Companies are constantly being pressured to innovate in order to stay competitive in the short run and have new offerings in the long run. One way of boosting innovation is to develop idea support systems that go beyond the traditional methods and tools. Through a qualitative study, this paper explores the lessons learned from developing an online platform for idea generation, and discusses it in terms of innovation process, climate, and capabilities. The results show that the platform itself is not enough for innovation. The structure and work processes around the platform are as important, which implies the need to design processes and procedures that allow an idea to develop, providing, focus, idea feedback and role clarity.

Impacts of the Olympic Games on the biosphere and on the communities that host them are significant. Increasing size, scope and costs, rising security concerns, cultural and environmental impacts are some of the key issues facing host cities and those cities bidding or considering bidding for the Olympic Games. One of the ideals of the Olympic Charter is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of mankind and the three pillars of the Olympic movement are sport, culture and environment. This paper examines the IOC’s options for sustainability in its primary question: In what way could the International Olympic Committee (IOC) contribute to a global movement towards socio-ecological sustainability? The hypothesis that the IOC is an agent for social/cultural and environmental change is explored. The paper uses a principled definition of success for socio-ecological sustainability and presents a vision of a sustainable IOC and Olympic Movement within a sustainable society. From that vision specific IOC strategies along with past, present and short-term future actions are analysed to determine the obstacles and deficiencies in moving the IOC toward complying with scientifically relevant principles for socio-ecological sustainability. Systems thinking is used to identify obstacles and opportunities within the Olympic Movement. These obstacles and opportunities to strategically move the IOC toward sustainability are identified, analysed and discussed. The paper concludes with examples of possible actions the IOC could take to strategically move towards sustainability.

Building capacities of sustainability change agents is primordial to increase the effectiveness and to accelerate the process towards a sustainable society. This research investigates the current challenges and practices of sustainability change agents and analyses current research in the field of leadership development. A Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development is described as a means to overcome and address the complex challenges that society faces today. Furthermore the development of leadership capacities of sustainability change agents is suggested as a strategic factor for the process of sustainable development. A literature study highlights the new dimension to leadership development and defines its characteristics. Interviews and focus groups with sustainability practitioners and students are analysed. From this analysis a set of methods and approaches to professional and personal development is derived. The research points to the need of developing leadership capacities, of sustaining them and of having the ability to be self-aware. It is mentioned that the development of these capacities will depend on the supporting environment, the methods employed and on the candidate itself in order to achieve best results.

The paper proposes a framework for analysing the performances of product-service systems (PSSs) development processes using a balanced scorecard (BSC) as an instrument to guide the implementation and the evaluation of new methods and tools. Emerging from a case study in the aerospace industry, the paper discusses the main challenges in PSS development and proposes a performance measurement framework for PSS development based on multi-criteria indicators. Finally, the benefits of a framework for PSS development performance measurement are discussed.

The Product-Service System (PSS) paradigm is recognized as a means for companies to increase the value perceived by the customers, thus gaining competitive advantage beyond traditional ‘pure product’ offerings. Researches have shown the necessity to rethink design processes in a PSS context, in order to drive the successful integration of product and service features in early design phases. In the last few years, several new approaches have been proposed, however little attention has been paid on how to translate these approaches into action and on how to evaluate their performances and effectiveness. This paper proposes a framework for analysing the performances in PSS development process using a Balanced Scorecard approach, as a tool to guide the implementation and the evaluation of new methods and tools in the early design phases. The paper starts with discussing the main challenges encountered when designing PSS, and then, adopting an aerospace industry as an example, to propose an application of the Balance Scorecard for the implementation and measurement of PSS development. Finally, the main pros and cons are discussed in relation to strengths and weaknesses of using balanced scorecard in PSS development. The framework developed in this paper can provide a useful guidance for the managers in measuring the performances of the PSS development process.

In an increasingly connected and interdependent world, the global sustainability challenge needs to be addressed by organizational networks from a whole-systems perspective. This study explores organizations through the lens of network theory and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, with a special focus on networks already considering sustainability issues. The purpose of the research was to identify key factors critical to the success of an organizational network in the sustainability field, as well as define specific barriers to success for these networks. These specific factors and barriers to success are identified and explored across: Academic, Business, and Non-Profit sectors, with the ultimate objective of increasing the performance of Emerging Sustainability Networks (ESNs), removing barriers in the field, and planning strategically to achieve success in the sustainability movement.

Next generation jet engine technologies are typically driven by performance, value and environmental challenges, and appropriate technologies are developed in international research programs. One on-going engine component technology project at an aerospace component manufacturer aims to develop an engine with less fuel consumption. A likely consequence is higher pressure in the core engine, which leads to higher temperature. One way to handle the higher temperature is using a more advanced Ti-alloy for the product component, which will render a different sustainability profile. One weakness in current decision situations is the inability to clarify and understand the “value” and “sustainability” implications compared to e.g. performance features of concepts. Both “value” and “sustainability” include a rich set of features important for successful introduction of new products and product-service solutions to the market. The purpose with this research is to provide decision support for companies in early development phases for assessment of value and sustainability consequences over product-service system lifecycles. A workshop was held with the aerospace component manufacturer and a value chain partner focusing on material handling, to: i) get a better understanding of activities, flows and ownership related to the studied materials at the two companies, ii) to understand the companies’ perspective at new suggested scenarios with regard to these materials, and iii) define relevant scenarios to look into more in depth from asustainability and value perspective. Three different scenarios were developed with differences in ownership, responsibilities and value streams. It is therefore essential to be able to quickly assess and optimize consequences of such alternative scenarios. Based on the workshop experiences and scenarios, a modeling and simulation approach to assess sustainability and value consequences for the scenarios is proposed. The sustainability consequences are based on a sustainability life cycle assessment and a risk assessment. Key features of the proposed tool include: consideration of the time dimension, societal sustainability consequences, risk assessment, company value assessment, and cost/revenue perspectives.

Market competition and a desire to gain advantages on globalized market, drives companies towards innovation efforts. Project overload is an unpleasant phenomenon, which is happening for employees inside those organizations trying to make the most efficient use of their resources to be innovative. But what are the impacts of project overload on organization’s innovation capabilities? Advanced engineering teams (AE) inside a major heavy equipment manufacturer are suffering from project overload in their quest for innovation. In this paper, Agent-based modeling (ABM) is used to examine the current reality of the company context, and of the AE team, where the opportunities and challenges for reducing the risk of project overload and moving towards innovation were identified. Project overload is more likely to stifle innovation and creativity inside teams. On the other hand, motivation on proper challenging goals are more likely to help individual to alleviate the negative aspects of low level of project overload

Innovation performance measurement has developed from focusing on issues of control and monitoring towards a more supportive role for managers on a strategic, informative and motivational level. Despite its potential to facilitate innovation management measuring provides a challenge in practice not the least when a company has the ambition to manage both radical and incremental innovation. This paper, based on literature review with empirical illustrations from three case studies, argues that these issues derives from the need to manage a number of dichotomies which are present due to the essential differences associated to each type of innovation. These dichotomies are related to time, uncertainty, flexibility and control. The implications on the design and use of an innovation performance measurement system are explored and analyzed through the lens of dichotomies. The study contributes to the innovation measurement theory and provides basis for an analytical framework aiming to support the design and implementation of innovation performance measurement in practice.

This paper presents a computer-based approach for conceptual design that aims to enhance collaborative supply chain development in the automotive sector when dealing with product-service development or radical innovations. The focus of the research has been to design a simulation approach that will enable designers and managers to simulate and evaluate the value of different design options for the different stakeholders involved in the development process and to have insights about the implications between business model innovation and the engineered aspects of the solutions early in the conceptual phase. The approach is presented using a case study within the current project, after following a team responsible for the car cockpit. Four possible scenario have been simulated and evaluated using a commercial simulation software. The main advantage of the proposed approach is to enhance the awareness among designers and managers of the value of different design options, and allow them to explore further how business and design aspects profoundly affect each other, in order to support early decision-making in the design process.