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Value creation and ambiguity in client-consultant relationsSmith, Irene Skovgaard (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Et godt og effektivt samarbejde mellem kunde og konsulent fremhæves generelt som en afgørende betingelse for at få succes med brug af eksterne konsulenter. Dansk Industri har sammen med Dansk Management Råd (DMR) og Copenhagen Business School (CBS) etableret et udviklingsprojekt, der under overskriften 'Vækst i Vidensamfundet' har til formål at udvikle det afgørende samarbejde mellem kundevirksomheder og konsulentvirksomheder. Nærværende ErhvervsPh.d.-afhandling er en del af dette udviklingsprojekt og sætter fokus på, hvad der sker i kunde-konsulent samspillet i konteksten af konsulentopgaver, hvor det handler om at implementere forandring. På sådanne forandringsprojekter forventes konsulenterne at bidrage med viden, værktøjer og løsninger samtidig med, at de fungerer som forandringsagenter i kundeorganisationen og involverer og arbejder med ledere og medarbejdere på forskellige niveauer. Det gør kunde-konsulent samspillet til en kompleks størrelse, der ikke bare handler om den personlige relation og godt samarbejde mellem konsulent og opdragsgiver/projektsponsor. Når vi har at gøre med ydelser, hvor konsulenterne går i clinch med organisationen for at implementere forandring, må kunde-konsulent relationer ses i et bredere perspektiv end fokus på personlige relationer mellem enkeltindivider tillader. Kunden er en organisation; en kompleks social konstellation af mennesker med forskellige positioner og interesser. Det afgørende er, hvilken rolle konsulenterne får, når de bevæger sig ind i denne sociale sammenhæng, og hvilke muligheder og begrænsninger det indebærer for at være med til at skabe forandring som ekstern part i processen. Afhandlingen stiller skarpt på disse sociale aspekter af samspillet mellem konsulenter og interne aktører i konteksten af kundeorganisation. Forskningen, der ligger til grund for afhandlingen, er udført som antropologisk feltarbejde på to forandringsprojekter; den ene i en industrivirksomhed og det andet på et hospital. Dette indebar både observation af konkrete situationer, hvor konsulenter og interne aktører arbejdede sammen, og efterfølgende interviews med både konsulenter og de relevante ledere og medarbejdere om deres oplevelse af samspillet. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7127 Files in this item: 1
irene_skovgaard_smith.pdf (1.890Mb) -
Interactions and Convergence in Product Development NetworksBerhausen, Nico Peter (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Many studies have focused on the topic of product innovation. As a key element of how industrial organisations work, of how competition is shaped and how economic growth is realised, innovation provides an interesting research field, which will never be fully explored. Industrial organisations explore these grounds through strategic processes in which objectives should guide product development processes. Ideas, alternatives or decisions form these processes in which heterogeneous actors need to be aligned and coordinated towards the final product innovation. Heterogeneity is a key aspect here; different, new technologies, conflicting objectives, different opinions and different management practices for example, are part of this process. Although these elements have been studied extensively in extant research, I identify several gaps in the existing literature, which I in turn strive to fill with this thesis. First, a perspective of the interactions in innovation processes is needed with a focus on control mechanisms and the mobilisation of strategic objectives. Secondly, focusing on control, the way calculative boundaries are created and explored and how these may be overcome needs more development and empirical insights. Thirdly, the interaction of control mechanisms and the coordination of product development networks through these interactions lack empirical insights and build an interesting research ground. I do not provide a holistic framework or a contingent perspective of how organisations should manage innovation. Rather I discuss the many ways in which product development networks become convergent through the interaction of control mechanisms, which may act as a vehicle or translator of strategic objectives... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8588 Files in this item: 1
Nico_Peter_Berhausen.pdf (2.056Mb) -
policy and practice viewed from the perspective of managersLeth, Camilla; Hjalager, Anne-Mette; Holt Larsten, Henrik (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This report contains the major results from a study of management development in Danish organizations. The study is part of a European research project with participation of Denmark, the U.K, France, Norway, Rumania, Spain, and Germany. The project is part of the so-called Leonardo program the purpose of which is to further cross-country competence development and collaboration within the European educational sector. The first phase of the project is a quantitative interview study of one hundred organizations in each of the participating countries. The second phase consists in qualitative case studies in selected organizations in each of the countries. In Denmark one hundred and one organizations have participated in the study. Identical questionnaires and interviews are conducted in all of the mentioned countries and the huge amount of data is analyzed in each country and across countries. The findings will be published in books, journals and newspaper articles. Hopefully the findings of the large European project will thus affect the way in which educational institutions and organizations manage the "Europeanization" of management development. The present report solely describes significant findings from the questionnaire study conducted in Denmark. Two hundred and two managers have participated, that is two from each organization. We thank the contributing organizations without which it would not have been possible to generate this picture of management development in Danish organizations. The Department of Organization and Industrial Sociology at the Copenhagen Business School is the Danish partner in the project. The project has been conducted by Camilla Leth in collaboration with Ilse Kristensen, Mette Gundersen and Lea Green under the supervision of Henrik Holt Larsen. Anne-Mette Hjalager has contributed to the preparation of the report. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6722 Files in this item: 1
dokument 30.pdf (215.2Kb) -
A Typology and Propositions for Management Innovation ResearchHarder, Mie (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Management innovation is the implementation of a new management practice, process, technique or structure that significantly alters the way the work of management is performed. This paper presents a typology categorizing management innovation along two dimensions; radicalness and complexity. Then, the paper introduces the concept of management innovation capabilities which refers to the ability of a firm to purposefully create, extend and modify its managerial resource base to address rapidly changing environments. Drawing upon behavioral theory of the firm and the dynamic capabilities framework, the paper proposes a model of the foundations of management innovation. Propositions and implications for future research are discussed. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8245 Files in this item: 1
SMG_WP_2_2011.pdf (471.6Kb) -
How risk management frames the possible actions for managing risksChristiansen, Ulrik (Frederiksberg, 2013)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Using a systematic review of the last 55 years of research within risk management this paper explores how risk management as a management technology (methodologies, tools and frameworks to mitigate or manage risks) singles out risks as an object for management in order to make action possible. The paper synthesise by developing a framework of how different views on risk management enable and constrain the knowledge about risk and thus frame the possibilities to measure, analyse and calculate uncertainty and risk. Inspired by social studies of finance and accounting, the paper finally develops three propositions that illustrate how the framing of risk establishes a boundary for how managers might understand value creation and the possible future and how this impacts the possible responses to risk. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8743 Files in this item: 1
Ulrik_Christiansen.pdf (168.2Kb) -
Gasparin, Marta (Frederiksberg, 2014)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This dissertation proposes a new perspective on management of design by regarding it as a translation process, using a framework based on Actor- Network Theory. Within the field of management of design, design has been defined as a problem-solving activity, a tool for either improving the decisionmaking process or for fostering radical innovation by making sense of things. Designers have generally been considered individuals with a different sensibility, able to make a difference by producing interesting and intriguing products which can deliver value to the customers and create value for the firm. Actor-Network Theory is a methodology for the socio-technical analysis that treats the actors as enacted and relational, and explores the network creation through an analysis based on a flat ontology, in which there is symmetry between human- and non-human actors. There is no a priori size, power or complexity of the actors, as these elements are built through the relations and understood by following them. The study is based on an ethnographic investigation of three design objects: the Serie7, the Egg (designed respectively in 1955 and 1958) and the Ice (designed in 2002), manufactured by Fritz Hansen. Based on the analysis, a new interpretation of the design, the design process, the role of the managers and designers, the value creation process, and the role of technologies of managing is presented. Design is defined as an outcome of the construction process of things made by mobilising and enrolling actors through the translations of goals. The design process is the process of enrolling, mobilising, and translating goals, creating the design in a heterogeneous network of allies. It is a chaotic practice, muddled and contingent, with the inevitable risk of unintended consequences. This process is guided by the managers, who act as spokespersons, while the designers are macro-actors, representing all the actors involved in the creation process, in the multitude making or agreeing on the final decisions concerning the design and its development during the life cycle of the object. The individual qualities of insight, intuition, vision, and creativity are reinterpreted and assembled in the language of the design. These qualities are no longer the properties of an individual, but collective virtues in relation to which governing and managing have a fundamental role. The managers are spokespersons, actors who translate the needs, the expectations, the demands and the desires from different actors. They work towards sharing the goals by encouraging the other actors to adhere to the programme of actions. The value is constituted and forged through the relationships, it is not something that is proper or embedded in the product, but is adopted and adapted by the allies in the network. The technologies of managing are not simple tools for fostering creativity, as described in the previous literature, they are actors mediating the process and conveying information that managers can use to make decisions. The technologies of managing are identified as black boxes and leaky black boxes. A black box is totally closed, a leaky black box is something the managers are working and acting on, stimulating the translations and actions that are shaping the network, including or cutting off the network actors and features, as well as mobilising actors. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8943 Files in this item: 1
Marta Gasparin.pdf (3.889Mb) -
Obling, Anne Roelsgaard (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This thesis is the result of an ethnographic fieldwork at a major university hospital in Denmark that I undertook between June 2009 and January 2011. I was an ‘embedded’ observer in a cancer clinic and entirely dependent on the staff – administrative and clinical – for access to facilities, people and diseases. That said, I was never asked to modify my writings in any way or to show the content of my field notes or tape recordings. Neither does the hospital have any formal share in the overall thesis. The responsibility for the final outcome is on my shoulders alone. As an embedded observer I was to handle personally sensitive data, such as specific details in patient records, with confidentiality. There is no information in my writings which can be traced – directly or indirectly – back to individual patients or relatives at the hospital and hence disclose their identity. My observations lasted anywhere from 20 minutes (the length of a typical staff meeting) to five working days in a row. During a day of observation, I followed doctors from they arrived in the early mornings; when they attended the morning conferences, until they left the hospital in the late afternoon after hours of clinical work in the outpatient clinic. I also followed them in their offices and in the operation theatres. Many tableaux from the thesis you are reading now were recorded in my notebook and then reconstructed in the later writing. Wherever possible, I have used my free access to the hospital to check the accuracy of my writing, for example by procuring typical situations more than once or by going through precarious details with involved staff members. Statements that appear in quotation marks (‘…’) were recorded directly on my tape recorder or in my notebook while the person was speaking, or immediately hereafter. Through the process I have shared my ideas with the staff members involved to make sure that they understood the purpose of my work and also in order for them to have a chance to feel comfortable with my presence. Throughout the thesis, I have shortened quotes from documents and interviews in order to make the text more readable. In addition to my fieldwork at the hospital, I have worked with the sociologist Nanna Mik-Meyer. In her work, Mik-Meyer has focused on general practitioners and their preoccupation with patients who attend the consultancy with medically unexplained symptoms. Parts of the raw data material from some of her previous studies became the basis of a co-authored article, which is included in this thesis. Utterances from individuals described in this article are directly quoted from a larger quantity of interviews with general practitioners in primary care medicine. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8419 Files in this item: 1
Anne_Obling.pdf (1.338Mb) -
Lessons from the Entertainment IndustriesLorenzen, Mark; Frederiksen, Lars (København, 2005)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The paper analyses management of product innovation in project-based industries, offering a view on management not only of firms, but also of markets. It first argues that projects are prominent in industries where the nature of consumer demand means that product innovation takes place as experimentation. Then, the paper argues that if skills needed for projects are very diverse and projects are complex, there are few internal managerial economies of projects, and the scope for management then transcends the boundaries of firms. In these cases, markets become organized in combinations of people, contracts, and other institutions, in order to facilitate the coordination of market-based projects. While contracts play a role, a continuous, active role of knowledgeable managers (leaders and boundary spanners) is also often necessary. Such managers --- and thus (core parts of) whole industries --- are embedded in project ecologies at particular places, which is why we see geographical clusters in many project-based industries. The paper is mainly conceptual, but develops its argument by drawing examples from the Entertainment industries throughout. Keywords: Project organization, product innovation, portfolio management of projects, entertainment industries JEL Classification: L22, O31, L82 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7264 Files in this item: 1
wp_2005_01_maindoc.pdf (199.2Kb) -
Tackney, Charles T. (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This is an exploration, using Japanese language primary sources, of management policies and relat-ed industrial sector ecology of the post-World War II machine tools industry. From postwar devas-tation to global leader in worldwide market share by the mid-1980s, remarkably little is know of the factors that contributed to this sucess. Paralleling Max Holland’s 1989 Burgmaster case study method of the U.S. firm’s and industry failure, this study examines the history of Okuma Corpora-tion, an Aichi Prefecture machine tools producer. The role of management leaders and government support for viable firms is shown to provide the necessary industrial ecology for machine tools pro-ducers to recover, innovate, deal with successive oil shocks, and achieve a leadership role in the machine tools sector. Comparative reflections on the parallel decline of the U.S. machine tools in-dustrial sector conclude the paper. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8614 Files in this item: 1
Tackney_2012_3.pdf (505.2Kb) -
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Abstract: Methodological individualism is the doctrine that economic or social phenomena are ultimately grounded in individual knowing and choice. Recently numerous collective concepts have been introduced into our thinking about the firm - absorptive capacity, communities of practice, dynamic capabilities, social capital, organizational routines, and so on. As far as we can tell these are neither theoretically nor empirically well grounded. In this talk I consider what might be meant by the statement that 'only individuals can know'. I contrast notions of knowing as having and holding data, or a frame of meaning, or a skilled practice. I conclude that all manner of social entities can know in all respects save that of creating the knwledge that is then known. Jel classification: D8, M10, M19 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7418 Files in this item: 1
cbs forskningsindberetning smg 37.pdf (1.630Mb) -
A knowledge governance perspectiveFoss, Kirsten; Foss, Nicolai J. (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: A critical knowledge governance problem concerns the consequences for the use of the authority if the knowledge that is essential in a work setting is partially unknown to the person who is to exercise authority. Is it possible to rationally direct work and activities and efficiently utilize knowledge under such conditions? Recently, many scholars have given negative answers to this question, arguing that authority relations are becoming strained by the increasingly distributed nature of knowledge in and between firms. We analyze this argument on the basis of definitions of "authority” and "distributed knowledge.” This allows us to show that --- while intuitively appealing --- the argument that authority cannot be an efficient coordination mechanism in the presence of distributed knowledge is at best problematic. The argument is based on the flawed inference that because the holder of authority is ignorant about some of the knowledge held by employees, he cannot rationally direct them. However, it is correct that the quality of centralized direction (planning, authority) may be compromised by distributed knowledge, leading to choices of other governance mechanisms and structures. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7425 Files in this item: 1
smg wp 2008-01.pdf (447.9Kb) -
A Sociological Approach to Managerial TechnoloyThygesen, Niels Thyge; Tangkjær, Christian (København, 2005)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The relevance of technologies in management and organizational analysis is well accepted in theory, if not by managers themselves. But the way technologies allow us to observe has not yet been explored. This is because many accounts of technologies neglect, if not the constitutive nature of technologies, then at least their observational potential. In particular, this article argues, technologies work by setting the scene of observation for the manager. In order to handle that challenge, management must be a matter of `managination`, that is, second order observation. Keywords: management, observation, reproduction, steering, technology. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6354 Files in this item: 1
wp20-2005.pdf (294.0Kb) -
Using the force of partner attractionHald, Kim Sundtoft (København, 2005)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Company performance is increasingly affected by a range of external factors embedded in a complex network of action controlled by other companies’ in its environment. A well managed company, it’s argued, is one that is aware of these external factors, and one who in response seeks to implement tactics maximizing own influence and control over them. Information gathering and model building are tactics normally used in this effort. However, in this article we discuss a third tactic, the tactic of attraction in dyadic relationships. Founded on the theory of social exchange and based on literature reviews on long-term-orientation in relationships and relationship value we develop a conceptual model highlighting the components of attraction in business to business relationships. First we demonstrate how the force of attraction can be understood as partners expected relationship value and how expected relationship value in turn is strengthened or weakened by partner- comfortability and dependability. Then we show how partners perceived attraction towards an industrial company can be managed using a combination of structural- and behavioral adjustments. Key words: Inter-organizational relationships; Relationship Management; Relationship-value; Attraction. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6293 Files in this item: 1
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Frandsen, Thomas (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The world is increasingly turbulent with shorter and shorter technological life cycles and more and more frequent changes in customer demand. This situation implies that flexibility and agility are crucial for producers of products and services. Much effort has been directed toward understanding innovation and the ways in which management can increase the value of innovation efforts. As a consequence, suggestions emphasizing different aspects of innovation and creativity have been put forward. However, the value of architectural knowledge for innovation is increasingly recognized as crucial with modular architectures proposed as one way of increasing the rate of innovation by introducing flexibility and agility without sacrificing efficiency. Modularity is a way to design a system with the intent of reducing its complexity by decomposing the system and reducing interdependencies between the subsystems of the system through standardized interfaces. Systems designed in this way allow for greater flexibility through recombination; however, they retain efficiency by means of standardization and scale economies from the reuse of components. For this reason modular architectures present an interesting solution to the dilemma of whether to invest in innovation or in efficiency. The topic has received much attention in the face of demands from customers for increasingly heterogeneous products and services. However, an important aspect to keep in mind is that, while decomposition is a powerful way of reducing complexity, most real systems remain only nearly decomposable (Simon, 1962) or loosely coupled rather than uncoupled (Orton & Weick, 1990).... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8420 Files in this item: 1
Thomas_Frandsen.pdf (6.869Mb) -
a refection of corporate strategyJørgensen, Heidi; Vintergaard, Christian (København, 2004)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Logically it seems that companies pursuing different business strategies would also manage their relationships with other firms accordingly. Nevertheless, due to the lack of research in the field of network strategies, this link still remains inadequately examined. Based on the well-known framework of organisational behaviour developed by Miles and Snow (1978), this paper argues that the patterns of network behaviour practiced by firms greatly depend on the business typology of the company. That is, a company’s business typology will to a certain degree dictate the network identity of the company. In this paper evidence is provided, that the relation between a company’s strategy, structure and processes in fact have a considerable influence on its pattern of network behaviour. Three case studies from the Danish biotech industry exemplify and illustrate how a company’s strategy is directly correlated with how it manages its strategic network relations, which consequently affects its network identity (Eisenhardt 1999). It is argued in this paper that the level of relational embeddedness, incentives for establishing strategic relations and the relation between the number of non-redundant and redundant relations are the most dominant elements distinguishing the types of network behaviour in relation to the business typology. The paper thus strives to argue how different business typologies develop a network identity on the basis of their network behaviour. Due to the correlation between a company’s strategy, structure and processes and its pattern of network behaviour, knowing how to manage this relation becomes essential, especially during the development of new strategies. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6368 Files in this item: 1
wp 2 2004.pdf (265.2Kb) -
A Route to a New Negotiating Order in High Performance Work Organizations?Hull Kristensen, Peer (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Contrary to a widely held view, rather than seeing the certification of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) as a barrier to increasing employee participation, this article views new ways of structuring participation as a necessary step towards making improvements in OHS management systems. The article first considers how work organization has changed and then in a similar way traces how bargaining has shifted from being distributive to become integrative to create a fundamental change in the negotiation regime. Finally, by analysing an OHS-certified firm in greater depth, the article shows how solutions for improvements in OHS management and notable bottom-up formulations of OHS benchmarks may help us discover how the organizational form of firms in which high-performance work organization can be developed through new participative structures. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8204 Files in this item: 1
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The Case of Mobile Service ProvidersEngel Nielsen, Lars; Mahnke, Volker (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Many companies in high technology fields engage with alliance partners to reduce risks, create synergies and learn. While the challenges of managing individual alliances are well documented, little is known on how to manage several R&D alliances simultaneously. Multiple alliance strategies can be observed in several companies engaged in the cross section of telecommunication and mobile technology where increased complexity magnifies managerial challenges. Drawing on modern portfolio theory, this paper offers a model for managing portfolios of R&D alliances. In particular, an analysis of a technology platform leader reveals how companies can reduce several types of risks associated with new technology and gain synergies by engaging in several alliances simultaneously. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6493 Files in this item: 1
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The case of Mobile CommerceMahnke, Volker; Overby, Mikkel Lucas (København, 2004)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Many companies in the cross section of telecommunication and mobile technology engage in R&D collaborations to manage uncertainty, create synergies and learn. While the challenges of managing individual collaborations are well documented, little is known on how to systematically manage several R&D collaborations simultaneously. We use modern portfolio theory as an analogy to show how companies active in mobile telecommunication manage risks and create synergies by simultaneously engaging in several inter-firm collaborations. Keywords: Portfolio theory, risk, synergy, R&D collaboration, mobile commerce URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6502 Files in this item: 1
16-2004.pdf (341.8Kb) -
An empirical analysis of science-industry collaboration in a pharmaceutical companyVedel, Jane Bjørn (Frederiksberg, 2014)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In recent years, the concept of ‘strategic research’ has played a prominent role in Danish public research policy. This thesis investigates how strategic research develops in a pharmaceutical company. Politicians and policy makers have tended to see science-industry collaboration as the main strategic tool for stimulating national growth and job creation. They have also anticipated that companies and politicians in the future will have an increasingly important role in specifying societal and industrial problems that can be solved through science-industry collaborations. Hence, strategic research is today closely associated with what is termed ‘demand-driven innovation’. Science-industry collaboration has also attracted interest in industry, for instance, in pharmaceutical companies. However, here we find quite different ideas about strategic research and science-industry collaboration. Rather than representing a tool for providing short-term solutions, pharmaceutical companies have seen science-industry collaboration as a device for building long-term platforms of innovation. Arising from a curiosity concerning the differences between policy and corporate practices of strategic research, this thesis asks the following questions: What characterizes strategic research in a private company? Through which practices does strategic research (and science-industry collaboration) develop? What characterizes the management of strategic research? URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8881 Files in this item: 1
Jane_Bjørn_Vedel.pdf (3.619Mb) -
[More information][Less information]