Yes / Sustainable servitisation for organisations, as an indispensable part of their sustainable development, has increasingly come to the attention of both academics and practitioners. Whilst the servitisation literature is diverse and growing, our understanding of what sustainable servitisation is and a holistic view of how it is developed and implemented is limited. To address these gaps, we provide a systematic literature review enabled by an active machine-learning tool using 66 journal articles on sustainable servitisation. We have redefined the term sustainable servitisation based on an in-depth literature analysis. From the purview of sustainable servitisation as a mechanism for organisational change, we also synthesised what is known about sustainable servitisation into a holistic framework. Notably, rather than focusing on how sustainable servitisation can be better designed, as most existing studies have done, we argue that a dynamic and processual view of sustainable servitisation is required to advance theoretical and practical knowledge. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 27 Feb 2025.

This thesis explores the research gaps identified from a systematic literature review on the topic of mass personalisation, an emerging field of the enquiry. This research examines the strategic considerations Companies make when pursuing mass personalisation, using a case study methodology and semi structured interviews. This thesis contributes to the theoretical boundary of mass customisation (MC) and mass personalisation (MPer) positioning the contingent supply chain components from Cooper et al. (1997) and Lampel et al. (1996) in a synthesised framework. This research also contributes a taxonomy of the literature and a conceptual model. Practical contributions include the understanding of strategic supply chain management and mass personalisation, through an empirical case study of four organisation. Large corporations with infrastructure that already support MC do indeed make different strategic considerations relating to the technical competency of the workforce, product architecture, and acquisition of advanced manufacturing technology when their stated aim is personalisation. The research finds that the pursuit of personalisation is markedly different from the individualisation promised by mass customisation. Large organisations that are seeking to personalise products from a mass customisation background, retain the economies of scale associated with MC. These Companies leverage their infrastructure for personalised products, however, this does not have to be the case, and in fact, the organisation's size before pursuing MPer and their product complexity are critical factors for the organisation's reliance on MC economies of scale. Typically these companies are the first foray into MPer and are considered risky ventures. The research concluded that mass personalisation, distinct from the individualisation found in MC literature, is in its infancy and as such may look very different in the near-future. The conclusions of this thesis support the possibility for further empirical validation of the role organisation size and current product variety play in the type of MPer pursued.

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>

Background: Traditional banks in Sweden are undergoing major transformations from interacting mainly through physical touchpoints with a product-centric approach to an expanded range of digitalised touchpoints and a more customer-centric approach. This transformation exemplifies what in research is referred to as digital servitisation.  Purpose: To explore perceived implications in the banks’ relationship to customers when they digitalise customer touchpoints. Furthermore, to understand how different roles involved in customer relationship management and customer touchpoints - strategic, analytical and operational perspectives - perceive the work needed to interact with customers through different touchpoints. Method: Through a qualitative, interpretative, multiple case study two traditional Swedish banks are explored in their work with their relationships with their customers and digitalised touchpoints. The empirical data is gathered through 15 semi-structured interviews with respondents working analytically, operationally and strategically to gain as representative an understanding of the general perception among employees as possible.  Findings: Using a thematic analysis, the thesis presents six themes; (1) Customers in charge of interactions, (2) Becoming more complex, (3) Relationships are more interchangeable, (4) Rethinking relationship components, (5) Connecting the dots and (6) Integrating the old with the new. The themes are clustered as Changes (1-3) and Adaptations (4-6).  Conclusions: The thesis concludes that the relationship between banks and their customers has and continues to change in the transformation of digital servitisation. The demands and behaviours of the customer are perceived to change, simultaneously they gain more power over the relationship and the banks become more interchangeable. Thus, the banks must change along with the relationship to adhere to the customers’ demands, in order to stay relevant and keep their competitive advantage. At the time being, there are several ways that the banks believe that this can be done, but continue to express that they are still exploring to find the right approach and how to execute it.