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Teollinen internet lupaa läpinäkyvyyttä, ajantasaisuutta ja ennakoitavuutta tuotanto- ja tuotetietoon, automatisoitua ohjattavuutta ja uudenlaisia palveluliiketoiminnan mahdollisuuksia. Tässä artikkelissa pohdin erityisesti DIMECCin tutkimusohjelmissa koottuun tietoon pohjautuen, millaisia valmiuksia ja haasteita teollisilla yrityksillä on saavuttaa liiketoimintahyötyä teollisen internetin mahdollistamasta uudesta palveluliiketoiminnasta ja mihin lisätoimenpiteisiin on syytä ryhtyä. Vaikka teollisen internetin teknologiset komponentit jo tunnetaan sangen hyvin, liiketoimintahyötyjen saavuttamisessa on ylitettävä esteitä sekä markkinoiden ja henkilöstön että liiketoimintamallien ja toimitusverkostojen osalta.
Project value is an important topic of debate in project studies, and previous research has identified challenges in value management. This article reveals the challenges of subjectivity, dynamics, and tensions stemming from multistakeholder involvement and competing values over the project life cycle. This research seeks solutions to the management of values by exploring values as beliefs to supplement their treatment as worth. Management of values is portrayed as an exercise in sensemaking, negotiation, and co-creation when adjusting beliefs to transform project practices and outcomes. A research agenda is proposed to cover the social and behavioral aspects of values in project studies.
Firms implement radical innovation programs to create strategic value, and ensuring their success may require involving the business network. This paper pursues increased knowledge on strategic value in a radical innovation program and the means to promote readiness for value creation in the business network. A case study was implemented at the front end of a radical innovation program introducing intelligent technologies. The multi-level nature of strategic value is revealed, thereby offering a novel perspective on value-related research. Business, technical, solution, customer, and change readiness are introduced as requirements for implementing strategic value in the business network.
Systemic innovations expand the scope of development from certain products and services to complex solutions where complementary innovations are needed to occur at the same time. Intelligent technologies that build upon digitisation and enable remote monitoring and control and related services are an example of systemic innovations transforming manufacturing firms' business logics and requiring the involvement of the business network. The progress and success of such innovations may face various barriers, not only concerning the technology being developed but also the value creation and capture processes of the entire system. This paper explores intelligent technologies as a systemic innovation, identifies transformation-related barriers toward the open systemic innovation and characterises ways to overcome the barriers in a business network. A single-case study with a manufacturing firm and its business network involved the front end of a systemic innovation concerning the creation and development of intelligent materials and related business solutions. The results reveal barriers concerning the market, industry, solution and investments and propose ways to overcome them during the front end, and in anticipation of the back end, of the systemic innovation. The chapter shows novel empirical evidence on intelligent technologies as systemic innovations from a special case. It offers ideas for preparing the network-level changes at the front end of systemic innovations.
When organizations mature in their project management, they tend to include governance to their well-established routines, often built into a project management methodology. Organizations may either adopt a published, all-encompassing project management methodology, adjust and adapt a methodology intended for a specific project type (such as product development or IT), or design and develop their own, unique methodology based on their experienced good practices. Such methodologies specify the core principles, processes, tasks, tools, and actors’ roles and responsibilities that are anticipated to lead to successful project outcomes. This chapter outlines the basic features and components of project management methodologies as mechanisms of governance, differentiates the alternative methodology types (adopted, adapted, designed) in terms of their contextualization and use, and reviews current-state knowledge on the benefits and challenges of using project management methodologies. While formalization of project management through these methodologies may promote capability development and learning from a project to another, it also may cause rigidity, which may become quite destructive in dynamic project contexts. The chapter, therefore, discusses the necessity of flexibility, interpretation, adaptation, and continuous learning in using project management methodologies.
Yritykset uudistavat tuotantotoimintaansa erilaisin investoinnein sekä teknologian että toimintamallien kehittämisellä. Tutkimuksemme tarkasteli tuotantoinnovaatioiden yhteyttä tuotannon sijaintimuutoksiin ja tuotannon suorituskyvyn parannuksiin suomalaisissa, ruotsalaisissa ja tanskalaisissa valmistavissa yrityksissä. Tulokset osoittavat, että yritysten aktiivisuus prosessi-innovaatioissa sekä strateginen ote tuotannon sijaintipäätöksiin selittää tuotannon kustannustehokkuuden parannuksia, kun taas valmistusteknologiainnovaatiot ja toimitusketjuinnovaatiot selittävät osittain paremmuutta toimituskyvyssä. Aiemmat kokemukset tuotannon sijaintimuutoksista eivät selitä menestymistä suoraan, vaan nimenomaan strategisen sijaintiharkinnan positiivisten vaikutusten kautta. Jussi Heikkilä aloitti aiemmissa Stoori-lehdissä juttusarjan Roaming (Reshoring of manufacturing) –tutkimusprojektimme tuloksista, ja tässä osassa keskityn tuotantoinnovaatioihin ja siihen, miten ne kytkeytyvät tuotannon sijaintipäätöksiin ja suorituskyvyn kehittämiseen. Tuloksia käsitellään laajemmin Roaming-projektin loppuraportin yhdessä luvussa (Martinsuo & Chaoji 2017) sekä tulevissa artikkeleissa (Martinsuo & Johansson tulossa; Chaoji & Martinsuo tulossa).
Tässä tutkimuksessa käsitellään arvojen promootiota eli ilmaistuihin arvoihin liittyvää toimintaa, jolla monikansallisen yrityksen johto pyrkii vaikuttamaan organisaationsa suorituskykyyn. Johtamiskirjallisuudessa organisaatiokulttuuria on pidetty hidasliikkeisenä tai jopa mahdottomana muuttaa siitä huolimatta, että muuttuva liiketoimintaympäristö korostaa ja edellyttää dynaamisuutta. Tämä tutkimus tarkastelee organisaation jäsenten organisaatiokäsityksiä, jotka ovat keskeinen ja mahdollisesti muokattavissa oleva osa organisaatiokulttuuria. Arvot esitellään riittävän abstraktina ja yleisenä välineenä organisaatiokäsityksiin vaikuttamiselle, kun taas arvojen promootiolla tarkoitetaan niitä toimenpiteitä, joilla arvoihin liittyvää tietämystä ja toimintaa edistetään. Monikansallisessa yrityksessä organisaatiokäsityksiin vaikuttaminen ja arvojen promootio on erityisen haasteellista, koska henkilöstön uskomukset ovat niin moninaisia. Johtamiskirjallisuus ei ole kattanut tätä aluetta vielä riittävästi. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on lisätä tietämystä arvojen promootion kohteesta ja toimintaympäristöstä, sisällöstä ja keinoista, sekä prosessista ja menetelmistä monikansallisessa yrityksessä. Väitöskirjassa halutaan erityisesti nostaa esiin niitä tekijöitä, jotka ovat oleellisia arvojen promootion onnistumiselle. Empiirisen, laadullisen tapaustutkimuksen kohteena on menestyvä, monikansallinen yritys, Nokia, ja sen toteuttama arvojen promootio. Pääasiallisina tutkimusmenetelminä on käytetty puolistrukturoituja haastatteluja eri työntekijäryhmien, keskijohdon ja ylimmän johdon keskuudessa. Myös sisäisiä ja julkisia dokumentteja, arvoihin liittyvää aineistoa ja observointia on hyödynnetty tiedon lähteinä ja haastattelujen tukena. Tulokset vahvistavat, että organisaatiokäsitykset ovat alttiita johtamisinterventiolle erityisesti, jos yrityksen suhde ulkoiseen toimintaympäristöön on proaktiivinen. Kun monikansallisessa yrityksessä johtamisen kohteena on jäsenten organisaatiokäsitykset, tulisi johtamisinterventiossa ottaa huomioon liiketoimintayksikön keskeisyys organisaatiossa sekä siinä vallitseva käsitysorientaatio suhteessa ulkoiseen, globaaliin ja paikalliseen toimintaympäristöön. Arvoja voidaan luonnehtia liikkuvaksi kohteeksi organisaation jäsenten identiteetti- ja kulttuuriuskomusten muodostamalla kentällä. Arvojen jatkuvan uudelleentulkinnan merkitys korostuu, mikäli niitä halutaan hyödyntää johtamisintervention välineenä. Jotta arvojen promootio voisi onnistua, organisaatiossa tulisi tunnustaa ja hyväksyä uudelleentulkinnasta johtuva epävarmuus ja tietämättömyys. Yritysten tulisi globaalin lähestymistavan ja paikallisten promootiomenetelmien lisäksi kehittää keinoja, joilla tätä erilaisuudesta johtuvaa epävarmuutta voidaan käsitellä ja hyödyntää operatiivisen yhdenmukaisuuspyrkimyksen sijasta. Väitöskirjassa esitetään joukko käytännöllisiä ideoita siitä, miten arvojen promootion tulisi tapahtua maailmanlaajuisessa yritystoiminnassa. Laadullinen tapaustutkimus menestyvässä monikansallisessa yrityksessä tuottaa tärkeää tietoa siitä, mitä arvojen promootio merkitsee parhaimmillaan. Se jättää myös monia kysymyksiä jatkotutkimuksen aiheiksi. Tällaisia teemoja ovat mm. arvojen promootion todelliset vaikutukset, arvojen omaksumisprosessi ja arvojen promootion lisäksi muut johtamisinterventiot ja niiden eri vaiheet.
Value creation in projects is especially challenging when it deals with a complex system and multiple stakeholders are involved. Complex systems require careful consideration of the processes of value creation in a project network. Each stakeholder may have its own expectations of value, processes of value delivery, and criteria for assessing project success. Yet, stakeholders need to collaborate, share their views, and adhere to joint rules of governance in a project network, when pursuing project value creation. This chapter explores project value creation in project networks and introduces a conceptual framework of its three modes: sensemaking and negotiation, shaping and co-creation, and monitoring and control. Attention is drawn to the cognitive, operative, and evaluative processes of value creation in project networks as well as material and immaterial nature of value creation. Future research is proposed, both concerning the conceptual framework as a whole and its three modes separately.
Project delivery involves networks of customers, contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, and designers. Strong interorganizational relationships are considered relevant to project performance. Previous research has focused on contractual relationships in direct supply chains, with little attention to suppliers and their non-contractual relationships. This study develops and tests a framework of relationship strength and its antecedents in the non-contractual relationship between suppliers and designers as third parties in construction projects. The intent is to identify the key factors relevant to enhancing the supplier's non-contractual relationships with designers. The results reveal the supplier's activeness and technical capability as antecedents to trust, and supplier's technical capability and supplier-designer cooperation beyond project boundaries as antecedents to commitment. The different antecedents of trust and commitment imply alternative pathways for strengthening non-contractual relationships in construction projects, thereby deviating from activities in contractual relationships. Further research is proposed on other types of third parties and other antecedents of commitment.
Purpose: Adopting additive manufacturing (AM) can be challenging, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and as part of the supply chains of larger firms. The purpose of this study is to explore SMEs’ perspectives on the adoption of additive manufacturing in their specific supply chain positions. The paper develops new knowledge on the challenges SMEs face across the supply chain and the actions they need to promote the adoption of AM. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory interview-based research design is used. Seventeen interviews were conducted and analyzed in four types of SMEs in their specific positions in AM supply chains. The challenges of adopting AM were mapped, and actions to promote AM adoption were identified. Findings: SMEs in different supply chain positions experience different challenges when adopting AM. Strategic and operative actions are suggested as key solutions to overcome the challenges. The benefits of AM on a large scale will be achieved only if the broader supply chain adopts AM technology and experiences its benefits. Research limitations/implications: The research is limited by its single-country context, its focus on SMEs, and the selection of early-phase AM adopter firms. The findings imply a need to understand AM adoption as a shared concern and systemic innovation in the supply chain, instead of just a firm-specific implementation task. Practical implications: The findings offer a framework for categorizing AM adoption challenges and propose ways to overcome the challenges of adoption. Originality/value: The study reveals that AM adoption is not only a technology issue, but an issue of strategic, organizational and operational challenges across the supply chain. It shows that when adopting AM, SMEs face particular challenges and require specific solutions according to their supply chain position.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to better understand the efficient use of remote monitoring systems (RMS) to create business value for industrial services in manufacturing firms. A business view to RMS is a key prerequisite for the successful application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in industrial services. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative multiple-case study was conducted in six engineering companies. The main source of data was semi-structured interviews with 16 managers. Findings: The findings highlight the role of RMS in enabling manufacturing firms to collect data from customers to complement their limited knowledge about their customers. The study demonstrates the business value of using RMS in industrial services and the necessity of capturing the business value through advanced IT technologies. Research limitations/implications: The qualitative research design and choice of six target companies limit the findings to business-to-business manufacturing firms. Further, the focus is on the manager’s viewpoint. The findings imply new business value through an efficient use of RMS to complement direct customer contact. Practical implications: The study draws attention to the skilled use of advanced RMS and information and communication technology as a prerequisite for the successful application of the IoT in manufacturing firms that provide services for complex solutions and customers dispersed globally. Originality/value: The research shows that using information collected through RMS is an important factor in creating business value in a manufacturing firm’s customer relationships. The study contributes by integrating RMS into the customer information collection process to increase the amount, validity and quality of data.
Innovation project portfolios face uncertainties and require dynamic approaches to management practice. The uncertainties are the most prevalent in firms that promote innovativeness in their strategies. Previous studies on the practice of innovation project portfolio management have not offered sufficient evidence on the conditions of high innovativeness. This study explores the practice of innovation project portfolio management, with the aim to identify patterns of managing uncertainty at the level of the portfolio specifically in highly innovative contexts. A qualitative case study research is implemented in two innovative companies in the construction and software industries. The findings reveal the uncertainties and related practices of innovation portfolio management during planning and managing the portfolio. Innovative firms discover and also cause uncertainties in the routine processes of IPPM. Idea sourcing, dynamic cross-project competition, and resource dynamics are revealed as possible mechanisms for managing uncertainty, particularly visible in the highly innovative firms. The study contributes by summing up the core dimensions of IPPM practice and showing evidence of uncertainty management in IPPM in highly innovative contexts.
Strategic alignment of project portfolios concerns the match between projects in the portfolio and the organization’s strategy. It is often considered either as a selection criterion when creating the project portfolio or as a performance indicator when assessing success. Organizations pursue optimal strategic alignment while retaining responsiveness to changes in the environment. The problem guiding this study is the need to understand how strategic alignment occurs in practice in the work of project portfolio management in the context of multiple project portfolios. We explore large firms’ practices of strategic alignment and cross-portfolio interplay in the innovation project portfolios of three industrial firms. The findings reveal social, mechanistic, and structural practices of portfolios’ strategic alignment and sharing, synergy creation, and boundary-spanning practices in cross-portfolio interplay. Strategic alignment is reported as a dynamic, continuous activity in the work of managers and personnel, with versatile practices that drive both efficiency and renewal.
Managers of manufacturing firms have important tasks in choosing novel technology solutions for the firm’s production process. The emergence of ideas for radical manufacturing technology innovations and managers’ proactive search for radical ideas and concepts for developing production processes have not been well understood. This study concentrates on managers’ search practices at the front end of radical manufacturing technology innovations. We analyzed managers’ practices in the early phase of nine radical manufacturing technology innovation projects across three firms. Radical manufacturing technology innovations require acknowledging both process innovations for the manufacturer and product innovations for the equipment supplier. The findings revealed alternative patterns regarding the use of directed and autonomous search processes, internal and external information sources, and open and closed supplier search. This study offers new knowledge on the nature of the information processing task that managers face and on the search practices managers use at the front end of radical manufacturing technology innovations. The study contributes by differentiating the managers’ search practices based on the specific innovation scope in terms of the technology, equipment, and production concept. Managers are portrayed as active agents in renewing the production processes of a firm. Propositions are offered concerning the drivers and use of managers’ search practices at the front end of radical manufacturing technology innovations.
Research on the integration of different actors in project business has centered on the upstream value chain and a project-based firm's relationship with suppliers. The downstream delivery chain also includes an integration challenge as some project-based firms use distributors to sell and deliver systems. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of integrating with distributors in the delivery of complex systems. A qualitative case study was conducted in one project-based firm. Different distributor capabilities were identified and grouped into business, relational, marketing, and delivery capabilities. Different integration mechanisms were mapped at business and project levels, and divided into control-, cooperation-, and development-oriented mechanisms. The findings show that distributor capabilities related to complex system delivery develop through repetitive collaboration across projects. The stable position of distributors in the downstream value chain facilitate the use of integration mechanisms at the business level and development-oriented integration approach at the project level.
Purpose Adopting additive manufacturing (AM) on a large-scale requires an adoption in company value chains. This may happen through product innovation and require interorganizational cooperation, but the value-adding potential of cooperation and application recognition is still poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the progress of AM adoption in innovation projects featuring AM application recognition and interorganizational cooperation in the value chain. Design/methodology/approach A multiple-case study was implemented in successful metallic AM adoption examples to increase the understanding of AM adoption in value chains. Primary data were collected through interviews and documents in three AM projects, and the data were analyzed qualitatively. Findings All three AM projects showed evidence of successful AM value chain adoption. Identifying the right application and the added value of AM within it were crucial starting points for finding new value chains. Interorganizational collaboration facilitated both value-based designs and experimentation with new supply chains. Thereby, the focal manufacturing company did not need to invest in AM machines. The key activities of the new value chain actors are mapped in the process of AM adoption. Research limitations/implications The cases are set in a business-to-business context, which narrows the transferability of the results. As a theoretical contribution, this paper introduces the concept of AM value chain adoption. The value-adding potential of AM is identified, and the required value-adding activities in collaborative innovation are reported. As a practical implication, the study reveals how companies can learn of AM and adopt AM value chains without investing in AM machines. They can instead leverage relationships with other companies that have the AM knowledge and infrastructure. Originality/value This paper introduces AM value chain adoption as a novel, highly interactive phase in the industry-wide adoption of metallic AM. AM value chain adoption is characterized in multi-company collaboration settings, which complements the single-company view dominant in previous research. Theory elaboration is offered through merging technology adoption with external integration from the information processing view, emphasizing the necessity of interorganizational cooperation in AM value chain adoption. Companies can benefit each other during AM adoption, starting with identifying the value-creating opportunities and applications for AM.
Radical manufacturing technology innovations involve the introduction of a new technology in a firm’s core production process. They require significant learning and knowledge transfer between the technology supplier and the technology introducing manufacturing firm. This study explores the technological newness for equipment supplier firms and linked technology uncertainties in high-novelty manufacturing technology innovation projects which feature technological newness not only for the technology introducing manufacturing firm but also for the equipment supplier firm. The findings reveal a four-dimensional construct for equipment suppliers’ technological newness and linked technological uncertainties emerging in the manufacturing firm’s innovation process. The findings pave the way for better planning and preparation for addressing technological uncertainties and linked inefficiencies in high-novelty manufacturing technology innovation projects. Implications for research on knowledge transfer for innovation are discussed.
Multi-project management is typically considered an intra-organizational endeavor of implementing strategies through programs, portfolios, or lineages of change and development projects. Inter-organizational multi-project management takes place between project-based firms and other actors in project networks. The multi-project aspects in inter-organizational contexts cause significant management complexity, but their specific requirements are inadequately understood. This article explores the nature and requirements of project-based firms’ multi-project management in inter-organizational contexts. Parallel and sequential inter-organizational multi-project settings are proposed as an expansion to the dominant intra-organizational research. A thematic framework is developed based on stakeholder and agency theories and previous knowledge from portfolio and program management research complemented with an inductive analysis of extant literature. Consequently, we map and report previous research on multi-project management requirements relevant to inter-organizational contexts concerning strategy, resources, governance, and learning. Propositions are developed and future research is recommended in these domains.
Tuotantotalouden ja yleisemmin liikkeenjohdon opinnäytetöihin sisältyy usein pyrkimys parantaa toiminnan tuloksellisuutta, mihin liittyy tarve kuvata ja kehittää jotain olemassa olevaa prosessia tai jopa määrittää kokonaan uusi prosessi. Prosessit ovat asiakkaalle lisäarvoa luovia tapahtumaketjuja, joihin yritys käyttää resursseja ja joita yrityksen kannattaa johtaa ja ohjata saavuttaakseen omat päämääränsä. Prosessien mallintaminen on tarpeen, jotta voimavarat voidaan keskittää arvoa lisäävään toimintaan ja tuloksellisuutta heikentävät tekijät voidaan poistaa. Prosessien kuvaamiseen voi sisältyä sekä prosessien muodostaman kokonaisuuden – prosessikartan tai prosessiarkkitehtuurin – tunnistaminen että yksittäisten prosessien kuvaaminen arvoa lisäävään toimintaan keskittyen. Suorituskyvyn parantamiseen tähtäävä prosessien kehittäminen edellyttää prosessin mittaamista ja voi merkitä toiminnan radikaalia uudelleenjärjestelyä (puhutaan re-engineeringistä) tai jatkuvia pienparannuksia (continuous improvement). Prosessin kuvaamisen ja kehittämisen osaksi kuuluu keskeisten vastuiden ja resurssien tunnistaminen sekä prosessin edellyttämän työn kohdentaminen resursseille. Tässä aineistossa kuvataan tiiviisti prosessien mallintamisen keskeiset asiat, jotka on syytä tietää lähdettäessä prosessien kuvaamista ja/tai kehittämistä sisältäviin töihin, oli kyse sitten opinnäytteestä tai ammattimaisesta prosessien kehittämistyöstä. Teksti ei ota kantaa siihen, mistä prosessista on kyse, vaan pysyy neutraalina eri prosessien erityispiirteille. Teksti on pidetty tarkoituksella tiiviinä, ja viitteitä aihepiirin lisäkirjallisuuteen esitetään tekstin lopussa.
Teollinen internet ja sen myötä toisiinsa kytkeytyneet laitteet, ihmiset ja tietojärjestelmät tarjoavat yrityksille monenlaisia liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia. Kunnossapitopalvelut ovat perinteisesti keskittyneet ongelmanratkaisuun ja laitteiden käynnissäpidon varmistamiseen, mutta ne voivat datapohjaisuuden myötä kehittyä oleelliseksi lisäarvon lähteeksi.
Ainetta lisäävä valmistus on tuotantotapa, jossa materiaalia lisätään ja yhdistetään kerroksittain komponentin tai tuotteen aikaansaamiseksi, usein digitaalisen mallin pohjalta. Siihen viitataan puhekielessä 3D-tulostuksena, ja sen uskotaan mullistavan tuotantotapoja erityisesti aloilla, joilla komponentit/tuotteet ovat ainutkertaisia ja haasteellisia valmistaa perinteisin menetelmin. 3D-tulostus on vähitellen ottamassa jalansijaa teollisuudessa sekä muovisten että metallisten komponenttien ja tuotteiden osalta, mutta siihen liittyvä valmistusteknologia kehittyy edelleen nopealla tahdilla ja tehokkaiden liiketoimintaratkaisujen kehittäminen vaatii aikaa ja vaivannäköä. Selvitimme pirkanmaalaisten tuotannollisten pk-yritysten keskuudessa, millaisia esteitä ja haasteita 3D-tulostuksen käyttöönottoon liittyy ja millä keinoin tämän tuotantoinnovaation käyttöönottoa voitaisiin edistää. Tutkimus toteutettiin osana VTT:n ja TTY:n yhteistä Euroopan aluekehitysrahaston rahoittamaa Välkky-projektia (Vaativa digitaalinen valmistus ekosysteemin lisäarvon tuottajana), jossa kehitetään vaativaa digitaalista valmistusta ja ekosysteemin toimintamallia tuottamaan lisäarvoa suomalaisille pk-yrityksille. Tutkimuksen keskeinen tulos on löydös siitä, että 3D-tulostus on nähtävä systeemisenä innovaationa, jonka onnistuminen edellyttää toimitusketjun eri osapuolten aktiivisuutta ja niiden laajempaa yhteistyötä uudenlaisen tuotantotavan leviämiseksi.
Uusien markkinoiden luominen ja uudenlaisten tuotteiden tai ratkaisujen toimittaminen voi vaatia sitä, että tuotantoyrityksen on uudistettava tuotantojärjestelmäänsä. Osa tällaisista uudistuksista vaatii kokonaan uusia teknologioita – laitteita, järjestelmiä ja kokonaisia prosesseja. Koska teknologia on yritykselle uutta ja yritykset toteuttavat tällaisia radikaaleja uudistuksia harvoin, niillä ei välttämättä ole käytössään kaikkia innovaation edellyttämiä osaamisia. Tutkimme vuonna 2017 päättyneen Tekes-rahoitteisen Roaming (Reshoring of manufacturing) –projektin osana ja jatkoksi sitä, miksi tuotantoyritykset ryhtyvät radikaaleihin tuotantoteknologian innovaatioihin ja millaisia prosesseja ne käyttävät näiden innovaatioiden toteutuksessa. Selvitimme haastattelututkimuksessa 23 erilaisen radikaalin tuotantoteknologiainnovaation lähtökohtia, haasteita, toteutusta ja menestystekijöitä. Kuvaamme tässä artikkelissa tuloksina innovaatioissaan onnistuneiden yritysten erilaisia lähtökohtia tuotantoteknologiainnovaatioille, innovaatioiden erilaista uutuusarvoa sekä kolme vaihtoehtoista toteutusprosessia.
Purpose: This paper empirically investigates the processes by which manufacturing firms create radical innovations in their core production process, referred to as radical manufacturing technology innovations (RMTI). The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the processes and practices manufacturing firms use to create RMTI. Design/methodology/approach: Creation processes for 23 RMTI projects from diverse industry and technology contexts are explored. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews, and an inductive analysis was carried out to identify similarities and differences in RMTI types and creation processes. Findings: Three types of RMTI and three alternative RMTI creation processes are revealed and characterized. An integrated view is developed of the activities of the equipment supplier and the manufacturing firm, highlighting their different roles and interaction across the three RMTI creation process types. Research limitations/implications: The exploratory design limits the depth of the analysis per RMTI project, and the focus is on manufacturing technology innovations in one country. The results extend previous case and context-specific findings on RMTI creation processes and provide novel frameworks for cross-case comparisons. Practical implications: The manufacturing firms’ proactive role in RMTI creation is defined. A framework is proposed for using different RMTI creation processes for different types of RMTI. Originality/value: This study addresses recent calls for empirical research on understanding the ways in which process innovations unfold in manufacturing firms. The findings emphasize the role of manufacturing firms as creators of RMTI in addition to their role as innovation adopters and implementers and reveal the suitability of different RMTI creation processes for different RMTI types.
Purpose: Additive manufacturing (AM) involves the renewal of production systems and also has implications for firms’ supply chains. Innovations related to AM supply chains are, so far, insufficiently understood, but their success will require firms’ awareness of their systemic nature and their firm-specific implications. The purpose of this paper is to explore the supply chain innovations dealing with AM in business-to-business supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory qualitative research design is used. Interviews were conducted in 20 firms, workshops were organized to map AM-related processes and activities, and supply chain innovations were analyzed. Findings: This study reveals practical changes in supply chains and requirements for AM-related supply chain innovations. While earlier research has centered on technology or firm-specific AM implementations, this study shows that fully leveraging AM will require innovations at the level of the supply chain, including innovations in business processes, technology and structure, as well as supportive changes in the business environment. These innovations occur in different parts of the AM supply chain and are emphasized differently within different firm types. Research limitations/implications: This research was conducted in one country in the context of the machine building and process industry with a limited data set, which limits the generalizability of the results. The results offer an analytical framework and identify new research avenues for exploring the innovations in partial or complete AM supply chains. Practical implications: The results offer a framework to assess the current state and future needs in AM-related supply chain innovations. Practical ideas are proposed to enhance AM adoption throughout firms’ supply chains. These results are important to managers because they can help them position their firms and guide the activities and collaborations with other firms in the AM supply chain. Originality/value: This study draws attention to the supply chain innovations required when firms adopt AM in their processes. The generic supply chain innovation framework is enhanced by adding the business context as a necessary component. Implementation of AM is shown to depend on the context both at the level of the supply chain and the firm’s unique role in the supply chain. The holistic view taken reveals that successful AM technology adoption requires broad involvement from different firms across the supply chain.
Manufacturing SMEs have an important role in the supply chains of larger firms. When large firms servitize their business, also SMEs may need to consider their strategies concerning services. Limited research attention has been directed at servitization as a strategic choice of SMEs and its different manifestations in service orientation and innovation. The aim of the paper is to increase understanding on the role of services in the strategies of manufacturing SMEs. The focus is on service orientation and innovation, and identification of differences between component manufacturers and equipment manufacturers. A qualitative, exploratory research strategy is employed in the context of nineteen technology-intensive manufacturing SMEs. The findings from SME managers’ interviews show that equipment manufacturers have a stronger service orientation than component manufacturers in terms of share of services, orientation to process-centric services, and service variety. The majority of respondents have experiences with in-house service development primarily, and customer-centric service development took place only in a few companies. Furthermore, companies featured services in their strategies either minimally, reactively or proactively. Equipment manufacturers were more likely to take the proactive approach whereas component manufacturers were more reactive or fully avoided services. This paper offers valuable knowledge about the ways in which technology-intensive SMEs feature service orientation and innovation into their strategies. Besides changes in offerings, capabilities and value networks, servitization can drive changes in the business scope and innovation processes of the manufacturing SMEs.
Innovation project portfolios as organizations’ strategic investments face uncertainties both within the organization and in the business context. Management of such uncertainties is distributed in the organizations and requires cooperation, but it may be challenging to coordinate in and across the complex portfolios. This study increases knowledge of the social aspects of innovation project portfolio uncertainty management, when its responsibilities are divided across managerial levels and steering committees. Experiences in two highly innovative case firms reveals firm-specific emphases in the attention to uncertainties, potentially stemming from industry dynamics. Complex mechanisms are used for filtering uncertainty information from individual actors’ sensing and seizing activities to steering committees’ decision-making processes, across the levels of projects, programs, portfolios, and strategic management.