The purpose of the extended summary is to develop the understanding of the existence and reasons behind barriers to growth and development in small firms. More specifically, four questions are addressed: (1) What do we know about the term barrier, how can it be defined? (2) What types of barriers to growth and development have been identified? (3) How can barriers to growth and development be addressed in a framework? and (4) How do the results of the appended papers (Papers I-V) contribute to the research field of barriers to growth and development?

A literature review was undertaken to answer the first two questions. The literature review was conducted in two phases. The conceptual and operational definition of barriers was addressed in the first phase. The results reveal diverse ways of focusing on barriers, which made it necessary to address similar terms, such as problem and causes of business failure in the second phase of the literature review. The different terms used in the papers of the literature review are discussed in order to determine whether or not the understanding of their content is coherent and conceptual. Based on the conceptual understanding and definition of barriers, the different aspects focused on in the literature were discussed, which led to the second question, What are the various aspects of barriers to growth and development?

The knowledge gained from the literature review and the development of the understanding of the barrier concept led to the third question, Can barriers to growth and development be addressed in a framework? The discussion takes its starting point in the studies identified in the literature review and is related to some of the appended papers (Papers I and II). Similarities and differences between frameworks used in the papers identified in the literature review are discussed and, based on this knowledge, a framework for barriers to growth and development in small firms is presented. The framework distinguishes two types of barriers, namely internal/external barriers and tangible/intangible barriers.

The knowledge available in the reviewed papers within the field of barriers to growth and development in small firms in combination with the results from the appended papers (Papers I-V) resulted in the fourth question. Part of the contribution of the appended papers concerns the operational definition, for example that barriers to innovation should be categorised as either occurring or preventing firms from innovating (Paper II), while other contributions concern specific types of barriers, for example the importance of managerial skills (Paper V). Overall, the contribution focuses on conditional factors, such as strategy and planning, organisation and management, and institution and policy factors, in relation to growth and development.

This paper investigates cultural diversity as means to business sustainability and competitive advantage for entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector. 80 agricultural entrepreneurs have been addressed in this study, which include face-to-face meetings between entrepreneurs and candidates for employment.

While supportive of the idea of cultural diversity as a beneficial element of business sustainability, most farmers stated they lacked both the time and the resources to manage the issues associated with immigrant workers. However, lack of organisational changes and managerial skills can also be a potential barrier for integration when the farm address growth and employment ambitions.

There is a growing trend of using digital production, such as additive manufacturing, in direct consumer markets. Digital production enables new and advanced tools, which provide shorter development time and lower cost for manufacturing. In this paper we focus on the education and learning environment for digital production and prototyping at a fabrication laboratory (FabLab). FabLab (Fabrication Laboratory) is a small-scale innovation space offering digital fabrication and production. A FabLab is, among many things, a platform for learning and exchanging experience when experimenting and developing new solutions. FabLabs bring together students, researchers and teachers as well as industrial partners in a single physical location for the purposes of designing, prototyping, and do-it-yourself manufacturing. This explorative and creative environment provide insights to knowledge creation, based on the constructive learning theory, which address active involvement by the participants. To take full advantage of this creative learning environment, aspects such as student characteristics, the nature of the subject matter, and the teaching carried out by the staff, also needs to be addressed. © 2019 International Institute of Informatics and Systemics

At least two different administrative mechanisms are available for the small business manager to develop and to pursue a competitive strategy. One refers to managerial skills needed to implement and to follow the competitive strategy chosen by the firm. The other refers to the design of organization structure - that is, how job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated. This paper argues that the fit among the competitive strategy followed by a firm, the utilization of the administrative mechanisms, and the performance of the firm is related to industry maturity.

At least two different administrative mechanisms are available for the small business manager to develop and to pursue a competitive strategy. One refers to managerial skills needed to implement and to follow the competitive strategy chosen by the firm. The other refers to the design of organization structure—that is, how job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated. This paper argues that the fit among the competitive strategy followed by a firm, the utilization of the administrative mechanisms, and the performance of the firm is related to industry maturity.

This paper investigates cultural diversity as means to business sustainability and competitive advantage for entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector. The paper focuses on challenges and barriers in immigrant workforce integration as revealed by a year-long project conducted among farmers in the region of Halland (on Sweden’s southwest coast). The paper reports on a matchmaking project between farmers seeking employees and job seekers (immigrants) seeking employment. The project began with interviews with 80 farmers and continued with an exploratory meeting with 42 farmers, four discussion meetings with 16 farmers, and face-to-face meetings between farmers and candidates for employment. The project concluded with follow-up interviews with the 42 farmers. While 42 of the 80 farmers were interested in exploring the benefits of immigrant workforce integration, the others (53%) declined further participation in the project. Ultimately, one farmer hired three immigrants. While supportive of the idea of cultural diversity as a beneficial element of business sustainability, most farmers stated they lacked both the time and the resources to manage the issues associated with immigrant workers such as their lack of technical and mechanical skills, and the language differences.

Food waste is an important topic in the context of sustainable development. Although many studies have addressed this topic, there is still limited knowledge owing to insufficient data. This study reports on food waste in two institutional settings in a Swedish municipality: schools and elderly care homes. The findings suggest it is easier to measure and reduce food waste in stable environments, such as exist at schools, than at environments characterized by change and unpredictability, such as exist at elderly care homes. Specific areas examined and compared include cooking and receiving kitchens, infrastructure, communications, and support. © North American Business Press.

A growing and aging population provides challenges for the healthcare sector, generating higher healthcare costs, and ineffective work process that results in long patient queues and problems with recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals. Artificial intelligence (AI) is considered as one means to provide efficient processes for healthcare professionals, e.g. in diagnostics and treatment recommendations. However, research has shown that there are many obstacles to successfully introducing and using AI applications in healthcare, especially by focusing on the organizational level. However, individual healthcare professionals have an important role to play in the transition towards information driven healthcare. 

Therefore, we address the healthcare professionals' perception of the usefulness and value of AI applications, as well as challenges and considerations of this new technology. 

The study is based on an exploratory approach with more than 350 healthcare professionals in Sweden, carried out beginning of 2024. The questionnaire includes perceptions of the use of AI and identifies potential challenges that need to be addressed. The respondents include doctors (92%) and nurses (8%). The sample consists of answers from 221 (62%) male and 136 (38%) female respondents. Most of the respondents work in public hospitals (54%) and health centers (20% public and 14% private). Several AI applications are used by healthcare professionals, spanning from administrative work reduction to new insights in the analysis of complex cases.

Thematic analysis is conducted to create a model of perception of usefulness, values and problems (barriers). The analysis includes a stepwise analysis to identify patterns and themes.

The  results from the project provide insights into how the introduction of AI applications in healthcare changes the work of healthcare professionals and the perceived challenges that need to be addressed to improve their work by using AI. To some extent, implementation and use is based on healthcare professionals’ interest in using new advanced technology but for others the decision to adopt AI is primarily based on formal decisions within the organization. Respondents that have been using AI for at least six months, indicate AI supports decision making, with the main benefit consisting of a more effective and faster work process, while other respondents do not perceive any changes. A surprising result is that healthcare professionals have identified the possibility to test and evaluate new ideas and more complex cases. One interpretation is that AI has made the workload easier, which may allow for more innovative work. Another interpretation is that their experience-based knowledge is augmented by AI, and this makes it possible for them to handle more complex cases.   However, others experience a learning paradox – challenging to find time and learn how to use the technology, while at the same time adopting by testing AI applications.

Conclusions drawn from the ongoing study provide insights on the transformation phase towards implementing and using AI applications in healthcare.

The paper aim to clarify changes in user activities and behaviour across different types of actors following the development of 3D printers. It proposes a mobile business model and outlining the features of development for direct digital manufacturing.

The exploratory study show that the use of 3D printing a) lowers the knowledge and resource barriers for experimentation and entrepreneurial entry, b) increases product and concept prototyping in product development, c) provides a potential for business model innovation by expanding the boundaries of the firm upstream and downstream, and d) becomes a ticket for entrepreneurial entry

The paper analyses changes in user activities and behaviour across different types of actors following the introduction of 3D printers. 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, has been claimed to disrupt manufacturing, allowing firms to move from prototyping to full-scale end-part production and replacement part production in a one-step process. 3D printing has many different uses, for example, the manufacturing of toys, shoes, lamps and fashion accessories, and by implication many different types of users and buyers. There are few empirical studies on the types of uses and users of 3D, hampering our understanding in what ways the 3D printers may change the behaviour of users, and whether 3D printers affect the likelihood and the nature of entrepreneurship or business model innovation. To investigate this, a model was created based on the 3DP literature. The model is applied on a distributor customer database and four interview-based illustrative case studies. The empirical findings show that the use of 3DP a) lowers the knowledge and resource barriers for experimentation and entrepreneurial entry, b) increases product and concept prototyping in product development, c) provides a potential for business model innovation by expanding the boundaries of the firm upstream and downstream, and d) becomes a ticket for entrepreneurial entry. Based on our results, the paper suggests that the potential of 3D printers alter user innovative activities is high but most of the potential is latent.

Increased global competition in the agricultural sector is rapidly changing the structure of farms and farming. As the number of small and diversified farms (often family-owned) decreases, the number of large and specialized farms (often corporate-owned) is increasing. In this transformation, the agricultural sector is more and more concerned with strategy, innovation, and competition in the effort to be more productive and more profitable. At the same time, the sector faces demands that it become more environmentally responsible in its policies and practices. This paper proposes a Lean Implementation Framework that small and mid-size farms can use as they aim to increase production and profit and yet support environmental sustainability. This case study takes an action-oriented research approach that focuses on the implementation of a Green Lean approach at 34 Swedish farms using various Lean tools. The paper describes how training sessions, farm visits, workshops, and counseling were used to introduce the farmers to the benefits and risks of the implementation of a new business model that added Green elements to the traditional business model design. The paper concludes with recommendations for adaptations to the Framework and suggestions for future research. © 2018

This paper aims to increase our understanding of sustainable business model innovation in the agri-food sector in terms of its theoretical and practical approaches for sustainability and their degree of complexity and maturity. The paper is based on a systematic literature review of 570 journal articles on business models and business model innovation published between 1990 and 2014. Of these articles, only 21 have business model innovation as their main focus. The review shows that research interest in the agri-food sector has increased in these years. The paper proposes a conceptual framework for sustainable business model innovation in the agri-food sector that can be used to meet the challenges encountered in taking a sustainability perspective. © 2017 by the authors

The research on business model innovation in certain business energy sectors is limited. This paper, which reviews the business model literature in the biomass energy sector, identifies trends as well as challenges and complications in the use of biomass. We used seven data bases to search for relevant international, peer-reviewed research on business models and biomass. In our initial database search, we identified 287 relevant articles published in the years 1990 to 2020. After elimination of duplicate articles, we had a collection of 170 articles. We used Zotero software to refine our search. After application of our criteria, 146 articles remained. Further analysis reduced our review to 95 articles that had a theoretical focus on business models and biomass. Our review presents various data for the articles including author affiliation by country, article publication date, article title, journal of publication, journal impact factor, country of empirical data, unit of analysis. research methodology, and topics addressed. Additionally, our review reveals trends (e.g., research/practice challenges and implications) in the study of business models and the biomass energy sector as reflected in the reviewed articles. To our knowledge, this is the first literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles on business models and the biomass industry. By limiting our final review to the 95 theoretical articles we identified, we provide researchers and practitioners with sources of recent discussions and analyses on the trends, challenges, and implications related to the use of biomass in energy production.

The  global  challenges  of  today  are  many,  and  one  of  the  most  concerning  aspects  relates  to food production for an increasing global population. The sustainability of doing ‘more of the same  thing’  is  being  increasingly  called  into  question.  Several  sustainable  business  model frameworks  have  been  presented  in  recent  years  to  address  these  challenges,  but  our knowledge is limited about the change processes of the agricultural sector. This paper aims to increase  our  understanding  of  how  sustainable  business  models  have  developed  in  the agricultural  sector  in  Sweden.  It  maps  eight  archetypes  of  sustainable  business  models, clustered  in  three  groups,  with  a  focus  on  the  technological,  social,  and  organisational innovation    components    at    agri-food    companies.    The    study    takes    a    quantitative, methodological approach, conducting a telephone survey with owners and managers of 1143 agri-food  companies  in  Sweden,  and  using  analysis  of  variance  (ANOVA)  for  the  analysis. The paper provides empirical evidence on the various options for sustainable business models that  Swedish  agri-food  companies  use.  No  major  differences  were  found  with  respect  to technical or social innovation components in the three regions: East, south, and north Sweden. However,  significant  differences  were  found   between  the  regions   with  respect  to  the organisational  innovation  component.  The  organisational  innovation  component  is  based  on two  sustainable  business  model  archetypes,  namely, repurpose  for  society/environment  and develop  scale  up  solutions.  North  Sweden  had  a  higher  degree  of  organisational  innovation than  both  south  and  east  Sweden.  The  reason  for  this  could  be  the  larger  environmental, economic, and organizational challenges in north Sweden compared to the rest of the country, which  makes  the  need  for  innovation  stronger.  The  paper  also  suggests  new  areas  for researchers  and  practical  avenues  for  stakeholders in  the  agricultural  sector  (and  other industries)  to  translate  social  and  environmental  value  creation  into  economic  profit  and competitive  advantage.  To  our  knowledge,  this  is  the  first  study  to  use  sustainable  business model archetypes in an empirical setting in the agricultural sector. © 2021 The Authors

Digital manufacturing can produce new and advanced tools more rapidly and at lower cost than traditional manufacturing. This new technology means manufacturers need to develop innovative business models adapted to this change in the manufacturing landscape. With digital manufacturing, companies have both an opportunity and a challenge. They can enter new markets where large-scale production provides competitive advantage. They can enter niche markets that become more attractive as old boundaries and structures lose relevance. Yet their additive manufactured components must meet the same standards set for conventional manufactured components. However, we know little about how companies manage this change as they make the transition from traditional manufacturing to digital manufacturing. This chapter presents two co-creation digital manufacturing projects between university researchers and Swedish companies. In each project, the goal was to develop sustainable and efficient digital production methods that offer tailor-made product solutions. Various technical methods used in the projects are described as materials, and prototypes are developed, tested, and analyzed.

The agri-food sector in Sweden, as in much of Europe, faces dramatic pressure to promote entrepreneurship, especially in rural areas where population aging and population decline pose grave economic threats to local communities. One solution is the government policy of supporting the entrepreneurial ambitions of newly arrived immigrants. The policy is seen as doubly beneficial: support for rural areas and support for immigrants not yet prepared to enter the regular workforce. Immigrant entrepreneurship seems to have the potential to lessen the harmful effects of current socio-economic challenges. This paper examines the immigrant entrepreneurship experience in the agri-food sector in Sweden. A qualitative research approach is used to evaluate interviews with 25 immigrant entrepreneurs on the various factors that motivated them to become self-employed entrepreneurs. The main factors are the lack of other employment opportunities, the desire for work autonomy and flexibility, and the chance for a better standard of living. The results show that personal characteristics and previous entrepreneurship experience are the best predictors of business success. The paper concludes with a call for a model for immigrant entrepreneurship and for more government reforms and policies aimed at supporting the immigrant entrepreneur.

The recent forced migration to Europe has created more challenges for the labor market integration. However, the Swedish government encourages unemployed immigrants to seek employment in the farming, gardening, and forestry industries. Thus, this article focuses on the matching process in the Swedish agricultural sector by using an exploratory, qualitative, in-depth interview with representatives involved in the matching process. Immigrants experience challenges of Swedish language proficiency, lacking a driving license and adapting to new cultures in the workplace, while employers attribute challenges of effective hiring process and the absence of evidence of immigrants’ work experience. Furthermore, the employment service offices struggle with scant knowledge of agricultural employment that needs to be combined with limited contact with employers and the bureaucratic delays caused by requirements of qualifications validation. The paper concludes with a Labour Market Matching Model, which focuses on critical aspects before, during, and after the matching process.

Immigrant entrepreneurs face many challenges in the various early phases of their companies' existence. These challenges are often referred to as "the liability of newness". While some of these challenges are common to all entrepreneurs, the immigrant entrepreneur has an additional set of challenges. This article describes those challenges in the immigrant entrepreneurial experience in the Swedish agri-food industry. A qualitative research design is used. Interviews were conducted with 25 immigrant entrepreneurs who planned a business, had started a business, or had exited a business. Various websites and tax reports provided secondary data. The research, which covered a two-year time frame, identifies the strategies and actions the immigrant entrepreneurs adopted and used to try to overcome those challenges. The following strategies and actions were identified: use of business support, virtual embeddedness, family and ethnic groups, entrepreneurial experience, and niche markets. The companies in which the entrepreneurs recognized the gravity of those challenges early in their life cycle were more likely to survive beyond the start-up phase. The article, which also reviews much of the current literature on immigrant entrepreneurship, has implications for business support advisory services and policymakers who are involved in the effort to achieve economic (and social-cultural) integration of immigrants into their host countries. © 2020 by the authors.

Following the recent mass migration of refugees to the European Union in 2015 and 2016, many EU countries took significant steps aimed at improving the socio-economic integration of the refugees. This study examines refugee entrepreneurship in rural areas in Sweden as evidenced in the agri-food industry. Entrepreneurship is often considered a sustainable activity that can promote refugees' economic independence and social integration. The rural setting offers promising employment opportunities for refugees with agricultural backgrounds or interest. Qualitative research methodology, based on 25 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with refugees, is used to examine refugee entrepreneurs’ experiences in the various phases of the entrepreneurial process, from start-up and growth to success/exit. The study found that refugee entrepreneurs are motivated and challenged variously as they start and operate their entrepreneurial activities. For example, they are motivated by the discovery of niche markets, previous entrepreneurial experience, and the availability of family and government support. Challenges include legislative hurdles, management and technical problems, and insufficient financial and other support. Factors both within and outside their control influence the survival of their entrepreneurship. © 2021

More than half of the world population live in urban settlements which are responsible for a large share of energy consumption and, consequently, carbon emissions. The transition towards a more sustainable urban environment requires a change in paradigm in terms of how we design and manage our cities. Urban areas require innovative technologies and strategies to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, and to be included in comprehensive plans encompassing all technical, social and economic dimensions which characterise cities. This involves the transformation of urban contexts, with a focus on local and urban-level mitigation measures, such as the construction of positive energy buildings, deployment of renewable energy, promotion of a sustainable mobility, creation of resilient urban infrastructure, implementation of circular economy and recycling practices, etc. The present article provides a perspective on the sustainable energy transition in cities, focusing on the building and transportation sectors. Furthermore, insights on supporting mechanisms and innovative management strategies are presented. © 2023 by the authors.

Purpose: This paper reviews research on the intersection between additive manufacturing technologies (AMTs) and business models (BM). The purpose of the review is to synthesize past research for the benefit of researchers, to describe the dominant research themes and aggregated research questions and to identify research gaps in the literature. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review of secondary data was conducted. The 288 publications in the review appeared in peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings papers and book chapters. All publications are listed in this paper by publication year and publication source. The review also distinguishes between empirical and non-empirical studies, describes methodological approaches and categorizes the publications by unit of analysis and by theme. Findings: Research on the intersection between AMT and BM, which has increased significantly in the last three years, reflects firms' and industries' growing interest in digital manufacturing processes. This review identifies twelve dominant themes in the literature that contribute important insights to the field. Aggregated research questions are identified in each theme. Research advances and gaps are presented. Four themes relate directly to BM: (1) BM types, (2) BM and technology, (3) BM design and processes and (4) BM value and supply chains. Originality/value: This review is the first systematic literature review on the intersection between AMT and BM. As such, the review provides a guide for researchers as they explore gaps in the research and develop research questions on an aggregated level. The review also supports users of such technologies as they review their business practices and models in the so-called Digital Revolution. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Product Development (PD) in Small and medium-sized Firms (SMEs) is a long-neglected research area, and little cumulative work has been conducted previously. The purpose of this paper is to provide a first overview of the area of PD in SMEs. In doing so, we draw upon a sample of 149 peer-reviewed research papers selected from an initial sample of 5694 papers. The review provides tentative answers to issues such as the analytical and methodological approaches of the papers, which topics or areas of research have been focused on by previous scholars, and what kinds of topics that are well covered.

Despite the advances in modern medicine, the use of data-driven technologies (DDTs) to prevent surgical site infections (SSIs) remains a major challenge. Scholars recognise that data management is the next frontier in infection prevention, but many aspects related to the benefits and advantages of using DDTs to mitigate SSI risk factors remain unclear and underexplored in the literature. This study explores how DDTs enable value creation in the prevention of SSIs. This study follows a systematic literature review approach and the PRISMA statement to analyse peer-reviewed articles from seven databases. Fifty-nine articles were included in the review and were analysed through a descriptive and a thematic analysis. The findings suggest a growing interest in DDTs in SSI prevention in the last 5 years, and that machine learning and smartphone applications are widely used in SSI prevention. DDTs are mainly applied to prevent SSIs in clean and clean-contaminated surgeries and often used to manage patient-related data in the postoperative stage. DDTs enable the creation of nine categories of value that are classified in four dimensions: cost/sacrifice, functional/instrumental, experiential/hedonic, and symbolic/expressive. This study offers a unique and systematic overview of the value creation aspects enabled by DDT applications in SSI prevention and suggests that additional research is needed in four areas: value co-creation and product-service systems, DDTs in contaminated and dirty surgeries, data legitimation and explainability, and data-driven interventions. © 2023, The Author(s).

Biomass and renewable resources are becoming substitutes for fossil-based resources, providing opportunities for more sustainable environmental management and reductions in environmental damage. This paper studies the prospects for wood pellet production in Kazakhstan through the lens of business model adjustment in a microenterprise in Kazakhstan. This study focuses on answering the following questions: (1) How do microenterprises propose, create, deliver and capture value through business models in the wood industry? (2) What are the opportunities and challenges relating to these business models in the context of wood pellet production in Kazakhstan? Kazakhstan has a high potential for biomass production, providing a particularly interesting case for analysing how microenterprises can tap into this potential to create value. This paper combines an analysis of bioenergy and forestry trends with a qualitative case study. The analysis of the business model is based on Osterwalder’s business model canvas. The value proposition of the enterprise studied herein is to provide a local biomass-based alternative to fossil fuels. The overall growth of wood-based industries in Kazakhstan and the national movement towards renewable energy create favourable prospects for microenterprises engaged in the production of wood pellets; however, these industries are also characterised by high institutional and regulatory dependencies. © 2023 by the authors.

The purpose of this article is to present and test a framework for lean implementation in the agricultural sector, addressing challenges from an operational and strategical perspective. The article builds on the previous literature on the use of Lean and reports empirical data from a lean implementation project in the south-western Sweden, including interviews, observations, diaries and questionnaires. A framework is developed to examine strategic and operational perspectives on Lean Thinking. Using this framework, a number of challenges encountered in Lean implementation are presented. This article is limited to the study of Lean among a group of Swedish farms although its findings may have implications for the wider agricultural sectors. Many societal challenges are linked with agricultural sustainability, stressing the need for productive, resource-efficient, resilient and less wasteful food production. This article is the first to develop and test a Lean implementation framework in the agriculture sector. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This case study increases our understanding of Lean implementation in which value stream mapping (VSM) is used to create an action plan at a small dairy and cattle farm in southwest Sweden. The researchers, the farmer-owner, and farm employees followed a step-by-step approach that resulted in ideas for operational improvements for the dairy activity. Data were collected in interviews with the farmer/owner, researcher participation in workshops, and researcher observations. The results reveal that VSM is an effective way to create a culture of collaboration among the farm staff and to better define their roles and responsibilities as well as improve routines, communications, and task completion. In the two-to-three year period following the VSM project, specific improvements were observed in milk production/quality and animal health. The results also reveal that while Lean principles are relevant given the repetitive nature of agriculture routines and tasks, the VSM element of lead-time reduction is less relevant owing to the unique value adding biological processes in the agriculture sector. © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Inderscience Publishers Ltd.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic literature review is to understand what the phenomenon of uncaptured value is, identify where it is operationalized and explore how it can be transformed into value opportunities. Uncaptured value in sustainable business model innovation can lead to new value creation which, in turn, can promote practices of innovation, sustainability and inclusiveness. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was conducted using eight databases to identify 47 articles using the phrase sustainable business model innovation along with the terms value uncaptured, value surplus, value absence, value missed and value destroyed. Findings: The findings have identified that uncaptured value is reoccurring in sustainable business model innovation but is left as the missing link. This paper outlines the novelties of uncaptured value in sustainable business model innovation into a framework that can be used for future research, which is also discussed, concluded and suggested. Originality/value: A framework for the continued research on uncaptured value in sustainable business model innovation with an emphasis on influences, operationalization and practices has been created to further the research frontier and capture the missing link. © 2024, Senad Osmanovic, Henrik Barth and Pia Ulvenblad.

Value creation is at the core of business model (BM) research, but the link between BM and value creation remains unclear. In this work, empirical data on BM transformation towards sustainable value creation in the agri-food sector, were obtained through case studies. Factors in BM transformation were identified, transformations in different BM segments were analysed and sustainable value created through these transformations was assessed. Factors such as owner-manager mind-set, experiences of sustainability and market pressures were found to drive transformation. All cases performed generic and case-specific transformation activities, with an animal welfare ethos and sustainable solutions for distribution and transport being central for all firms. Differences in strategies and cooperation derived mainly from the geographical and micro-context. While exhibiting innovativeness, the sustainable value created was predominantly within the current time horizon. Holistic integration of sustainability into core business was challenging for the farms, due to lack of knowledge and systemic approach to sustainability. All farms expressed a desire for learning and exchange of knowledge, a gap not met by other institutions in the sector. Six directions for future research on sustainable value creation through BM transformation are suggested. © 2023 The Authors

Purpose: The purpose of this empirical paper is to illustrate two leadership development programs in Swedish agriculture. Further, it is to compare the two programs related to outcomes in terms of barriers and challenges in the development process and suggest possible ways to continue the leadership development for business model innovation in the agricultural sector.

Design/methodology/approach: The data collection includes 54 interviews and a survey sent to 109 entrepreneursin Sweden. The interviews were collected with (i) entrepreneurs who participated in the Project ‘Ledarpraktikan’ (‘Leader practice’) (LP) 2013 and (ii) entrepreneurs who participated in the project ‘Lean Agriculture’ (LA) 2012. The survey was sent in the spring 2017 to 109 entrepreneurs (37 from ´LP´, 35 from ´LA´ and 37 not having participated in any of the programs called control group ´CG´). The overall response rate in the survey is 68% (51% from ´LP´, 80% from ´LA´ and 73% from ‘CG’. Content analysis and descriptive analysis have been used in the study.

Findings: From the qualitative studies, we can see that entrepreneurs having participated in ‘LP’ perceive that they have acquired deeper knowledge and understanding regarding selfleadership than entrepreneurs participating in ´LA´. The latter entrepreneurs also have described their need for more knowledge in self-leadership. The entrepreneurs participating in ´LA´ have, through analysis of the day-to-day work, acquired a more developed systematic working environment. The comparison between the three groups in the survey show that there are several similarities between the groups, for example they don´t see institutional rules to be barriers in their firm development process. We have found differences in barriers for business development in terms of (i) growth willingness, (ii) lack of employees, (iii) lack of support and (iv) lack of spare time.

Practical implications: There is a need for further leadership development knowledge in Swedish agriculture, both for entrepreneurs in the development of their business models and for agricultural advisors regarding their new role as coaches instead of traditional advisers.

Policy implications: It is important that organizations supporting financial solutions for the agricultural businesses also support leadership development programmes in the industry.

Originality/value: The originality with the paper is that there has been two large analyses regarding two leadership development programs in Swedish agriculture, which is unique in this industry.

The purpose of this article is to deepen our understanding of what we know about business model innovation in the agri-food sector, both from a theoretical as well as a practical perspective. The methodological approach used in the paper is built on interviews, focus groups and observations of agricultural entrepreneurs and agricultural advisors in the agriculture sector and a review of over 500 peer-reviewed research papers for the period 1990-2014. The findings of the study indicate that entrepreneurs within the agri-food sector ought to shift focus from only a producer perspective to also include an entrepreneurial perspective, e.g. to focus on business model innovation. Based on this knowledge the authors present implications for research and practice. The research field is young and broad, but developing, and in need of stronger theoretical foundations. This article is based on a combination of a systematic literature review of a new emerging field as well as empirical in-depth interviews, focus groups and observations. © 2016, IGI Global.

Purpose

Because the business model is a fairly new concept, research is lacking on business model innovation in certain industry sectors. One such sector is the agri-food sector. Using a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles published from 1990 to 2014, this paper examines the where, when, and how of the use of business models and business model innovation in the agri-food sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A web-based search was conducted to identify peer-reviewed journal articles that contained a combination of “business model” or “business model innovation” with agriculture-related and food-related terms (e.g., “agri-food sector”). After winnowing out irrelevant and duplicate articles, 505 articles were chosen for analysis.

Findings

Using categories, the paper analyses various data about the selected articles. The categories include research settings, units of analysis, methodologies, and theories. Based on this analysis, the paper finds that these agri-food sector articles are primarily qualitative, empirical studies that focus on one or a few companies (i.e., case studies). The paper also finds that theory is not yet well developed in the research on the agri-food sector.

Originality/value

Systematic literature reviews of various concepts, theories, and models are common in many fields (e.g., information/software technology, healthcare, and organizational management). However, no such review is available for the agri-food sector, in particular in its use of business models and business model innovation. This paper addresses that gap with its review of relevant articles published in more than 300 journals in recent years. Based on this review, the paper draws conclusions about business model innovation in the agri-food sector and offers suggestions for future research. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

This study explores the co-creation part in the early stage of need analysis and the formation of work towards formal HRM practices in the forest industry. While SMEs are shown to be of great importance for the development in society they often suffer from Liability of Smallness (LoS) especially in the area of HRM. In smaller firms, HRM practices are characterized by ad hoc and idiosyncratic solutions and less formality. In this paper, we show how co-creation can be used to develop HR practices in an SME. The overall methodological approach in this study is action-oriented research. The empirical data is collected with a mixed-method approach including documents, interviews, focus groups, observations, pulse meetings and feedback on the process and results. The co-creation process benefits from using co-creation activities to drive the process forward as well as consolidate the results during the process. Dialog, access, risk, transparency, and openness have been valuable in this process. © 2021 The Authors

The purpose of this study is to explore the safety challenges managing shift work in the Swedish forest industry. There are several factors that can affect safety in working life. In general, previous research shows that managerial and leadership behaviours affect safety and well-being regardless of the type of industry. A leadership with a focus on safety affects the safety climate and the outcome in the form of accidents in an organisation. The interaction between managers and employees regarding safety issues also has a positive effect on safety. Leaders who are instead passive regarding safety issues have significant negative effects on safety, contribute to an increased number of accidents and reduce safety-related behaviour in the organisation. This means that employees with passive leaders themselves become less interested in engaging in safety activities. Shift work has also been shown to affect the health and safety of employees. For example, studies show that higher sickness absence is associated with three-shift rotation compared to two-shift rotation and that fatigue and insomnia may be an effect of shift work. Further, research also shows a link between fatigue and a higher frequency of accidents. In this paper, we use a co-creation approach to capture the safety challenges related to shift work. The overall methodological approach in this study is action-oriented research. The empirical data is collected with interviews and focus groups which altogether include 56 respondents with more than 700 years of joint work experiences from shift work in the forest industry. Preliminary results show the importance of creating a safety culture where both the management and the employees take active part and responsibility in solutions. The managers have the formal responsibility, including law and regulation related to safety aspects. The employees in turn have the responsibility for their own choices and behaviours not least related to food, sleep, and training. © 2022 WIT Press.

The importance of business model innovation (BMI) is widely recognized. BMI is especially important in the agri-food industry that faces enormous challenges as the demand for food increases worldwide. Much of the BMI research focuses on the technology and biomedical industries. Far less attention has been paid to the agri-food industry. This article is a systematic literature review of the BMI research in the agri-food industry. The article’s aim is to identify and categorize various barriers to BMI as described in the literature (in English) published in peer-reviewed journals between 1990 and 2014. The findings show a fairly even distribution among external and internal BMI barriers. Because the main barrier is the mind-set that is resistant to change, it is recommended the researchers and practitioners should focus more on the cognitive barriers to BMI in the agri-food industry.

Purpose: The paper compares two government-sponsored education programs for agricultural entrepreneurs: a Leadership program and a Lean program. Methodology: The paper takes both a qualitative and a quantitative approach in its collection and analysis of data from 54 semi- structured interviews and from a survey with 109 participants. Findings: The main challenges to business and personal development are time pressure and the need for better communications. The Leadership program participants emphasize the effect of internal barriers such asfixed mind-sets. The Lean program participants emphasize the effect of external barriers such asfinancing. Both groups emphasize personal and business growth more than the control group. Practical Implications: Entrepreneur education programs can help participants, program developers, and advisory organizations identify and manage business challenges and barriers. Theoretical Implications: The paper contributes to the literature about educations for entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector with its examination of agricultural entrepreneurs’reflections on barriers and challenges in business development and their linkage to overcoming barriers focused on a resource-based perspective with different types of resources. Originality/Value: The paper encourages examination of development challenges and barriers from the perspective of participators in entrepreneur education programs. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This conceptual paper focuses on the need for knowledge in leadership, organization and innovative thinking that exist in primary production throughout the value chain from the farm to the final consumer. There are also needs in terms of improving and developing the entire value chain from the farm to the final consumer. Self-leadership and lean innovation is in this paper proposed to enhance the possibilities for business model innovation in the food production. The aims of the paper are two folded; Firstly, the aim is to present a framework containing self-leadership and lean innovation and how these theoretical approaches can facilitate and shape business model innovation in the agricultural sector. Secondly, the aim is to show a way of working with this problem area in order to meet these needs in the agricultural sector. A framework for business model innovation is presented as well as an interactive research design addressing the problem area in terms of action research in which learning networks is an important concept. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research challenges. 

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is gaining prominence due to its massive advantage in fabricating components without any geometrical limitations. The most widely used AM technique is Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). FDM is an extrusion-based AM mostly focused on producing functional prototypes and in some cases as an end-product. One of the most common challenges associated with FDM is its reduced dimensional accuracy and surface quality. A fair amount of research has been carried out to identify the factors affecting print quality and measures to reduce surface roughness. On a few occasions, it is still necessary to achieve higher precision and quality to meet the standards set by conventional manufacturing. Hence, post-processing is employed as an additional step to reach the finish required. This paper focuses on enhancing the surface quality of FDM parts by subjecting it to Acetone vapour smoothening, Shot-blasting and Laser-assisted finishing post-processing methods. A comparative study is presented in this paper, where surface produced by different post-processing methods were compared to the reference injection moulding components. The results suggest that the acetone-based process has the best surface finish compared to the other two means; however, it leaves a very glossy appearance to the part. Shot blasting is very aggressive, and blasting time has a strong influence on the part quality. Laser-assisted finishing slightly ignites the top layer during melting leading to discolouration of the part. The optimum solution was found to be combining the post-processes, which not only reduced the roughness but also enhanced the aesthetic properties of the product. © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Refugee entrepreneurs can make a significant contribution to sustainable growth and development in host countries. However, comprehensive comparative studies of refugee entrepreneurial motivations are scarce, particularly in the absence of a theoretical framework on entrepreneurship motivation that is suitable for such contexts. This is a research topic that is increasingly of interest to scholars and policymakers working with refugee workforce integration, particularly in light of forecasted increases in global forced displacement over the next years. This paper tests and extends newly constructed entrepreneurship motivation measures, comparing person-related factors and the perceptions of environmental-related factors for Syrian refugee entrepreneurs in Sweden and Germany. The results indicate that their motivations differ between the two countries with respect to market conditions, the educational environment, dissatisfaction, and know-how. However, refugee entrepreneurs in both countries have similar levels of entrepreneurial ambition and attitude and are motivated by similar perceptions of social environments and cultural norms. This paper identifies how entrepreneurship motivation differences could be considered by governments to better shape and inform host countries' programs and policies to improve refugee entrepreneurship and subsequent integration. Syrian refugees in Germany and Sweden differ in their motivation to pursue entrepreneurship, as evidenced by our comparative study, emphasizing the role of country context in shaping refugees' perception of environmental factors that influence their entrepreneurial motivation. We find that Germany-based refugee entrepreneurs are more motivated by market structures and educational offerings, have more know-how, and were less prone to negative motivation resulting from experiencing dissatisfaction (e.g. due to discrimination or lack of opportunities) compared with Sweden-based refugee entrepreneurs. The results emphasize the importance of policy reforms and initiatives that provide financial, administrative, and legal assistance to refugee entrepreneurs as they start and establish their businesses, as well as specialized entrepreneurship training and education programs. We call for future research on inter-country evaluations of institutional differences and migrant integration programs as well as trans-border exchange of lessons learned and success stories, particularly in-light of prognosed increases in global forced displacement over the next years. © The Author(s) 2023