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Saemundsson, RögnvaldurORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-8563-9078
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Publications (10 of 17) Show all publications
McKelvey, M. & Saemundsson, R. (2023). Ready to innovate during a crisis? Innovation governance during the first wave of COVID-19 infections in Iceland. Innovation: Management, Policy & Practice
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Ready to innovate during a crisis? Innovation governance during the first wave of COVID-19 infections in Iceland
2023 (English)In: Innovation: Management, Policy & Practice, ISSN 1447-9338, E-ISSN 2204-0226Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

Previous studies on innovation governance have focused on the governance of science, technology, and innovation from a long-term perspective. In this article we focus on the short term by exploring the generation and use of new scientific and technical knowledge to address an urgent societal crisis. We empirically analyse the emergency response during the first wave of COVID-19 infections in Iceland using a conceptual framework based on three theoretical components, namely, emergency management, innovation governance, and the innovation process as a problem-solving process. The empirical analysis is built on a systematic analysis of secondary data. Based on the results, we conclude that improvisation processes using existing knowledge and capabilities and triggered by unanticipated problems during a crisis are in some cases sources of successful innovation. In these cases initial problem-solving processes characterized by improvisation can be interpreted as blind variations that are retained and diffused through a series of complementary problem-solving processes that generate and use new scientific and technical knowledge. Furthermore, we extend the concept of innovation governance readiness to include both the readiness to exploit technological opportunities and the readiness to address unanticipated problems during a crisis and propose that our extension is useful for integrating long-term and short-term aspects of innovation governance. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Melbourne: Routledge, 2023
Keywords
COVID-19, emergency response, Innovation governance, innovation governance readiness, problem solving
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-51970 (URN)10.1080/14479338.2023.2200408 (DOI)000984800900001 ()2-s2.0-85158960944 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2017-03360
Available from: 2023-11-13 Created: 2023-11-13 Last updated: 2023-11-28Bibliographically approved
Saemundsson, R., Candi, M. & Sigurjonsson, T. O. (2022). The influence of performance feedback and top management team orientation on decisions about R&D in technology-based firms. Technovation, 113, Article ID 102420.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The influence of performance feedback and top management team orientation on decisions about R&D in technology-based firms
2022 (English)In: Technovation, ISSN 0166-4972, E-ISSN 1879-2383, Vol. 113, article id 102420Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The purpose of this work is to investigate the influence of performance feedback on decisions about R&D—more specifically R&D intensity and R&D direction, ranging from exploitation to exploration—and how this varies depending on top management team orientation. Using panel data collected from a large sample of technology-based firms over nine years, hypotheses about how the relationship between performance feedback and decisions about R&D are moderated by the technology orientation of top management teams are tested. Overall, the findings support the basic premises put forth, namely that top management team orientation influences decisions about R&D in response to performance feedback. This sheds new light on our understanding of the relationship between performance feedback and decisions about R&D in technology-based firms. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford: Elsevier, 2022
Keywords
Performance feedback, R&D, Risk-taking, Technology-based firms, Top management team orientation
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-46123 (URN)10.1016/j.technovation.2021.102420 (DOI)000968746600007 ()2-s2.0-85119903568 (Scopus ID)
Note

Funding: Part of the funding for this research was provided by the Icelandic Research Fund.

Available from: 2021-12-15 Created: 2021-12-15 Last updated: 2023-10-05Bibliographically approved
Mckelvey, M. & Saemundsson, R. (2021). Developing innovation governance readiness in regenerative medicine: lessons learned from the Macchiarini crisis. Regenerative Medicine, 16(3), 283-294
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Developing innovation governance readiness in regenerative medicine: lessons learned from the Macchiarini crisis
2021 (English)In: Regenerative Medicine, ISSN 1746-0751, E-ISSN 1746-076X, Vol. 16, no 3, p. 283-294Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The generation and clinical adoption of workable therapies in regenerative medicine has been slow, despite its alleged potential to relieve suffering and improve health outcomes. This has been explained by a fundamental difference between advanced cell and gene therapies and conventional drug- and device-based therapies, raising questions about how the readiness of existing healthcare systems to adopt such therapies can be evaluated and improved. In this paper, we use the lessons learned from the Macchiarini crisis at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden to take the first step in formulating the concept of innovation governance readiness. We propose it as a tool to help evaluate and improve the ability of private, public and civil society actors to work together to build and put into practice therapies based on emerging medical technologies such as regenerative medicine. © 2021 Future Medicine Ltd.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
London: Future Medicine Ltd., 2021
Keywords
innovation governance, innovation governance readiness, regenerative medicine
National Category
Other Engineering and Technologies not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-46093 (URN)10.2217/rme-2020-0173 (DOI)000638187100001 ()33834842 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85104369217 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2021-12-15 Created: 2021-12-15 Last updated: 2021-12-15Bibliographically approved
Gifford, E., McKelvey, M. & Saemundsson, R. (2021). The evolution of knowledge-intensive innovation ecosystems: co-evolving entrepreneurial activity and innovation policy in the West Swedish maritime system. Industry and Innovation, 28(5), 651-676
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The evolution of knowledge-intensive innovation ecosystems: co-evolving entrepreneurial activity and innovation policy in the West Swedish maritime system
2021 (English)In: Industry and Innovation, ISSN 1366-2716, E-ISSN 1469-8390, Vol. 28, no 5, p. 651-676Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This paper contributes insights into the debate concerning the emergence of innovation ecosystems. More specifically, we propose a knowledge-intensive innovation ecosystem. Building on prior research on collective action, innovation governance, and knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship, we elaborate on existing theory by presenting a conceptual framework to articulate why ecosystems require the combination of top-down exploration of policy alternatives by policymakers, together with bottom-up knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial activity in order to progress towards sustainable development. Through our case study of the Maritime Cluster of West Sweden, we propose that sustained incentives for knowledge-intensive innovative entrepreneurship, along with more experimentation and new forms of collaboration by policymakers in the Maritime Cluster, are needed in order for progress towards innovation-led sustainable development to occur. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Abingdon: , 2021
Keywords
collective action, illustrative case study, Innovation ecosystems, innovation governance, knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship, sustainability
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-46066 (URN)10.1080/13662716.2020.1856047 (DOI)000597697300001 ()2-s2.0-85097421973 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, VRDNR 2017-03360 
Note

Funding agency:

Swedish Research Council European Commission Grant number:VRDNR 2017-03360 

Broman Foundation for Research and Entrepreneurship Scholarship

 Adlerbert Research Foundation

Available from: 2022-01-02 Created: 2022-01-02 Last updated: 2022-01-02Bibliographically approved
McKelvey, M. & Saemundsson, R. (2020). The grey zones of technological innovation: negative unintended consequences as a counterbalance to novelty. Industry and Innovation, 28(1), 79-101
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The grey zones of technological innovation: negative unintended consequences as a counterbalance to novelty
2020 (English)In: Industry and Innovation, ISSN 1366-2716, E-ISSN 1469-8390, Vol. 28, no 1, p. 79-101Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The purpose of this article is to better understand the challenges of avoiding the dark side of technological innovation. Specifically, we analyse 10 public investigations started as a reaction to a major crisis in regenerative medicine at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, associated with the clinician-scientist Paolo Macchiarini. We interpret the reaction as an attempt to restore the balance between the stimulation and regulation of technological innovation processes by clarifying ambiguities in the regulation at the interface between research and practice. We conceptualise these ambiguities as grey zones–situations when it is unclear if the benefits of experimentation outweigh its risks–and propose that grey zones are continually created and resolved as actors in innovation governance systems counterbalance the generation of novelty and the risk of negative unintended consequences. © 2020, © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2020
Keywords
grey zones, Innovation governance, innovation policy, medical innovation, negative unintended consequences
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-43646 (URN)10.1080/13662716.2020.1783216 (DOI)000549499400001 ()2-s2.0-85087560455 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, VR DNR 2017-03360Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, FSK15 1080 1Swedish Research Council Formas
Available from: 2020-12-10 Created: 2020-12-10 Last updated: 2021-01-07Bibliographically approved
McKelvey, M., Saemundsson, R. & Zaring, O. (2018). A Recent Crisis in Regenerative Medicine: Analyzing Governance in Order to Identify Public Policy Issues. Science and Public Policy, 45(5), 608-620
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A Recent Crisis in Regenerative Medicine: Analyzing Governance in Order to Identify Public Policy Issues
2018 (English)In: Science and Public Policy, ISSN 0302-3427, E-ISSN 1471-5430, Vol. 45, no 5, p. 608-620Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article focuses upon issues that public policy makers need to address, when trying to stimulate world-leading research into new areas, which are potentially also valuable to solving societal challenges. Our analysis helps contribute to the theoretical discussions about governance of new knowledge. We focus upon the sequence of events surrounding the main actors of a recent crisis of regenerative medicine in Sweden. We define governance theoretically, and use a conceptual model in order to structure the empirical analysis. Regenerative medicine is an interesting setting to explore these topics, not least because both public and private actors are often involved, and because governments struggle with how to promote ‘translational research’, e.g. diffusing scientific research into clinical practice. Our case study helps understand the process that led up to a crisis in regenerative medicine and identifies and discusses four issues that need to be addressed by policy makers. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018
Keywords
innovation policy, governance, medical research and innovation
National Category
Economics and Business
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-38627 (URN)10.1093/scipol/scx085 (DOI)000456064500002 ()2-s2.0-85059542555 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2018-12-17 Created: 2018-12-17 Last updated: 2020-02-03Bibliographically approved
McKelvey, M. & Saemundsson, R. (2018). An evolutionary model of innovation policy: conceptualizing the growth of knowledge in innovation policy as an evolution of policy. Industrial and Corporate Change, 27(5), 851-865
Open this publication in new window or tab >>An evolutionary model of innovation policy: conceptualizing the growth of knowledge in innovation policy as an evolution of policy
2018 (English)In: Industrial and Corporate Change, ISSN 0960-6491, E-ISSN 1464-3650, Vol. 27, no 5, p. 851-865Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Our purpose is to propose a conceptual model of the growth of knowledge in innovation policy making. We explicitly draw upon evolutionary economics to conceptualize learning as an evolutionary process of the growth of knowledge about policy problems and their solutions. Our model points to the central role of the variation and selective retention of policy alternatives and contributes to the current debate about how to build capacity through and for mission-oriented innovation policies, to address grand social challenges. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Associazione ICC. All rights reserved.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018
National Category
Economics and Business
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-38626 (URN)10.1093/icc/dty035 (DOI)000456021300005 ()2-s2.0-85058098305 (Scopus ID)
Note

Funding: Broman Foundation for Research and Entrepreneurship

Available from: 2018-12-17 Created: 2018-12-17 Last updated: 2020-02-03Bibliographically approved
Saemundsson, R. & Candi, M. (2017). Absorptive Capacity and the Identification of Opportunities in New Technology-Based Firms. Technovation, 64-65, 43-49
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Absorptive Capacity and the Identification of Opportunities in New Technology-Based Firms
2017 (English)In: Technovation, ISSN 0166-4972, E-ISSN 1879-2383, Vol. 64-65, p. 43-49Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The purpose of this work is to investigate relationships between knowledge and opportunities in new ventures. More specifically, this work proposes and empirically tests how potential absorptive capacity is related with the identification of opportunities in new technology-based firms (NTBFs). To take into account the unique nature of NTBFs we divide potential absorptive capacity into problem absorptive capacity, i.e. the ability to identify and acquire knowledge of the goals, aspirations and needs of current and potential customers, and solution absorptive capacity, i.e. the ability to identify and acquire external knowledge of solutions to fulfill them. We develop three hypotheses, which predict that both problem absorptive capacity and solution absorptive capacity will be positively related with the identification of opportunities in NTBFs and that they will reinforce each other. The findings support the importance of making a distinction between the two proposed dimensions of potential absorptive capacity and shed light on their effectiveness and interaction for the identification of opportunities. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Kidlington: Pergamon Press, 2017
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-38628 (URN)10.1016/j.technovation.2017.06.001 (DOI)000408782600004 ()2-s2.0-85021760826 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2018-12-17 Created: 2018-12-17 Last updated: 2019-01-02Bibliographically approved
McKelvey, M. & Saemundsson, R. (2017). An evolutionary model of science policy: Routines and the growth of knowledge in policy-making organisations. International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 14(3-4), 298-311
Open this publication in new window or tab >>An evolutionary model of science policy: Routines and the growth of knowledge in policy-making organisations
2017 (English)In: International Journal of Economics and Business Research, ISSN 1756-9850, E-ISSN 1756-9869, Vol. 14, no 3-4, p. 298-311Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This paper proposes an evolutionary model of science policy. The paper draws upon evolutionary economics and associated applications to theory of the firm on routines and the role of knowledge in decision-making. This strand of literature is called the growth of knowledge perspective, because routines are assumed to embody useful knowledge about problems to be solved and potential solutions to them. This paper develops a conceptual model, based upon this literature and Campbell’s evolutionary epistemology. The paper proposes that the equivalent of firm routines is, in the science policy context, public policy alternatives such as policy instruments. Moreover, the paper develops notions of science policy fields, and puts them in an evolutionary model in order to understand the creation of variety, retention and selection amongst policy alternatives. © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Milton Keynes: InderScience Publishers, 2017
Keywords
Evolutionary epistemology, Evolutionary models, Growth of knowledge, Organisational evolution, Organisational routines, Policy-making, Policy-making organisations, Public policy, Retention, Science policy, Selection, Variety
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-36507 (URN)10.1504/IJEBR.2017.087514 (DOI)2-s2.0-85031802227 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2018-06-14 Created: 2018-06-14 Last updated: 2018-06-14Bibliographically approved
Saemundsson, R., McKelvey, M. & Zaring, O. (2016). Aiming high and failing spectacularly: Lessons from a recent crisis in regenerative medicine. In: EU-SPRI Conference: Lund 2016: Book of abstracts. Paper presented at The 2016 EU-SPRI Conference, Lund, Sweden, June 7-10, 2016 (pp. 319-320).
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Aiming high and failing spectacularly: Lessons from a recent crisis in regenerative medicine
2016 (English)In: EU-SPRI Conference: Lund 2016: Book of abstracts, 2016, p. 319-320Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Keywords
Governance of change, Medical innovation, Regenerative medicine, Crisis of legitimacy
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-32492 (URN)
Conference
The 2016 EU-SPRI Conference, Lund, Sweden, June 7-10, 2016
Available from: 2016-11-26 Created: 2016-11-26 Last updated: 2016-11-29Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-8563-9078

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