The role of business networks for innovation

PublicationArticle (with peer review)

Christina Öberg, Företagandets villkor, Innovation, Nätverk

Abstract

A business network consists of directly and indirectly connected companies, where social and economic ties help to understand these connection. Innovations could be seen to relate to business networks in two ways: they may result from interaction between business partners, or they would need to fit into, or through changes to interaction patterns among various business partners, be fitted into new or current business networks. In the literature on innovation, the incremental, radical, or disruptive characteristics of the innovations are frequently described as degrees of newness. This paper categorizes characteristics of business networks based on their role to create various types of innovations, and based on the various types’ consequences for the business network. The empirical part of this paper is based on six case-study examples from interviews performed by the author. The findings suggest links between the type of innovation, and the role of the network and network consequences. The paper contributes to previous research through discussing the role of business networks for various types of innovation. Furthermore, the paper contributes to previous research through indicating the various types of innovations’ consequences for the business network. Most previous research on business networks and innovation only concerns itself with how various parties participate in idea generation and co-development of innovations, while the consequences for the business network is not described extensively.

Öberg, C. (2019). The role of business networks for innovation. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 4(2), 124-128. 10.1016/j.jik.2017.10.001

Sharing economy models and sustainability: Towards a typology

Article (with peer review)Publication

Öberg, C.

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Publication year

2024

Published in

Journal of Cleaner Production

Abstract

The sharing economy was initially beckoned as a facilitator of exchanges that would not compromise future needs and held great promise for those at the lower end of the socioeconomic pyramid. However, as the sharing economy expanded, questions about its sustainability emerged. This expansion manifested in two main forms: an influx of new users and providers into existing operations and the emergence of new platforms, resulting in a proliferation of sharing economy models. By categorizing these models based on their resource utilization, this paper establishes a connection between scalability and compromised sustainability, shedding light on the interplay between the two. The paper identifies seven distinct configurations in the sharing economy: co-use, re-use, repeated use, sustainable output, pooling of resources, and products and services created specifically for individual users. These configurations serve as a tool to uncover the tensions between scalability and coordination, as well as between sustainability and provision. The paper contributes to prior research by bringing attention to how the sharing economy is entangled in these tensions and by developing a typology. Understanding how these tensions can be resolved presents a highly significant practical contribution, allowing stakeholders in the sharing economy to navigate the challenges of scalability and sustainability effectively.

Does the freelance economy promote creative freedom?

Article (with peer review)Publication

Öberg, C.

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Publication year

2024

Published in

Journal of Management & Organization

Abstract

This paper builds on the creation of new ways of organizing work, where the freelance economy specifically targets the increasing number of skilled self-employed individuals collaborating for shared output. Through describing and discussing creativity within the freelance economy, this paper seeks to understand creativity in collaborations among these self-employed individuals. Drawing from a case study conducted in the advertising sector, the paper concludes that creativity within the freelance economy occurs between equal and inherently creative freelancers rather than being the product of individual traits, despite their respective skills. Creativity between individuals arises when processes are appropriately formalized, while the creative output is constrained by individual decisions and styles. The paper contributes to existing research by shedding light on the distinctive characteristics of the freelance economy and its paradoxical organizational nature. By doing so, it offers insights that contrast with prior studies on artistic creativity.

Customers driving a firm’s responsible innovation response for grand challenges: A co‐active issue‐selling perspective.

Article (with peer review)Publication

Degbey, W. Y., Pelto, E., Öberg, C., & Carmeli, A.

Publication year

2023

Published in

Journal of Product Innovation. Management.

Abstract

Grand challenges vary across industries and call for firms to craft a responsible innovation response to effectively address them. However, key questions concerning why firms embrace responsible innovation and the process by which they respond to grand challenges have yet to be fully answered. We integrate an issue-selling theoretical lens and the customer role from an innovation perspective to theorize about the different influencing motives that customers exert on their corresponding supplying firm to craft a more responsible innovation response to grand challenges. Based on qualitative data collected in almost a 10-year period from multiple respondents across eight customer firms and two supplying firms, we identify three core motives—regulatory, business opportunity, and socio-environmental motives—that propel customers to influence supplying firms to craft different forms of responsible innovation responses. Our research also reveals three vital socio-human capital pathways—human capital, socio-behavioral, and relationship—which, in turn, foster a co-active engagement in addressing grand challenges innovatively and responsibly. In so doing, this research advances novel theorizing on co-active engagement in responsible innovation where the customer acts as the primary champion and the supplier as the implementer. We discuss the important implications for customers and other stakeholders.

Abstract

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