This study examines the capabilities of technology provider ecosystems within smart manufacturing implementation projects. Whilst the study of capabilities for technology implementation is well acknowledged, the existing literature lacks a focused analysis on the dynamic capabilities required from ecosystems of technology providers engaging with adopter firms for the development of smart manufacturing solutions. More specifically, research has overlooked how such provider capabilities address the adopter's requirements and facilitate the related innovation outcomes for the adopter firm. Thus, our findings provide several contributions to the literature. Firstly, by examining two smart manufacturing projects within Pharmaceutical and Semi-conductor manufacturing contexts, we provide an in-depth analysis of the complexity of adopter requirements. Secondly, we uncover the nature of three main technology provider dynamic ecosystem capabilities. These reflect comprehensive skills in technology search and learning, project implementation, and knowledge transfer capabilities supporting the development of solutions for decision-making and predictive maintenance. Thirdly, we reveal how provider ecosystems build on these capabilities to address the complex requirements of the adopter firm and facilitate different types of process innovation outcomes. Respectively linked to performance, sustainability and evolving process sustainability.

To stay competitive, manufacturing companies offer product–service systems (PSS) to avoid commoditization of their products. The potential to create value through PSS offerings lies in a company's ability to successfully implement the PSS business model. However, many companies are unable to realize the benefits because PSS represents significant changes to all the business model elements, which comprise value creation, value delivery, and value capture. This leads to misalignment among the business model elements, which is a topic of interest within PSS and business model literatures. This article aims to provide empirical insights into the business-model-element alignment problems and conceptualize their consequences, which manufacturing companies face during PSS implementation. This article utilizes an abductive multicase study of three Swedish manufacturing companies with long-term experience of PSS provision to provide novel insights by identifying six alignment problems that companies face as a consequence of the interaction among the three business model elements. Furthermore, we contribute to both the PSS and business model literature by conceptualizing the consequences of business model element alignment problems, explaining the three value leakages that occur as a result of inappropriate resource and capability utilization, unattractive offer configurations, and inefficient service network processes in PSS provision.

Environmental entrepreneurship has tremendous potential to deliver radical and disruptive technology innovation that can safeguard our biosphere. However, we lack insights into how green ventures can cultivate dynamic capabilities that allow these ventures to thrive. The existing dynamic capability framework does not adequately capture the unique challenges and opportunities facing early-stage green ventures. Consequently, in this study we ask: what are the micro-foundations underpinning dynamic capabilities in early-stage green ventures? How are these dynamic capabilities cultivated? How do these dynamic capabilities correspond to and co-develop with external factors in flux when disruptive green innovation is commercialized? This paper is based on an exploratory case study of 14 ventures developing green innovations in the biofuel, bioenergy, biochemistry, and biomaterial sectors. Our study conceptualizes the micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities related to sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring capabilities. Moreover, it develops a detailed and comprehensive framework of dynamic capability building for early-stage green ventures, which links internal dynamic capability building processes with influential external factors in flux.

Digital platforms are transforming almost every industry today and are expected to revolutionize future value creation. Digital platforms require collaboration, but this is challenging especially in the manufacturing industry where sensitive data need shared and high investments are required. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of how to successfully collaborate on digital platforms in the manufacturing industry by developing a contingency framework. The study is an explorative single case study of a digital platform. More specifically, the study examined the development process of a digital twin platform created by a large high-technological company and its collaborative actors. The results are based on 21 semi-structured interviews and reveals that actors on digital platforms can face five types of challenges that hinder a successful collaboration: disadvantages of dependency, uncertainty regarding data management, varying customer needs, insufficient work methods, and unsuitable payment models. The analysis also reveals four strategies that can be used to address the challenges: transparency strategy, incentive model strategy, servitization strategy, and control strategy. Moreover, these findings are summarized in a contingency framework that explains which types of challenges that can be addressed with which strategies based on the specific prerequisites of each collaboration.

The global climate crisis and the substantial greenhouse gas emissions associated with the food industry necessitate the flourishing of green initiatives in this sector. As a response, new food sources (NFS) have emerged as a means to shift consumption behaviors and enhance sustainability. However, NFS companies, often characterized by limited resources and expansion challenges, face difficulties in achieving sustainable growth. This research has the purpose to investigate the necessary capabilities for successful sustainable expansion within the NFS sector and develop a comprehensive framework that maps these capabilities to different stages of expansion. Through a multiple case study approach, encompassing 21 interviews conducted within the NFS sector, this study identifies five stages of sustainability work that act as drivers for sustainable expansion. Moreover, eight categories of capabilities crucial for achieving sustainable expansion are identified and ranked in a progressive manner, from fundamental to competitive advantage. Subsequently, the study establishes a framework that links the five stages of sustainable expansion with the corresponding capabilities, providing a practical guide for NFS companies seeking to pursue sustainable growth. This research contributes to the understanding of the NFS sector by uncovering key success factors for sustainable expansion. The findings offer valuable insights for NFS companies and stakeholders, informing strategic decision-making and fostering sustainable practices in the food industry.

Abstract

The circular economy is a systematic approach to economic development design that benefits business, society, and the environment. In comparison to the ‘take-make-waste’ linear economy, a circular economy is regenerative by design and aims to gradually decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources. The goal of the circular economy is to eliminate resource waste by providing various opportunities and solutions to keep materials and products in use for as long as possible (Korhonen et al., 2018).  In particular, the food industry can substantially gain from effective resource utilization and optimization throughout its value-chain activities to achieve a more sustainable production and consumption of food.

Circular business models can be defined as a business model in which a focal company, together with partners, uses innovation to create, deliver and capture value to improve resource efficiency by extending the lifespan of products and parts, thereby realising environmental, social and economic benefits (Frishammar and Parida, 2019). In addition, circular business models help to describe, analyse, manage, and communicate the company’s sustainable value proposition to its customers, and all other stakeholders, while maintaining or regenerating natural, social, and economic capital beyond its organizational boundaries (Schaltegger et al., 2016). 

But moving to more circular operations require close collaboration with existing and new business ecosystem partners. Understanding of the business ecosystem is critical when deciding how to go ahead with the transformation towards circular business models. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify and understand circular business model development strategies based on the analysis of the ecosystem. The study is based on a case study with 30 interviews with SMEs from the food processing industry. 

Our results show that the dominant dimensions that determine the circular business model ecosystem are the ecosystem roles and the state of ecosystem evolution. The ecosystem roles are divided into ecosystem leaders and ecosystem complementors. The ecosystem evolution describes the state of the formation of the ecosystem can be divided into emerging ecosystems that are still developing and established ecosystems that are well-functioning and only refinements are needed. This study develops a framework that presents strategies for circular business model development that depend on the role and evolution of the ecosystem. The four types of circular business model development strategies are Adventurer strategy, Circular Hero strategy, Explorer strategy and Sustainability Enabler strategy.  The choice of strategy has large impact on the economic and sustainable value generated. 

Circular Business Models (CBMs) have been described by many as the instruments needed to help businesses and industries shift into a circular economy. In recent years, a large number of papers has been published on CBMs which provide insights on the transition towards CBMs but a synthesis of the process of CBM innovation is lacking. Thus, the purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic literature review to increase the understanding of the circular business model innovation process. The literature review gathers current knowledge on the process elements of CBM innovation, and the analysis proceeds to structure these insights into a conceptual framework. To identify the relevant literature for this study on CBMs, we conducted a systematic database search in Scopus with the search string TITLE-ABS-KEY “circular business model”. Limited to articles and reviews, this search provided an initial 317 articles. After reviewing the abstracts, 48 papers that provide insights into the CBM innovation process have been selected for a full-text analysis. The study develops a framework that shows activities and components of the CBM innovation process and provides suggestions for future research. This study contributes to the literature on CE transition and supports the CE-practice of optimizing resource use and eliminating waste. Managers can use this study to guide and evaluate their transition process towards CBMs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand how digital servitization enables the process of internationalization for industrial SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach: The present study has adopted an exploratory multiple case study, conducting a total of 40 interviews in a two-phased approach to data collection. The first phase consisted of exploratory interviews with twenty-six industrial SMEs connected to the manufacturing industry in Sweden and Finland. Then, six SMEs were selected in the second phase to participate in additional in-depth interviews.

Findings: First, this study identifies three gradual enabling phases concerned with the digital service maturity of SMEs consisting of digital awareness, digital service innovation and digital service mass customization. Second, the three interdependent phases of ecosystem knowledge synergy, ecosystem integration and ecosystem value co-creation were identified to improve ecosystem involvement. Finally, a process framework has been developed for SME internationalization consisting of a digital servitization innovation strategy, a digital servitization ecosystem strategy and a digital servitization scaling strategy.

Originality/value: The present research contributes to how digital servitization enables SME internationalization by demonstrating how the development of digital service offerings and ecosystem partnerships supports the internationalization process. This research extends the literature by proposing a process framework for the digital-servitization-enabled internationalization of SMEs. This process perspective provides a richer explanation of the complex interplay between servitization, digitalization and ecosystems choices, which supports the expansion into international markets.

Many SMEs aim for business development by diversifying their offerings to fit global markets. However, internationalization has consequences for all aspects of a company's business model. Even though internationalization poses many business model challenges, the recent development of digital technology is a key enabler of resource-efficient internationalization and business development, an innovation that SMEs find accommodating. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to analyze how digitalization can help to surmount the business model challenges associated with SME internationalization. This paper builds on an exploratory case study of 29 SMEs who have an internationalization strategy and are from sparsely populated areas in Finland and Sweden. For the data analysis, the first-order codes of different business model challenges of SME internationalization have been merged into second-order themes. The final step of the analysis involved ascertaining the overarching dimensions of these business model challenges. This paper identifies business model challenges related to value creation, delivery, and capture throughout the internationalization process. In addition, a framework is developed that matches digitalization activities with the business model challenges. Because there is no “one fits all” solution, this study matches specific digitalization activities with business model challenges that SMEs face when attempting to operate in international markets. These findings are important because they dissect digitalization into executable activities that SMEs find manageable.