This research investigates globally dispersed innovation teams involved in explorative projects within an engineering graduate course employing problem-based learning. Utilizing insights from a longitudinal study, the objective is to identify how to enhance both individual learning and team performance, thereby increasing the likelihood of a successful outcome. Initial observations revealed common patterns in learning experiences among the top-performing teams, prompting further investigation into how supporting cohorts might positively influence both team performance and students’ learning experiences throughout the course. In addition to advancing comprehension of innovation team performance, the study introduces two lightweight tools designed as shared visual representations of the team’s exploration journey. These tools can assist supporting cohorts in guiding teams effectively. This research augments the existing body of knowledge surrounding the achievement of breakthrough innovations. It provides understanding about how to facilitate team performance and individual learning within globally dispersed innovation teams undertaking explorative projects. The proposed lightweight tools offer practical solutions to enhance the supporting cohort’s ability to guide and impact team performance and individual learning experiences. This study holds implications for academia and industry, particularly organizations reliant on radical innovation for competitiveness and future-proving. Lastly, the study’s findings could inform the design and delivery of future problem-oriented, project-organized learning-based courses in engineering education.

This thesis discusses how large manufacturing incumbent companies potentially can ensure their longevity and future-proof themselves by infusing ambidexterity throughout their organizations. Ambidextrous companies are equipped to achieve success in both current and future business environments, providing valued solutions to customers today and in the future. While these companies often excel at making incremental improvements to existing products, business, and operational models, they lack the skill set necessary for exploring new ways of creating value for customers, and commonly fail to bring promising breakthrough innovations from proven concept to revenue generation. 

To address these challenges, this thesis proposes a methodology consisting of four foundational principles for strengthening the innovation capacity of large manufacturing incumbents. The term "innovation engineering" is introduced and described to distinctly differentiate exploration-oriented work from exploitation-oriented work and demystify the exploration process and skills. The thesis also presents the concept of "intentional PSS design" as an approach to incorporate future aspirations and current capabilities into an evolutionary design process, connecting current limitations with future anticipated possibilities.

The thesis proposes tools for leaders and coaches to support innovation engineering teams in their exploration journeys and bridge the gap between exploration and exploitation. The overall aim of the research is to future-proof large manufacturing incumbents by providing understanding about common challenges and possibilities, a framework for strengthened innovation capacity, incorporating the innovation engineering skills as core competencies, and the innovation engineering process as equally important to and diametrically different from the exploitation process.

The research aims to increase awareness and knowledge about innovation engineering and enable infused ambidexterity so that large manufacturing incumbents can find their ways to adapt to a changing environment and reinvention of their ways to meet customer needs. The thesis also proposes ways to bridge between exploration and exploitation to enable a company-wide transition from a product-selling to problem-solving enterprise. By doing so, large manufacturing companies might prolong their lifespan and contribute solving 

Denna avhandling diskuterar hur stora, marknadsledande tillverkningsföretag kan framtidsäkras genom att ”tvåhänthet”, eller ”ambidextri”, och ett både-och ledarskap genomsyrar hela organisationen. I en snabbt föränderlig värld måste företag vara skickliga på både inkrementell och radikal innovation. Trots att många stora, marknadsledande tillverkningsföretag har effektiva och sedan länge etablerade arbetssätt för kontinuerlig utveckling och inkrementell innovation, saknar de ofta förmågan att utforska och implementera nya sätt att skapa värde, vilket kan resultera i förlorade möjligheter till marknadsfördelar då lovande radikala innovationer inte når marknaden med betalande kunder. För att tackla dessa utmaningar föreslås i denna avhandling ett angreppssätt bestående av fyra grundläggande principer för att stärka företagens innovationsförmåga. Begreppet innovationsteknik nyttjas för att tydligt skilja på utforskande arbetssätt för radikal innovation och det inkrementella. Med innovationsteknik avses i detta arbete både kompetens och process och förståelsen för detta bidrar till att avmystifiera det utforskande arbetet för att skapa radikal innovation. « Intentional PSS design » presenteras som ett angreppssätt för att koppla ihop existerande kunderbjudanden med framtida ambitioner i en evolutionär designprocess som tar hänsyn till dagens och framtidens möjligheter, begränsningar och intentioner. Avhandlingen föreslår verktyg för att guida innovationsteam i deras utforskande resor; verktyg som också kan hjälpa till att överbrygga gapet mellan arbetssätt och förmågor för radikal och inkrementell innovation. I denna avhandling får du som läsare en djupare förståelse för potentialen hos innovationsteknik och en organisatorisk tvåbenthet som genomsyrar hela organisationen. Förhoppningen är att stora tillverkningsföretag kan nytttja denna förståelse för att anpassa verksamheten till en föränderlig värld och ta sig an nya, mer systemorienterade sätt att möta kunders behov och skifta organisationens förhållningssätt från produkt till produkt-tjänste-system-lösningar (PSS). Då kan dessa företag bidra till att lösa dagens och framtidens komplexa samhällsutmaningar.  

Despite a growing number of Corporate Innovation Hubs (CIHs) in recent years, limited attention has been paidto understanding the key problems that arise among organizations collaborating through CIHs. In particular,organizations often experience Not-Invented-Here (NIH) and Not-Sold-Here (NSH) problems, i.e. negative attitudestowards absorbing external knowledge and towards sharing internal knowledge externally. Consequently,many CIHs fail to deliver and are regarded as “innovation theatres” rather than engines of renewal. By drawingupon an inductive multiple case study of five CIHs, their parent companies and associated startups, located inSilicon Valley (USA) and the Gothenburg region (Sweden), the article sheds light on how CIHs can mitigate NIHand NSH problems in knowledge transfer. Specifically, we investigate the causes, consequences and mitigatingmechanisms of NIH and NSH problems among the organizations collaborating through a CIH. These findings arepresented in a framework that connects causes and consequences with the corresponding mitigating mechanisms.We also present new theoretical implications for the literatures on NIH and NSH.

This is a qualitative single case study of a geographically distributed student team that experienced a quite different graduate course, compared to previous year's. This was due to the restrictions placed upon them following coronavirus lockdowns. With already ongoing research, and continuous development of the course, the authors had documented individual reflections and identified patterns and behaviours that seemingly determined the quality of the end result, as well as the students expectations and experiences. Semi-structured interviews, surveys and the author's individual reflection notes were already in place as part of the larger research scope and when the student team during the covid-19 year showed unexpected performance and results, the authors decided to pause the larger research scope and focus on this unique single case and capture those learnings. Not knowing how the Covid-19 situation evolves and leaning on insights from previous years, as well as this unique year, the aim with this paper is to describe the unique Covid-19 year amd share knowledge that can help improve and evolve the development of this longlived collaborative graduate student course, and other similar distributed team contexts.

This paper covers research about how Corporate Innovation Hubs, CIHs, in Silicon Valley are managed and supported by their corporatemotherships and how their likeliness of success can be increased by consciousand proactive management and support. To embrace the cultural difference as a competitive advantage and learning experience is important. Clear intentions,expectations, team constellation, reporting level and finding the right individualas head of the CIH are identified as crucial factors to consider.

The paper explores the implementation process of an innovation measuring system prototype to support a heavy machinery multinational company to secure their innovative capability. In general,companies recognize the importance of becoming innovative to become, or remain, competitive on a global market. The case company decided to pilot a metric system that corresponds to the crucial factors to secure innovative capability and work with the stepwise improvement based on the assessment results.

The methods are based on design-research approach and participatory action research. Interviews, surveys and observation were used, as well as, workshops were conducted to develop and follow up the implementation innovation measuring system.

The findings explore topics and open questions related to metric selection, purpose and use of the selected indicators, as well as challenges related to the implementation of the metric system. Some of the conclusions question the viability of measuring project teams, as well as, it suggests the need for further research to clarify whether team metrics need to be develop in parallel to organizational ones.

Literature points out the need for companies to innovate continuously. Such need requires that companies develop capacities to exploit and improve current work as well as to develop and explore more radical opportunities. This paper is a case study that investigates the innovation capabilities of a multinational manufacturing company by interviewing a group that is mandate to support the development of those capabilities. The data was collected by semi-structured interviews, which were based on the categories of a framework previously developed. The findings speak about the importance of setting clear processes for continuation and implementation of ideas, adequate allocation of resources and management support. The discussion and conclusion are about the importance of the integration of efforts in different organizational levels and some of the future challenges integrating the innovation efforts into a natural way of working.

Companies are constantly being pressured to innovate in order to stay competitive in the short run and have new offerings in the long run. One way of boosting innovation is to develop idea support systems that go beyond the traditional methods and tools. Through a qualitative study, this paper explores the lessons learned from developing an online platform for idea generation, and discusses it in terms of innovation process, climate, and capabilities. The results show that the platform itself is not enough for innovation. The structure and work processes around the platform are as important, which implies the need to design processes and procedures that allow an idea to develop, providing, focus, idea feedback and role clarity.

As large manufacturing incumbents are adopting digital technologies and shifting their business models from selling products to solving problems, through PSS (product-service-system) solutions, their development processes need to shift as well. Organizational ambidexterity, the ability to both explore new opportunities and exploit existing customer offerings, is considered to be crucial to companies’ current and future success. In this study it is observed that a gap between exploration and exploitation work streams lead to promising conceptual PSS solutions never reaching a revenue generating stage. This is because product-centricity along with exploitation-optimized processes and mindsets are not equipped to carry the integrated solutions further, from proven concept to market ready solution. This article summarizes a multiple case study, where systematic innovation engineering work has resulted in promising conceptual PSS solutions never reaching market launch. In addition to the in-depth case studies, leaders of exploration-oriented teams in manufacturing incumbents shared their insights which confirmed that the problem is common across companies and industries, and several roadblocks are general. One of the authors has been responsible for a successful shift from a product-centric to an integrated solution-oriented organization and contributed insights from that experience to this study. The authors suggest that the gap between explore and exploit, and the shift from product-centric to PSS-oriented can be managed through an approach where ambidexterity is infused into the entire organization and exploration is demystified, enabling a transparent and concerted shift.