was to explore if and how the value creation process between service providers and their customers, from a business perspective, had been influenced by the corona pandemic.  A conceptual model based on service-logic was created to shed light on potential disruptions affecting the value creation. Empirical data was collected through qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with sales-associates employed by a mobile-operator firm in Sweden. Findings resulted in five main insights of disruptions that impact the provider and its value-creation with its customers. These include managerial decisions, unreasonable goal-setting, social distancing, new provider-customer frictions and foot-traffic, which all stemmed from decisions taken by the firm and government restrictions.   This dissertation has contributed to additional insights in how the service-logic and its various concepts regarding value creation, from a firm’s perspective, is affected during a major crisis. The difficulties experienced by sales-associates during the corona pandemic is two-fold. The sales-associates have to adhere to decisions made by the firm which often leads to more pressure to perform, and the restrictions implemented by governments leads to poor conditions for creating customer-relationships in turn. These conditions impact the firm’s ability to facilitate and co-create value with its customers.

Samhället står inför stora utmaningar när det kommer till en hållbar transformation av energisystemen. Globala trender som hållbarhet, decentralisering, digitalisering och säkerhet kombinerat med ekonomisk nedgång och geopolitiska spänningar har lett till att energileverantörernas kunders behov har skiftat. Med detta som bakgrund formulerades studiens syfte till att studera hur små och medelstora företagskunders förändrande behov påverkar energileverantörernas hållbara affärsmodeller. Eftersom energileverantörerna står inför utmaningar när det gäller att möta behov ämnar studien att stödja energileverantörerna i arbetet att utforma sina affärsmodeller för att kunna möta kundernas behov. Studien undersöker företagskunders behov med ett fokus på små och medelstora företag. Med vetenskaplig litteratur som bakgrund skapades en analysmodell bestående av delarna kundbehov, hållbarhet samt affärsmodell. Den hållbara affärsmodellen togs fram med hjälp av ett SL-perspektiv på värdeskapande vilket medför att affärsmodellen består av fyra komponenter; potentiellt värdeskapande, samskapande av värde, värdeförmedling och värdeinfångning. Kundernas behov delades in i sex värdedimensioner; finansiella, funktionella, emotionella, sociala, epistemiska och villkorliga värden. Från analysmodellen genererades tre specifika forskningsfrågor. Studien använder sig av kvalitativ datainsamling med semi-strukturerade intervjuer med 15 respondenter, varav fem genomfördes med anställda på fallföretaget och tio företagskunder. Detta för att kunna kartlägga kundernas behov samt studera hur affärsmodellen kan utformas för att möta de identifierade behoven. Studien landar i sex slutsatser baserat på analysen; (i) behoven skiljer sig från kund till kund, men flertalet gemensamma behov har identifierats, (ii) viktiga kundbehov har identifierats inom samtliga värdedimensioner, (iii) kundbehoven påverkar tydligt energileverantörernas affärsmodeller, (iv) utformning av affärsmodellskomponenter behöver beakta samtliga värdedimensioner, (v) hållbarhet påverkar kundens samtliga värdedimensioner i stor utsträckning och (vi) hållbarhet påverkar samtliga affärsmodellskomponenter och kan inte hanteras separat eller som en separat affärsmodellskomponent. Baserat på slutsatserna presenteras sex rekommendationer till energileverantörer; (i) beakta att kundernas behov skiljer sig, men också att det finns gemensamma värden, (ii) det är viktigt att inkludera och kontinuerligt undersöka samtliga värdedimensioner, (iii) det är av stor vikt att affärsmodellen utformas efter kundernas behov, (iv) utformningen av varje enskild affärsmodellskomponent behöver beakta flera värdedimensioner, (v) för att kunna stötta kunder i sitt hållbarhetsarbete är det av vikt att ha förståelse för hur hållbarhet påverkar och samverkar med värdedimensionerna och (vi) behandla hållbarhet som en integrerad aspekt i samtliga affärsmodellskomponenter. Slutligen genomfördes en diskussion relaterat till hållbarhet och de sex värdedimensionerna vilken framtida forskning kan vidare utforska. Framtida forskning kan också undersöka om det framtagna ramverket kan appliceras i fler kontexter. Genom att genomföra fler intervjuer kan behoven kartläggas mer utförligt vilket kan stärka förståelsen om företagskundernas behov. / Society is facing great challenges regarding the sustainable transformation of energy systems. Global trends such as sustainability, decentralization, digitalization, and security combined with financial downgrade and geopolitical tension has led to a shift in customer needs amongst the energy providers’ customers. As such, the purpose of the study was formulated as to study how the energy providers’ small and medium enterprise customers’ shifted needs affect the energy providers’ sustainable business models. Since the energy providers are facing challenges regarding fulfilling customer needs, this study aims at aiding the energy providers on how to design their business models to better fulfill customer needs. The study investigates business customers’ needs, focusing on small and medium enterprises. An analysis model was generated from scientific literature from three topics: customer needs, sustainability, and business model. The business model framework was constructed from an SL-perspective which generated four business model components: potential value creation, value co-creation, value mediation and value capture. The customer needs were described using six value dimensions: financial, functional, emotional, social, epistemic, and conditional value. Three specific research questions were generated from the analysis model. The qualitative data collection was done using semi-structured interviews with 15 respondents, of which five with employees at the case company and nine with customers. This was done to identify customer needs and how the business model can be designed to better meet those needs. Based on the analysis, the study presents six conclusions; (i) the needs differ from customer to customer, although common needs are identified, (ii) important customer needs are identified within each value dimension, (iii) the customer needs clearly affect the energy providers’ business models, (iv) the design of business model components must consider all value dimensions, (v) sustainability highly affect all value dimensions and (vi) sustainability affect all business model components and cannot be treated as something separate or as an individual business model component.  Built on the presented conclusions, the study also presents six recommendations; (i) understand that customer needs differ, but also that mutual values exist, (ii) it is essential to include and continuously study all value dimensions, (iii) it is important that the design of the business model is based on customer needs, (iv) the design of each business model component must consider multiple value dimensions, (v) to support customers in their sustainability practices it is vital to understand how sustainability both affect and interacts with each value dimension and (vi) treat sustainability as an integrated part of each business model component.  Finally, a discussion is presented related to sustainability and the six value dimensions which future research can study further. Future research may also investigate whether the generated framework is applicable in other contexts. By conducting more interviews, the customer needs can be identified more extensively which can strengthen knowledge about them.

Den digitala transformationen som genomsyrar många delar i samhället idag har inte bearbetatsi energibranschen i samma grad. Energibranschen står inför stora förändringar med mål av attvara fossilfria fram till 2040. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur ett kommunaltenergibolag arbetar med digitalisering för en marknadsstyrd energiförsörjning analyseratgenom tjänstedominant logiken. Referensramen till studien grundar sig i digital transformationsom ramas ner till den tjänstedominanta logiken. Studien genomfördes utifrån en kvalitativundersökning med semistrukturerade intervjuer av ett energibolag och ett IT-konsultbolag.Utifrån intervjuerna återfinns data som analyserades genom den tjänstedominanta logiken.Undersökningen bidrar med nya perspektiv genom tjänstedominant logik som energibranschenhar nytta av och som kan möjliggöra nya sätt att möta kunder. I resultatet blir det tydligt hurenergibolaget arbetar med en digitalisering men att kundinvolvering inte är där. En ökaddigitalisering och tjänstefiering i energisektorn driver fram kreativa lösningar för branschenskunder där decentraliserade och demokratiserade styrsätt möjliggörs. / The digital transformation that undergoes changes in many parts of society has not been asprocessed in the energy industry at the same degree. The energy industry is facing majorchanges with the goal of being fossil-free by 2040. The purpose of the study was to investigatehow a municipal energy company works with digitization for a market-driven energy supplyanalyzed through service-dominant logic. The theoretical framework of the study is based ondigital transformation which then narrows down to the service dominant logic. The study isconducted based on qualitative research through semi-structured interviews of an energy utilitycompany and an IT consulting firm. The research provides insights into a service-dominantperspective for the energy industry in enabling new ways to approach their customers. Theresult makes it clear how the energy company works with digitalization, but that customerinvolvement is not there. An increased digitalization and servitization in the energy sectorfacilitate new creative solutions for the industry's customers, where decentralized anddemocratized governance are made possible.

Matbranschen är en bransch där få stora innovationer sker. Under de senaste åren har marknaden sett en kraftig utveckling av återförsäljares egna varumärken vilka konkurrerar ut befintliga produkter från livsmedelsproducenter genom deras billigare pris. Vidare medför det faktum att återförsäljare är en mellanhand mellan livsmedelsproducenter och konsument att en distans mellan producent och konsument uppstår. För att bemöta konkurrensen från återförsäljarnas egna varumärken behöver producenter komma med produktinnovationer som lyckas ta konsumenternas preferenser i beaktning. Med grund i detta samt att tidigare studier inom området saknas formulerades studiens syfte till: att undersöka hur utvecklingen av nya produkter hos en leverantör inom den svenska livsmedelsindustrin kan bli mer konsumentcentrerad. Tre huvudområden identifierades för att angripa problemet: affärsmodeller, innovation och värdeskapande och genom en djupdykning i vetenskaplig litteratur inom dessa områden togs slutligen en analysmodell fram. Studiens tre huvudområden låg till grund för en kvalitativ, enkel fallstudie av en svensk livsmedelsproducent. Empiriska data samlades in genom 19 semistrukturerade intervjuer och två studiebesök i produktionen. Intervjuerna genomfördes på ett antal utvalda avdelningar inom fallföretaget för att få en omfattande förståelse för dels hur en livsmedelsproducent utvecklar produkter, dels hur produktutvecklingen skulle kunna bli mer konsumentcentrerad. Studien resulterade i fem slutsatser: Externa samarbeten främjar produktutvecklingen eftersom de ger möjlighet till att samla in och utföra nya idéer genom att bidra med nya perspektiv och kompetenser. Obalans i inflytande och brist på transparens kan påverka externa samarbeten negativt. Studien visade även att distansen mellan leverantörer och konsument försvårar leverantörens möjligheter att förstå konsumentens värdeskapande vilket komplicerar konsumentcentrerad produktutveckling. Insamlandet av konsumentåsikter möjliggör för användandet av verktyg för att mäta och därmed möjligheten att förstå konsumentens värdeskapande. Återförsäljare och konsumenter skapar värde utifrån olika faktorer vilket är viktigt att ta i beaktande vid utveckling av nya produkter för att fokusera rätt värdeerbjudande mot rätt kund. Utifrån slutsatserna formulerades sex rekommendationer där livsmedelsproducenter rekommenderas att utveckla samarbeten för att främja produktutvecklingen. Vidare rekommenderas mer transparens inom samarbeten för att förbättra befintliga samarbeten och få till nya externa samarbeten. Distansen mellan leverantör och konsument bör minskas och konsumenten bör involveras mer för att främja en konsumentcentrerad produktutveckling. Vidare bör leverantörer strukturera insamlingen av konsumentåsikter och vara medvetna om skillnaden mellan återförsäljares och konsumentens värdeskapande. Vidare diskuterades studiens begränsningar och förslag på framtida forskning. För ett få en mer nyanserad bild av det identifierade problemet hade återförsäljare och konsumenter kunnat intervjuas. / The food industry is an industry where few innovations occur. Within the last years the market has seen a heavy increase in retailers’ own brands which are outcompeting products from food producers due to their lower price. Furthermore, the fact that a retailer is a middle hand between food producers and consumers means that there is a distance between producers and consumers. To meet the competition from the retailers’ own brands, producers need to provide product innovations which are capable of taking consumer preferences into account. Based on this and the lack of studies within the area the purpose of the study became: to investigate how the development of new products at a supplier within the Swedish food industry can become more consumer oriented. Three main areas were identified to attack the problem: business models, innovation, and value creation, and through a deep dive in academic literature within these areas an analytical model was created. The study’s three main areas were the basis of a qualitative, single case study of a Swedish food producer. Empirical data was obtained through 19 semi structured interviews and study visits at two of the producer’s production sites. The interviews were carried out at a few specifically chosen departments within the case company to obtain a holistic understanding of how a food producer develops products but also how the development of products can become more consumer oriented. The study resulted in five conclusions: External collaborations promote product development because they provide the opportunity to collect and execute new ideas by contributing with new perspectives and competences. Imbalance in influence and lack of transparency can negatively affect external collaborations. The study also showed that the distance between a supplier and consumer makes it difficult for the supplier to understand the value creation of the consumer which complicates consumer-oriented product development. The collection of consumer opinions enables the use of tools to measure and understand the value creation of the consumer. Retailers and consumers create value based on different factors which are important to take into account when developing new products in order to focus the correct value proposition on the correct customer. Based on the conclusions, six recommendations were formulated where food producers are recommended to develop external collaborations to promote product development. Furthermore, more transparency within external collaborations is recommended to improve existing and to obtain new external collaborations. The distance between a supplier and consumer should be reduced and the consumer should be involved more to promote consumer-oriented product development. Furthermore, suppliers should structure the collection of opinions from consumers and be aware of the differences between retailers and consumers value creation. Furthermore, the constraints of the study were discussed along with suggestions for further studies. To obtain a more nuanced picture of the identified problem, retailers and consumers could have been interviewed as well.