Applying Framing Theory in Digital Transformation Research: Suggestions for Future Research

Meaning-making processes are essential to guide new action pathways in organizations. How organizations engage in meaning making of digital technologies should therefore be of particular interest in digital transformation (DT) research. This study explores how an existing theory of meaning making in organizations, namely, framing theory, can be applied in DT research. It contributes to the literature by offering a synthesis of framing theory, with an emphasis on framing of digital and information technologies in organizational contexts and proposing research questions inspired by framing theory for future DT research

Digital and Conventional Matchmaking – Similarities, Differences and Tensions

Matchmaking is a process of complex resource allocation where firms are intermediaries of supply and demand between actors in an ecosystem. Digital platforms have brought matchmaking into the spotlight in IS research by their ability to scale and improve the quality of matching. In this paper, we outline four principles of digital matchmaking from digital platform theory. We continue by illustrating these principles in an empirical case-study of conventional matchmaking in the Swedish forest industry. We seek to improve the understanding of matchmaking by identifying similarities and differences of digital and conventional matchmaking. We then discuss tensions that may emerge for the conventional matchmaker facing digitalization. We contribute to theory of changing organizing logic associated with digital technology adoption and to practice by outlining what it takes becoming a digital matchmaker

"Hellre ett välfyllt sparkonto än en välfylld garderob"? En studie om hur en lågkonjunktur påverkar den unga konsumentens modeshopping.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur en lågkonjunktur påverkar unga konsumenters modeshopping. Metod: I vår studie har vi använt oss av grundad teori som metod där empirin således styr teorin. Vi har använt oss av kvalitativ och kvantitativ metod där vi genomfört en fokusgrupp och en enkätundersökning för att erhålla material som kan besvara våra frågeställningar. Slutsatser: Studien visar på att den unga konsumenten i en lågkonjunktur börjar ifrågasätta sin shopping i relation till det konsumtionssamhälle som idag präglar världen. I en situation som en lågkonjunktur tenderar målgruppen att förändra sina motiv till modeshopping. Ur studien har det framkommit att sådana motiv är av känslomässig- respektive symbolisk karaktär. Hos den unga konsumenten tenderar dessa hedonistiska motiv att gå från att vara förknippade med nöjen och subjektiva känslor till att, i en högre grad, präglas av en ändamålsenlig karaktär. Sammantaget kan detta bidra till att den unga konsumenten väljer att dra ner på sin modeshopping

Ecosystem orchestration How to thrive in the increasingly networked digital economy

Ecosystems, a concept used to describe external inter-organizational networks of actors, is a concept closely linked to the digital economy. When firms become increasingly networked, organizational boundaries blur, which challenges incumbent firms’ notions of being isolated entities. Understanding how to cope with this shift has turned out to be a great challenge. To shed light over these challenges, this research paper develops a framework for ecosystem orchestration, that is managing these inter-organizational network relations, for the digital economy which is the main contribution of this thesis. While previous studies generally take on a platform-centric approach, I have conducted an in-depth qualitative case study of an incumbent firm in the Swedish forest industry to attain in-depth understanding of ecosystem orchestration, complementing existing research with an ecosystem-centric approach. By combining the literature on ecosystems and platforms with the near-lying literature on innovation networks, this research additionally contributes to a unified understanding of these literature streams. This thesis concludes how ecosystem orchestration in the digital economy consists of both non-digital and digital orchestration processes which need to be dually managed by incumbent firms as digitalization sweeps across the ecosystem. In this thesis, I argue that incumbent firms need to integrate ecosystem design processes with digital ecosystem orchestration in leveraging the potential of the digital economy. Additionally, digital orchestration processes are argued to be superior to non-digital as they are scalable to a much greater extent, where non-digital orchestration processes are limited by the number of employees. The findings of this thesis thus additionally reveal the competing concern that unfolds when existing practices of ecosystem orchestration are challenged with digital orchestration processes, constituting a challenge for incumbent firms as existing roles are changing. From a greater perspective, this research contributes to our understanding of how markets as well as labour markets are transformed by digitalization, through providing one piece of puzzle to our understanding of ecosystems.Ecosystems, a concept used to describe external inter-organizational networks of actors, is a concept closely linked to the digital economy. When firms become increasingly networked, organizational boundaries blur, which challenges incumbent firms’ notions of being isolated entities. Understanding how to cope with this shift has turned out to be a great challenge. To shed light over these challenges, this research paper develops a framework for ecosystem orchestration, that is managing these inter-organizational network relations, for the digital economy which is the main contribution of this thesis. While previous studies generally take on a platform-centric approach, I have conducted an in-depth qualitative case study of an incumbent firm in the Swedish forest industry to attain in-depth understanding of ecosystem orchestration, complementing existing research with an ecosystem-centric approach. By combining the literature on ecosystems and platforms with the near-lying literature on innovation networks, this research additionally contributes to a unified understanding of these literature streams. This thesis concludes how ecosystem orchestration in the digital economy consists of both non-digital and digital orchestration processes which need to be dually managed by incumbent firms as digitalization sweeps across the ecosystem. In this thesis, I argue that incumbent firms need to integrate ecosystem design processes with digital ecosystem orchestration in leveraging the potential of the digital economy. Additionally, digital orchestration processes are argued to be superior to non-digital as they are scalable to a much greater extent, where non-digital orchestration processes are limited by the number of employees. The findings of this thesis thus additionally reveal the competing concern that unfolds when existing practices of ecosystem orchestration are challenged with digital orchestration processes, constituting a challenge for incumbent firms as existing roles are changing. From a greater perspective, this research contributes to our understanding of how markets as well as labour markets are transformed by digitalization, through providing one piece of puzzle to our understanding of ecosystems

Becoming a Digital Ecosystem Orchestrator - The Sydved Case

Ecosystems are arenas where firms build, nurture and exploit relationships to create, share and appropriate value. Some actors have particular control over how ecosystems perform and evolve, becoming their intermediary centers of gravity. They are often referred to as orchestrators. While it is increasingly clear what digital orchestration is and how it is exercised, we still know little about the process of becoming a digital orchestrator. Filling this void is important, since incumbent firms face major competing concerns as they transform themselves for digital orchestration. Unless learning to overcome such challenges, an incumbent may lose its dominant position, ultimately making it an existential issue. In this research, we seek to better understand how incumbent firms reorganize for becoming digital orchestrators. In doing so, we draw on the literature about digital platforms and digital innovation to derive a framework where we articulate three characteristics of digital orchestration. We then make a deep-dive into an incumbent firm in the forest industry, applying the framework to analyze how it is exploring different organizational forms in becoming a digital orchestrator. We contribute to the ecosystem literature by outlining three specific tactics for how to reorganize for digital orchestration: cross-functional, inter-organizational and cross-geographical reconfiguration

Coordinating Digital Content Generation

Digital content generation has become vital for growing, diversifying, and evolving digital platforms. We note that digital content generation and its associated coordination challenges are underexplored perspectives in the digital platform literature. In this paper, we explore how members of an incumbent organization generate digital content on a shared Instagram account along with the marketing unit’s emerging coordination efforts. We contribute to the digital platform literature by directing attention to the resourcing needed for the coordination of distributed digital content generators, and by demonstrating the dynamic nature of coordination mechanisms for digital content generation

Hur uppfattar kvinnor cellprovtagning? : En kvalitativ litteraturstudie

Bakgrund: Cellprovtagning används för att upptäcka cellförändringar hos kvinnor i ett tidigt stadie, obehandlade cellförändringar kan i sin tur leda till livmoderhalscancer. Cellprovtagning ger ett 90 % skydd mot livmoderhalscancer men trots det väljer en del kvinnor att inte ta cellprovet. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva kvinnors uppfattning om cellprovtagning. Metod: Studien var en kvalitativ litteraturstudie med en induktiv ansats och baserades på tio vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultatet analyserades utefter Lundman och Hällgren Graneheims (2017) kvalitativa innehållsanalys. Resultat: I resultatet framkom det tre kategorier som beskrev kvinnors uppfattning om cellprovtagning: Ett nödvändigt ont, Otillräcklig kännedom & Inte tillräckligt prioriterat. Resultatet visade att kvinnor bland annat uppfattade cellprovtagningen som viktig men obekväm att genomföra. Flera kvinnor hade missuppfattat rekommendationerna om cellprovtagning och därav ansåg sig behöva mer information. En del kvinnor prioriterade aktivt bort cellprovtagning vilket kunde bero på bland annat barn, arbete eller tidsbrist. Slutsats(er): Kvinnors uppfattning var att det behövdes mer information och kunskap om cellprovtagning. Ökad kunskap hade kunnat göra kvinnorna mer delaktiga och medvetandegöra deras val. Vårdpersonal har en viktig roll för att kvinnorna ska förstå fördelarna med cellprovtagning

Hur uppfattar kvinnor cellprovtagning? : En kvalitativ litteraturstudie

Bakgrund: Cellprovtagning används för att upptäcka cellförändringar hos kvinnor i ett tidigt stadie, obehandlade cellförändringar kan i sin tur leda till livmoderhalscancer. Cellprovtagning ger ett 90 % skydd mot livmoderhalscancer men trots det väljer en del kvinnor att inte ta cellprovet. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva kvinnors uppfattning om cellprovtagning. Metod: Studien var en kvalitativ litteraturstudie med en induktiv ansats och baserades på tio vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultatet analyserades utefter Lundman och Hällgren Graneheims (2017) kvalitativa innehållsanalys. Resultat: I resultatet framkom det tre kategorier som beskrev kvinnors uppfattning om cellprovtagning: Ett nödvändigt ont, Otillräcklig kännedom & Inte tillräckligt prioriterat. Resultatet visade att kvinnor bland annat uppfattade cellprovtagningen som viktig men obekväm att genomföra. Flera kvinnor hade missuppfattat rekommendationerna om cellprovtagning och därav ansåg sig behöva mer information. En del kvinnor prioriterade aktivt bort cellprovtagning vilket kunde bero på bland annat barn, arbete eller tidsbrist. Slutsats(er): Kvinnors uppfattning var att det behövdes mer information och kunskap om cellprovtagning. Ökad kunskap hade kunnat göra kvinnorna mer delaktiga och medvetandegöra deras val. Vårdpersonal har en viktig roll för att kvinnorna ska förstå fördelarna med cellprovtagning

The relationship between physical workload and quality within line-based assembly

Reducing costs and improvement of product quality are considered important to ensure productivity within a company. Quality deviations during production processes and ergonomics have previously shown to be associated. This study explored the relationship between physical workload and real (found during production processes) and potential (need of extra time and assistance to complete tasks) quality deviations in a line-based assembly plant. The physical workload on and the work rotation between 52 workstations were assessed. As the outcome, real and potential quality deviations were studied during 10 weeks. Results show that workstations with higher physical workload had significantly more real deviations compared to lower workload stations. Static work posture had significantly more potential deviations. Rotation between high and low workload was related to fewer quality deviations compared to rotation between only high workload stations. In conclusion, physical ergonomics seems to be related to real and potential quality deviation within line-based assembly. Practitioner Summary: To ensure good productivity in manufacturing industries, it is important to reduce costs and improve product quality. This study shows that high physical workload is associated with quality deviations and need of extra time and assistance to complete tasks within line-based assembly, which can be financially expensive for a company