Blekinge Institute of Technology
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Exploring the key factors in enhancing product development collaboration in an alliance within motorcycle industry : A Case Study of an International Joint Venture of KTM AG with Bajaj Auto Limited
No full textBackground: As technological advancements accelerate, automotive OEMs are expanding into developing markets to stay competitive and achieve sustainability. Strategic alliances offer a promising avenue, but their success hinges on key enablers that enhance collaboration, indirectly facilitating faster and more efficient product development, especially in emerging markets. Problem statement: International alliances in general often face long-term challenges in collaborative product development due to an unstructured understanding of key enablers and their interdependencies. Understanding of the interdependencies helps to identify factors that are closely correlated and their impact on overall collaborative outcome which sometimes if not considered may lead to project delays, suboptimal outcomes, and, in some cases, alliance failures. Previous research, including studies by (Khanna, 2018; Santos, Barriga, Jugend, & Cauchick-Miguel, 2019; Dubey, 2022; Rajan, Dhir, & Sushil, 2021) have delved into the dynamics of joint ventures; however, no one has specifically investigated product development collaboration through a qualitative lens within the IJV in the motorcycle industry in emerging markets. Current study addresses this existing gap by pinpointing essential factors and developing a hierarchical model to answer the following research questions • RQ1 - What are the key factors that play an important role during product development collaboration in an international joint venture based in India? • RQ2 - In what way do the key factors show their interdependencies, are they directly related or indirectly? • RQ3 - How can the interrelated factors be prioritized and structured into a hierarchical model? Purpose: Referring to the recent literature on automotive IJVs in emerging markets, very limited attention is given in identifying key soft factors such as knowledge sharing, communication, cultural alignment, leadership or similar and their interdependencies. In the past literature work, authors though have tried to obtain interdependence but were not able to obtain a hierarchical model and nominate factors as driving or driven or dependent. This study aims to address that gap by examining one of the most successful IJVs using a case study approach. The research identifies key collaborative factors that show their importance in building a successful and sustainable strategic partnership in the domain of joint research and product development in an emerging market. Methodology/Approach: Utilizing Modified Total Interpretive Structural Modelling (m-TISM), our current study unravels the connections among various factors, their interactions, and their impact on the success of the product development collaboration. Additionally, MICMAC analysis is applied to categorize factors based on their influence and dependency. The preliminary set of critical factors were drawn from existing research papers and subsequently refined with expert input from the research and development team within the KTM-Bajaj IJV. Following this expert short listing, the key factors were firmly established which were served as an input m-TISM and MICMAC analysis. Findings – In our results, “Sharing Knowledge and Information”, “Technological Expertise”, “FirmR&D Team”, “Effective Communication and Regular Feedback” and “Leadership” are found to be the foundational factors for successful collaborative product development in an IJV. Most interesting finding was that the “cultural sensitivity” is found to the most dependent factor and the most essential factor to achieve product development success in these models. Cultural sensitivity is achieved when communication and knowledge sharing are in place. It reflects the maturity of collaboration in an IJV environment in the automobile industry. In other words, cultural sensitivity isn't the foundation of successful collaboration, it's the outcome.
Generative AI and Strategic Decision-Making : The Role of Generative AI in Strategic Decision-Making and its Perceived Operational and Financial Organizational Outcomes
No full textGenerative AI (GenAI) tools are spreading into managerial work, including strategic decision-making. Yet most research remains conceptual, with no (to the best of our knowledge) empirical studies that link concrete use of GenAI by managers, its organizational effects and adoption challenges at the company level. Hence, we defined our research question as “How can managers leverage GenAI in decision-making, and what organizational outcomes (operational and financial) emerge from its use?” First, a systematic literature review was conducted to define the key usages of GenAI in strategic tasks, the affected operational and financial outcomes by the use of GenAI, and potential adoption obstacles. Next, a questionnaire was distributed to management professionals using purposive sampling. It aimed to ask how they use GenAI in decision processes, what impact they see on selected operational and financial outcomes, and what challenges they face. The responses were analyzed using Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM), applying two acceptance tests - consensus and significance - to only keep relationships that experts both agreed on and considered important. The accepted relationships alongside their strength values were then used to build a Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) showing how GenAI use cases connect to organizational outcomes. Our investigations showed that on average respondents considered a moderate positive impact on the operational and financial outcomes when using GenAI in certain use cases. This means that GenAI can raise the quality and speed of strategic decisions by improving how managers find, make sense of, and compare options
Ownership Patterns and Their Impact on Stock Price Performance
No full text This study investigates how changes in ownership patterns and firm-level financial indicators influence stock prices among companies listed on the OMX Stockholm 30 Index, covering the period from 2016 to 2024. Using panel data regression models on 38 firms, including both current and former index constituents, we examine the relationship between share price movements and changes in ownership held by domestic, foreign, institutional, and strategic investors. The analysis is based on high quality quarterly data from Refinitiv Eikon. Applying a fixed effects regression model (Baltagi, 2021; Wooldridge, 2010), we control for unobserved firm-specific characteristics and address statistical issues such as heteroskedasticity using robust standard errors. Key findings indicate that domestic ownership, turnover, and the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio exhibit a statistically significant positive relationship with share price. In contrast, foreign, institutional, and strategic entity ownership do not show a significant impact on stock price behaviour. These results suggest that investor confidence from domestic shareholders and strong financial fundamentals play a more consistent role in shaping stock price performance than broader ownership diversity (Kumar, 2004; Phan Trong & Vu, 2021). By extending existing literature on ownership effects and firm valuation, particularly in a Nordic context, this study offers practical insights for investors evaluating risk, corporate leaders optimizing shareholder composition, and policymakers aiming to enhance market stability.
A survey on Digital Twins for Multi-User Synchronization in Human-centered IRs
No full textMulti-user extended reality (XR) is an advanced technology that immerses users simultaneously into the meta-verse, aiming to provide a real-time interaction experience in different scenarios. However, different users' network conditions cause data transmission to be asynchronous. It forces users' behavior in the metaverse to go out of sync, seriously impacting the user experience. This paper presents a framework for human-centred synchronization of networks and metaverse applications, often denoted as Intelligent Realities, using Digital Twin (DT) technologies for the networks (network DTs) as well as for the individual users' XR parts (XR DTs). Our framework uses users' attention as a key input to dynamically allocate network resources and align content, thereby keeping widely distributed users in sync. To motivate this framework, we surveyed recent DT-based XR and network systems and found a significant gap: few studies work on synchronizing systems between network DTs and XR DTs. This highlights the need to explore integrated solutions for networked real-time multi-user interaction in the metaverse.
A Comparative Study on NIST Lightweight Cryptography Challenge Finalists : Benchmarking Throughput, Memory, and Power Consumption
No full textBackground. Internet of Things (IoT) devices are more prevalent than ever, handling all sorts of sensitive data. This gives rise to the need for encryption algorithms designed to operate in such resource-constrained environments, where processing power, memory, and energy are minimal. This need led the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to begin the process of standardizing a new encryption algorithm intended for such devices. After several rounds, 10 algorithms remained as the finalists. Objectives. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate and analyze the performance of these finalist algorithms based on three metrics: throughput, memory utilization, and power consumption. Methods. To achieve this objective, three experiments were conducted. Wherein the encryption and decryption speed, stack and heap utilization, and power consumption were measured when the algorithms were executed on an Arduino UNO R4 WiFi, an Arduino NANO ESP32, and an Arduino GIGA R1 WiFi. Results. In the throughput experiment, the SPARKLE algorithm outperformed the rest of the algorithms. TinyJambu was the algorithm that achieved the overall lowest memory footprint. And in terms of power consumption, Xoodyak was the algorithm that consumed the least power. Conclusions. The results of the throughput and memory experiments were clear and directly addressed the objectives of this study regarding these aforementioned metrics. The results of the power consumption experiment were inconclusive, with minimal differences between the algorithms with low power consumption. The Power Profiler Kit II, used to measure power consumption, has a ± 20\% accuracy, which further limits the ability to draw accurate conclusions. However, this thesis was able to identify the Elephant algorithm as the one with the highest power consumption
Development of an Android-Based Financial Management Information System for Boarding Houses Using the Rapid Application Development (RAD) Method
No full textThe rapid advancement of technology has significantly transformed daily human life, particularly through the widespread use of smartphones to simplify various tasks. In response to this technological shift, Kost XYZ, a women’s boarding house located in Central Jakarta, aims to enhance its operational efficiency. The boarding house faces challenges such as varying room facilities, inconsistent rental rates, non-permanent tenants, and manual record-keeping, all of which frequently result in delayed payments. To address these issues, this study proposes the development of an Android-based financial management information system using the Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology. The system was built using Kotlin programming language via Android Studio and integrated with Firebase for data storage. Its design provides separate interfaces for owners and tenants: the owner system focuses on boarding house operations, while the tenant system facilitates payment management. Usability testing was conducted using five metrics—learnability, efficiency, memorability, error rate, and satisfaction—with direct user involvement
När tilliten och informationen i vården brister : Orsaker till att patienter väljer att avstå vaccination i primärvården
No full textBakgrund: Grundprincipen för hur vaccin fungerar är genom aktivering av kroppens immunförsvar utan att orsaka sjukdom. Genom att tillföra försvagade, inaktiva eller delar av antigener, virus eller bakterier, aktiveras immunsvaret. Trots vaccinets avgörande roll i att minska förekomst av allvarliga samhällssjukdomar, fortsätter vaccinskepsis att vara ett globalt folkhälsoproblem. I Sverige är vaccinationsprogram frivilligt, vilket gör att sjuksköterskor har ett ansvar i att förstå de bakomliggande orsakerna till vaccinskepsis. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva patienters orsaker till att avstå vaccination inom primärvården. Metod: Studien är en allmän litteraturöversikt med en induktiv ansats. Allmän litteraturöversikt är en lämplig design att använda då målet är att samla in och sammanställa befintlig kunskap inom ett ämne för att få större förståelse och skapa en helhetsbild. I studien inkluderades både kvalitativa, kvantitativa och mixad metod vetenskapliga artiklar för att ge en mer heltäckande bild av forskningsområdet. Kombinationen av dessa ansågs därför ge en mer nyanserad helhetsbild av orsaker till att patienter väljer att avstå vaccin. Resultat: Patienters vaccinationsskepsis påverkas av flera faktorer. Tidigare negativa vårderdarenheter och sjukdomsupplevelsens påverkan. Patienter uppgav att tidigare negativa vårdmöten påverkade tillit för vården. Patienter som sällan drabbades av sjukdom upplevde att behovet av vaccin inte fanns. Informationsbrist och misstro till vaccin var även en orsak till skepsis då patienter upplevde att det fanns för lite information kring ämnet och att vaccin i vissa fall framställdes för fort. Rädsla för injektionen och dess biverkningar var även vanligt förekommande, patienter upplevde oro för biverkningar samt nålrädsla. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskan har en central roll i att bemöta dessa hinder genom att arbeta förtroendeskapande, kommunicera tydligt och individuellt anpassat samt tillhandahålla evidensbaserad information som kan korrigera missuppfattningar. Genom att adressera de tre identifierade områdena skapas bättre förutsättningar för att stödja patienters beslutsfattande i frågor som rör vaccination.
Coordination Effectiveness in DASD : The Role of Task, Knowledge and Resource Dependencies
No full textBackground: Distributed Agile Software Development (DASD) blends agile methods with global cooperation, although it presents significant coordination issues. These issues are frequently caused by interdependence between activities, expertise, and resources, which are more difficult to manage when teams are scattered. Objectives: This thesis seeks to (1) identify the primary coordination concerns in DASD, (2) examine how task, knowledge, and resource dependencies influence collaboration, and (3) explore ways for overcoming these challenges. Methods: The study included six semi-structured interviews and a supporting survey with fifteen responses, twelve of which were directly related to DASD. The data was analysed thematically, guided by Coordination Theory and Strode’s dependency taxonomy. Results: RQ1 - Practitioners see communication gaps, unclear goals, and tool fragmentation as key coordination challenges. RQ2 - task, knowledge, and resource dependencies cause delays and frequently combine to create circular dependence loops; priority conflicts magnify damage. RQ3 - Effective methods include explicit dependency mapping (JIRA/Confluence), backlog cleanliness, and organised asynchronous documentation, although gaps in cross-team prioritisation persist. Conclusions. The work adds to academic knowledge by extending current theories with additional dependence types and demonstrating how dependencies interact in practice. Practitioners will find concrete solutions for increasing asynchronous knowledge exchange, customising rituals for dispersed settings, and monitoring dependencies. Overall, the findings suggest that good dependency management is critical to increasing coordination in DASD
Testing Challenges in the Automotive Domain Level Integration
No full textBackground: Delivering a quality vehicle into the market with time constraints has always been a challenge to OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) companies. One of these challenges is the need to perform different levels of software testing for the vehicle in both functional and performance attributes. Certain testing processes already exist for OEMs to test before releasing the product in the market. Traditionally OEMs have focused on manual testing in configured tested environments and in the vehicle, which leads to identifying more issues during the release of the vehicle. Few drawbacks in the existing process are awareness about performing a full testing cycle, time consumption and costincurred in fixing any issue to production software, and knowledge in identifying the best solution fortesting. Not limited to these, but also regarding coverage of tests becoming challenging in some test environments. A detailed reference of these challenges is from the research papers referred to in references. Objectives: This thesis discusses the challenges identified in skipping the domain test levels in thesoftware testing process. Based on the identified gaps from an OEM company and also referring to different literature works, we have performed analysis on including scalable testing in the integration phase. Research questions have been formulated for analysis work. The analysis performed helps in identifying the challenges and improvements in the current testing process and the benefits of performing Domain level testing of the software. This increases the efficiency for functional verification at early stages before they are being completely integrated into the next phase. Methods: Case study method has been used for performing analysis. Interviews have been carried out at an OEM company with different responsibilities of the team, varying between different automotive domains across the organization. Results: The Documented results show varied challenges and needs improvement in Domain HIL (Hardware in Loop) testing from the teams which have been interviewed. The views from teams and individuals shows a high level improvisation factor when it comes to domain level testing and the process associated with it. Conclusion: The conclusion and future work have been documented along with this thesis for future references and analysis. The thesis also discusses suggested improvements and practices that could be included in the existing testing. The data from the learning can be adopted by the OEM to create anopportunity to further investigate different domains
On Low-Complexity DFT-Spread Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
No full textThis paper presents a novel low-complexity discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) scheme designed to reduce computational overhead while maintaining robust performance in wireless communication systems. The core idea is to modify the signal processing chain by merging the computations of multiple functional blocks, resulting in a significant reduction in the complexity of conventional DFT-s-OFDM implementations. A comparative analysis is conducted to evaluate the proposed scheme against traditional DFT-s-OFDM, using key metrics such as error vector magnitude (EVM) and computational complexity. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme achieves performance comparable to conventional DFT-s-OFDM in terms of EVM under various system configurations, while significantly reducing computational complexity. This makes the proposed scheme a promising candidate for next-generation wireless communication systems, particularly in uplink scenarios involving battery-powered devices.