Search

The textile industry includes SMEs, which play an important role worldwide in the economy and society. However, their activities can contribute to some environmental issues, like climate change, and resource scarcity, which are lately at the center of attention. Due to increasing pressure from governments and society regarding sustainability issues, textile SMEs need to become sustainable, and one solution to achieve sustainability is transitioning towards circularity in production. Nevertheless, textile SMEs encounter numerous challenges and enablers on their journey towards circularity, particularly in areas like production systems where knowledge remains insufficient. Thus, this paper aims to identify the challenges and enablers faced by textile SMEs in transitioning towards circular production systems. This study is based on a literature study, workshops, and interviews with Swedish textile SMEs. The results show that textile SMEs encounter seven challenges towards circular production systems, including a lack of knowledge and awareness, limited resources, limited access to technology, complexity of input and finished product, a lack of proper regulations and strategy, a lack of collaboration among stakeholders, and a lack of interest and support from stakeholders and customers. In contrast, education, collaboration, supportive regulations, and circular production system design can be considered as enablers for their transition., CircuTex

The circular economy (CE) concept seeks to minimize resource input, waste generation, emissions, and energy waste by slowing, narrowing, and closing material and energy cycles. Various circular strategies exist to reduce the consumption of virgin materials and minimize waste production. These strategies, often referred to as “Rs” (e.g., Reduce, Reuse, Recycling, etc.) or R-frameworks can be described as different strategies to transition from a linear model to CE. The R-frameworks encompasses a range of options aimed at preserving the value of resources within the system. Even though there exists an abundance of literature about CE and the Rs, we have neither found a common definition of R-frameworks, nor a distinct adaptation of the Rs for an ETO context. The purpose of the paper is to explore how circular strategies can be applied to ETO products. To fulfil this purpose, illustrative cases are used to explore the application of circular strategies, operationalized by R-frameworks, in two different ETO-contexts., CirkuTrä, R3

Ur förordet: I den här handboken presenteras ett arbetssätt för ökad samverkan mellan tillverkande företag och lärosäten för högre utbildning genom att använda sig av en intermediär som agerar länk mellan företag och lärosäten. I första hand vänder sig handboken till intermediärer och lärosäten, men företag kan också använda handboken. Handboken bygger på resultat och arbetssätt som vi utvecklat i projektet Kompetensväxel inom skog- och trä (KVIST) som genomfördes mellan 2020–2023. Grundidén till KVIST var att öka samverkan genom att öka kunskapen om akademins möjligheter till samverkan inom akademin till skog- och träindustrin och koppla ihop företagens idéer och behov till akademins aktiviteter. Handboken är framtagen i ett samarbete mellan Träcentrum Nässjö Kompetensutveckling AB, Tekniska högskolan i Jönköping (JTH) och Linnéuniversitetet. Arbetet med handboken och bakomliggande aktiviteter i projektet KVIST har finansierats av ERUF, Region Jönköpings län, Region Kalmar län och Region Kronoberg.

The research in this paper focused on (i) to increase the knowledge about the strategic role of automation technology and (ii) how automation technology investment decisions can be aligned with the strategy in manufacturing SMEs. This paper describes the design, application, and evaluation of the Strategic Development Map (SDM) in three settings, whereof two manufacturing SMEs. The SDM was also applied in more than 500 SMEs in a Swedish initiative called the Robot Lift. The SDM was derived from existing literature about Toyota management principles and thereafter adapted to the topic. The process of designing, testing, and evaluating the tool was inspired by design science research. It also contains explanations of the outcomes and mechanisms that lead to the successful adaptation and use of the SDM. The SDM provides a structured guidance process to understand the strategic role of automation technology investments in SMEs. This process can support companies towards a deeper understanding of the current state, target state and obstacles and challenges to reach the target with a focus on automation technology investments. The SDM was emphasized by companies and external coaches as very simple to understand and use. Using the SDM increased involvement and knowledge about strategic role of automation technology.

Management innovations are an important source of competitive advantage, but we lack knowledge on the implementation process, not least in small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Recognising that psychological ownership (PO) represents a crucial aspect of the implementation process, we address micro-foundational characteristics of the implementation process. PO and critical incident theory (CIT) provide a lens enabling this micro analysis. The empirical setting is the implementation of Hoshin Kanri, a strategic management system in eight small companies. From the analysis of the eight cases, we operationalise four dimensions that characterise how PO evolves in the implementation process: types of PO incidents, frequency of PO incidents, incidents indicating an increase or decrease in PO, and incidents addressing individual or collective PO. Looking at how PO is developed both among CEOs and managers in SMEs, we use the four dimensions to characterise the evolvement of PO within the focal organisations. In doing so, our article elaborates on PO as a driver and, if insufficiently developed, an impediment to effectively implementing management innovations.

The HEIs third mission is to collaborate with external organizations. In this paper we focus on how SMEs in wood industry can collaborate with HEI by using a link that can translate SMEs needs and challenges to HEIs offer. This is a first attempt to describe this function that we call translator. We have identified and described four translator roles in different scenarios in this paper.

There is a need to raise the level of competence in the forestry and wood industry in Sweden for increased growth, innovation, and competitiveness. Most of the companies in this industry are SMEs and they are often located outside larger cities. They have no or little experience in collaboration with universities, but often have a close relationship with intermediary organisations. On the other side, the academic collaborations with the forest and wood industry focus mainly on larger companies. To increase collaboration between SMEs and academia, the project KVIST was jointly initiated by Träcentrum (intermediary organisation), Linnaeus University and Jönköping University to increase the competence- and knowledge exchanges between SMEs in the forest and wood industry and the two universities in the region of Småland in Sweden. KVIST in Swedish means ’TWIG’ in English, the Swedish abbreviation of “Competence Shift In the Forest and Wood industry”. The objective of KVIST is to develop and establish a long-lasting structure for collaboration between academia and these SMEs using an intermediary organisation. The project started in 2020 and will continue until 2023. We presented the initial ideas of the project KVIST at a poster session at UIIN 2020. This good practice case study is a continuation of the former presentation and describes the first results of the KVIST-project and how we work to establish a structure for collaboration between two universities and SMEs in forest and wood industry in Sweden using an intermediary organisation.

This book focuses on the implementation of Hoshin Kanri. It is a response to most books on strategic planning that tend to downplay the implementation and only describe the fully implemented planning process. The power of this book originates from a project in which a team of five professionals over a period of three years implemented Hoshin Kanri in 14 companies; results were drawn from 130 workshops with leadership teams. The project team subsequently ran several accelerators inside large and small companies as well as public institutions. All these experiences together form the implementation focus of the book. Moreover, the organization of the book mirrors the message of its scientific thinking, which is also the basic principle of Hoshin Kanri: Chapter 1 focuses on the basic analysis—Is Hoshin Kanri something for your organization? Chapter 2 addresses the ambition—What is the vision for strategy work in your organization? Chapter 3 presents the conditions needed for effective strategic work. Chapter 4 discusses the choice of implementation strategy and your role as the change agent. Chapter 5 describes how Hoshin Kanri works when implemented. Chapter 6 addresses coaching/mentoring and the Kata philosophy. Chapter 7 presents important analytical tools. Appendix 1 describes the journey made by a medium-sized construction company. Essentially, this book describes in a concrete and structured way how you—the change agent—can use Hoshin Kanri in your organization to tackle large and complex challenges., eBook published 29 November 2021

A fourth industrial revolution is prophesied, and there is a potential for the industrialized world to proactively adapt suitable practices. Despite the large interest from both industry and academia, a drawback with the vast literature on initiatives that tap into the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0 and alike, is the fuzziness when it comes to terminology and content. The terms are mixed up, and sometimes used interchangeable and the constituent parts are not fully described. The purpose of this paper is to present the content of initiatives related to the fourth industrial revolution in a structured manner. This is expected to support understanding for the content of the fourth industrial revolution and thereby facilitate the transformation. The results presented in this paper is based on a traditional literature review. In total 13 relevant review papers were identified. The identified papers were analyzed, and a framework was developed including technologies and design principles. In total, eleven technologies and twelve design principles were identified for Industry 4.0. The most frequently occurring technologies were Cyber physical systems, Internet of Things, and Big data. The most frequently occurring design principles were Smart factory, Service orientation and Sustainability and resource efficiency. A categorization of the content into technologies and design principles clarify and structures the content of Industry 4.0. The developed framework can support academics in identifying, describing, and selecting Industry 4.0 scenarios for further investigations. For practitioners, the framework can give a basic understanding and some guidance in their implementation journey of Industry 4.0., The symposium was held online on 7 & 8 October 2020 because of restrictions due to the Corona virus pandemic.

To remain competitive, single-family wooden house builders might create smart wooden house factories. Smart factories and smart production are recent concepts used to denote ideas that support competitiveness in for example the automotive industry. In the housing sector, a concept introduced to increase competitiveness is industrialized house-building. The aim of the study presented here was to investigate whether industrialized house-building characteristics could be a step toward a smart factory for wooden house builders. In this paper, ideas of the smart wooden house factory are synthesized, and challenges for the single-family wooden house builder are identified. The study is founded on empirical data from one single-case study. A challenge identified was the maturity level of the culture and organization to commit to and utilize modern technology and modern working methods. The concept of the smart wooden house factory is still in its infancy and needs further research.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the choices made in manufacturing decision categories by subcontractor small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and determines if subcontractor SMEs make homogenous manufacturing choices. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review was used to develop theoretical propositions. A multiple case study with 19 subcontractor SMEs was conducted. Findings – Factors that might lead to homogenous choices in the manufacturing strategy decision categories were formalised into four theoretical propositions. The propositions were based on new institutionalism factors as well as SME factors. The findings reveal that there is considerable heterogeneity across the subcontractor SMEs in the various manufacturing decision categories. However, there are similarities between some manufacturing choices. This can partly be explained by the proposed factors and partly by other factors, such as SME characteristics and process choices. Research limitations/implications – The study reinforces the need for more research that is focused on manufacturing decisions and choices in SMEs. All cases were of Swedish SMEs belonging to three different industries, potentially limiting the generalisability of findings to other industries or countries. Practical implications – This study highlights the importance of the different choices made considering manufacturing and the factors influencing those choices. This provides guidance for managers when they make manufacturing choices in various decision categories. Originality/value – By addressing new institutionalism, SME characteristics and decision categories in the same study, the author provides new insights into the categories of manufacturing decisions.

This study encourages an increased focus on managerial and organisational issues in manufacturing strategy formulation. The study investigates the relationship between manufacturing strategy formulation, leadership style and organisational culture in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Manufacturing strategy formulation is studied in three cases, and it is found that the formulation is different in each case. Leadership style is more visible than organisational culture in manufacturing strategy formulation in the case companies. Owing to the small number of employees in SMEs, the top manager’s decisions influence the whole organisation and the organisational culture. The leadership style and organisational culture are closely aligned in SMEs owing to the managers and to the centralised decision-making., STRATEGO

The purpose with this paper is to contribute towards a deeper understanding of the purchasing process in SMEs. This is done by investigating general research regarding purchasing, business strategy and SMEs to create a framework of factors influencing purchasing processes in SMEs. The factors are then authenticated with an empirical study of an SME. It is concluded that all influencing factors from the framework can be applied to the SME, but that the SME tend to handle them with a short-term perspective. This paper will provide guidelines for SMEs in order to create purchasing processes with a long-term perspective, which is more integrated with their business strategy.

This paper aims at contribute to an understanding of how present leadership characteristics influence the implementation of HK in manufacturing SMEs. The research is based around two case companies where the ideas of HK was implemented in an action research project. The leadership characteristics associated with HK include characteristics such as supporting, coaching, challenging, involving top management and co-workers. The findings show that HK leadership characteristics have similarities with lean leadership and developmental leadership characteristics. The two cases have successfully began to implement HK and the CEO’s in both cases have a present leadership style resembling of developmental leadership.

This paper presents findings from an empirical study of the use of a manufacturing strategy tool in seven companies in Sweden and Singapore. We investigated the influence of national culture when using a manufacturing strategy tool. Hofstede’s national cultural dimensions and underlying factors model were applied. The findings show that it is possible to explain differences in the use of manufacturing strategy tools when considering national cultural dimensions. It was found that the factors of power distance, long-term orientation, and masculinity influence participation and decision- making when using a manufacturing strategy tool., Stratego