This study focuses on the role of small technology solution providers (TSPs) in supporting digital transformation and sustainability in the manufacturing sector. It explores the challenges and opportunities of developing and adopting tailor-made technology solutions for sustainable production and the role of TSPs in the design, development, and implementation of such solutions in value constellations. It also identifies key stakeholders and summarizes the attributes of a collaboration strategy, proposing a conceptual framework and model for a collaborative process. The findings emphasize the need for long-term collaborative relationships between manufacturing companies and TSPs to successfully adopt digital transformation. Furthermore, this study includes sustainability as an outcome in the proposed collaborative process for developing tailor-made technology solutions for sustainable production. Further, collaboration can help overcome digital transformation and sustainability challenges, with TSPs playing a crucial role in supporting the twin transition. The results can guide both TSPs and manufacturing companies in their efforts to achieve sustainable and competitive production operations through digital transformation.

As manufacturing companies confront rising environmental, social, and economic challenges, digital transformation emerges as a vital enabler of sustainability. However, achieving meaningful impact requires more than adopting advanced technologies; it demands collaborative approaches that embed sustainability into the core of the industrial value chain. This thesis examines the so-called twin transition, defined as the integration of digital transformation and sustainability, by investigating how collaboration enables the co-creation value between manufacturing companies and technology solution providers (TSPs), which design, integrate, and deliver technology solutions, as well as among TSPs themselves, thereby contributing to sustainable production.

The research demonstrates how digital technologies can drive sustainability through collaborative efforts between manufacturers and TSPs. Building on theoretical insights and empirical findings, it conceptualises a value constellation in which manufacturers and TSPs collaborate to provide tailormade technology solutions that foster sustainability. This approach shifts the focus from fragmented or isolated initiatives toward a collaborative value constellation, where digital technologies are applied to improve operational performance and contribute to environmental and social outcomes.

Furthermore, the thesis synthesises theoretical and empirical insights to support the twin transition, with a particular focus on how manufacturers and TSPs can collaborate and leverage digital technologies to drive sustainability. The contributions of this thesis rest on three interrelated pillars: (1) embedding value co-creation as an approach across interconnected actors to drive sustainability, (2) demonstrating how inter-organisational collaboration can align digital and sustainability agendas, and (3) leveraging strategic use of digital transformation to foster sustainability into both technological and non-technological innovation processes. By synthesising theoretical and empirical insights, this research makes contributions to the fields of innovation management, digital transformation, sustainability, and collaboration studies.