Stefan Cedergren

Analysis of the industrial product-service systems (IPS2) literature: A systematic review

Successful industrial goods-delivering companies are always looking for ways to develop and grow their business. A strong present trend is to expand the traditionally tangible offering by integrating intangible offerings i.e. services. In academia the term industrial product-service systems (IPS2) are being used to describe this paradigm shift. However, a systematic review of the IPS2 literature is lacking. In this paper publications regarding IPS2 are systematically reviewed. The result of our review has been categorized under five themes that we found characterizes IPS2: delivery, processes, value creation networks, knowledge management, and business models. Based on our findings a discussion is made and future research directions are identified.

A road map for future research on industrial product-service systems (IPS2) : a systematic review

There is an ongoing trend to expand traditional offerings of selling goods towards providing value through services to customers. In academia the term Industrial Product-Service Systems (IPS2) describes this phenomenon. Although many articles have been published on IPS2 a systematic review is lacking. This paper presents a systematic review of the IPS2 domain. Five themes characterizing IPS2 are revealed: delivery, processes, value creation networks, knowledge management, and business models. IPS2 is concluded to be both a young and distributed field of research, with a scope that needs to expand in terms of the themes covered and number of empirical studies.

A Study of How ICT Capabilities Can Influence Dynamic Capabilities

Purpose – Prior studies have argued that small firms with dynamic capabilities can revise and reconfigure their internal resources to meet the uncertainties of their business environment. However, there is a lack of understanding of how they can develop such critical capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to propose that small firms can employ information and communication technology (ICT) capabilities as a facilitator for developing dynamic capabilities. Thus, the study builds on resource-based view (RBV) literature and information systems (IS) literature by examining the influence of ICT capabilities on the dynamic capabilities of small firms. Design/methodology/approach – Several hypotheses were tested by analysing the survey data from 291 small high-technology firms in Sweden. Findings – The results reveal that ICT capabilities influence dynamic capabilities of small firms. More specifically, the ICT use for internal efficiency positively influences adoptive capabilities, collaborative use of ICT ...

Evaluating performance in the development of software-intensive products

Context: Organizational performance measurements in software product development have received a lot of attention in the literature. Still, there is a general discontent regarding the way performance is evaluated in practice, with few studies really focusing on why this is the case. In this paper research focusing on the context of developing software-intensive products in large established multi-national organizations is reported on. Objective: The purpose of this research is to investigate performance measurement practices related to software product development activities. More specifically, focus is on exploring how managers engaged in software product development activities perceive and evaluate performance in large organizations from a managerial perspective. Method: The research approach pursued in this research consist of exploratory multiple case studies. Data is collected mainly through 54 interviews in five case studies in large international organizations developing software-intensive products in Sweden. Focused group interviews with senior managers from eight companies have also been used in the data collection. Results: The results of this research indicate that managers within software product development in general are dissatisfied with their current way of evaluating performance. Performance measurements and the perception of performance are today focused on cost, time, and quality, i.e. what is easily measurable and not necessarily what is important. The dimensions of value creation and learning are missing. Moreover, measurements tend to be result oriented, rather than process oriented, making it difficult to integrate these measurements in the management practices. Conclusion: Managers that are dissatisfied with their performance measurement system and want to improve the current situation should not start by focusing on the current measurements directly; instead they should focus on how the organization perceives performance and how important performance criteria are being developed. By developing relevant performance criteria the first step in developing an effective performance measurement system is made. Moreover, it is concluded that managers perception of performance is affected by the currently used measurements, hence limiting the scope of the performance criteria. Thus, a change in the way managers perceive performance is necessary before there can be any changes in the way performance is evaluated.

What Information on Business Parameters Is Required by Embedded Software Developers to Do an Effective Job

Embedded software design is tightly connected to the functionality and goals of the system it is used to control. For mechatronic systems such as an in-vehicle automotive system, software developers require information on the system goals including business parameters to effectively decide on architecture and functionality. This paper presents results from an case of developing a hybrid electric drive system platform, and presents the information areas that software and system engineers do perceive as important to effectively perform design. We note that business parameters are sought for and elaborate on what information is required. We analyze what these needs are and elaborate on how to address them by using methods from the literature. We conclude that the effort of developing embedded software cannot rely on statically specified business parameters; rather these would be estimated and refined by interaction throughout the development cycle.

PMEX — A PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT EVALUATION MATRIX FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE-INTENSIVE PRODUCTS

The ability to measure performance is both fundamental to and critical in successful product development. Previous research has focused on adding new measurements, not on evaluating those currently used. The performance measurement evaluation matrix (PMEX) is a tool to evaluate the performance-measurement system based on success factors in the development of software-intensive products. Three case studies have been conducted to test the PMEX and the results indicate that the PMEX enables managers to determine explicitly what is and what is not measured. Time, cost, and quality seem to be the focus of the performance measurements while technology and planning activities are absent.