Sustainability transitions are a significant challenge that requires established industries to adopt innovative ways of doing business. Research suggests that while this is possible through business model innovation (BMI), risk avoidance by regime actors and high levels of future uncertainty act as barriers to successful transitions. Specifically, we lack knowledge about how established companies innovate their business model (BM) to reduce uncertainty related to sustainability transitions. We explore the case of a large forest-based manufacturing company in the construction industry, Stora Enso. We find that, by pursuing transformative BMI and combining multiple value creation logics, a company can reduce different types of uncertainty while shaping its business ecosystem towards more sustainable opportunities. We show that the BM can serve as an organizational tool for collectively exploring new knowledge, reducing uncertainty and driving change in a business ecosystem.

This case study is based on a research project that analyzed how expert evaluators combine different modes of thinking when screening ideas for innovation. The findings of this research project are detailed in the journal article, “How experts screen ideas: the complex interplay of intuition, analysis and sensemaking” by Sukhov et al. What makes the research project interesting is that it combined three concepts that have been used to study idea screening (intuition, analysis, and sensemaking) and analyzed what these concepts look like in practice and how they are combined to find high-quality ideas. This case study focuses on the methodological choices that enabled implementing this research project. At the heart of the research project was a mixed-methods research design that combined grounded theory coding with fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (also referred to as fsQCA) to elaborate different idea screening activities and show how they are used to make decisions on idea quality. Reading this case study helps to understand how to combine these analytical techniques and develop research designs that elaborate different dimensions of data and show how these different dimensions are used together. These ideas can be applied in three primary ways. First, this research design provides a systematic way to analyze datasets that consist of rich qualitative data and multiple cases. Second, it enables studying how alternative (or even competing) theories work together to explain empirical phenomena. Third, this study outlines one way to use fsQCA on qualitative data.

Idea evaluation is used to identify and select ideas for development as future innovations. However, approaching idea evaluation as a decision gate can limit the role of the person evaluating ideas, create fixation bias, and underutilise the person’s creative potential. Although studies show that during evaluation experts are able to engage in design activities, it is still not clear how they design and develop ideas. The aim of this study was to understand how experts develop ideas during evaluation. Using the think-aloud technique, we identify different ways in which experts develop ideas. Specifically, we show how experts transform initial idea concepts using iterative steps of elaboration and transformation of different idea components. Then, relying on concept-knowledge theory (C-K theory), we identify six types of reasoning that the experts use during idea evaluation. This helps us to distinguish between three different roles that experts can move between during evaluation: gatekeeper, designer managing fixation, and designer managing defixation. These findings suggest that there is value in viewing idea evaluation as a design process because it allows us to identify and leverage the experts’ knowledge and creativity to a fuller extent.

The role of idea screening is to identify promising ideas and select the most qualified ones to proceed into the NPD process. Equally important is understanding which ideas should be avoided to prevent potential failures and avoid unnecessary expenditure of resources. During intuitive decision-making, experts may favor the familiar over the new and may factor personal affection into the decision. Thus, in the context of screening ideas for innovative products, relying entirely on intuition may be risky since the task might require decision-makers to identify radical innovations and look outside of their own comfort zone. Sensemaking is a process that enables people to develop plausible meanings and take actions based on that meaning making. In idea screening, sensemaking can occur when a person struggles to understand an idea or how to proceed with screening. Instead, generative screening can be used by organizations when the intent is to explore new opportunities, use raw ideas as triggers for inspiration. 

This study demonstrates the value of integrating different analytical perspectives to identify significant factors and characterize their importance. Specifically, we combine three analytical methods – partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), necessary condition analysis (NCA), and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) – to create an expanded analytical process that enables informed decision-making. PLS-SEM identifies significant correlations between the predictor and outcome variables, NCA identifies critical bottlenecks required for a specific outcome, and fsQCA identifies configurations of conditions sufficient for producing a specific outcome. By applying this expanded analytical process to subjectively reported data on service quality and perceived accessibility, collected from five Nordic cities, we gain new insights into attracting an aging population to public transport. This study contributes to a better understanding of the nuances in the data, which is valuable for both research and practice.

Purpose Green innovation can promote both environmental sustainability and economic growth. However, its development and implementation can be complex due to the need to align innovation activities within and across companies. In this study, the authors examined how this complexity can be managed by analyzing how individual companies combine different innovation activities to develop green innovation, and how companies along the value chain align to implement these innovations. Design/methodology/approach The dataset comprises both interviews and a survey of senior executives from the Swedish wood construction industry. These data were first analyzed by using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify innovation activity configurations at the level of the individual company. The interviews were then analyzed to identify alignment mechanisms enabling the implementation of green innovation along the value chain. Findings At the company level, the authors found three innovation activity configurations with varying levels of complexity: (1) systemic innovation by proactive companies, (2) process innovation by reactive companies and (3) inaction by technology-independent companies. On the value chain level, the authors found three alignment mechanisms that facilitate the implementation of green innovation along the value chain. These mechanisms promote cooperation by increasing efficiency, opening up new market opportunities and increasing the level of servitization. Originality/value This paper analyzes the complexity of green innovation and provides novel insights into how complexity is managed at the level of both the individual company and the value chain.

In order to effectively manage transportation systems, and improve the attractiveness of public transport, public authorities, policymakers and researchers need a better understanding of the conditions necessary for improving attractiveness and those that can be considered sufficient. The purpose of this study is to expand the analytical toolbox of transportation research and introduce an analytical approach to identifying and distinguishing between the conditions that are necessary and sufficient for a desired outcome. Specifically, we suggest a complementary approach to combining partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) in order to examine which service quality attributes (functionality, information, security/safety, comfort, and cost) are sufficient, and what degree of satisfaction with these attributes is necessary for high overall travel satisfaction. The data consists of subjectively reported experiences from over 900 users of public transportation in four northern European countries. We find that, for high overall travel satisfaction, a minimum level of satisfaction with comfort (equal to 33.1%) is necessary. Furthermore, an increase in satisfaction with comfort, functionality/ reliability and cost is sufficient to improve overall travel satisfaction. This means that comfort is both a necessary and a sufficient condition, whereas functionality/reliability and cost are sufficient but non-necessary conditions in this context. We conclude that using this complementary approach can guide public transport managers and researchers in identifying important bottlenecks and establishing priorities for improving service quality, essential knowledge when developing effective strategies for attractive public transport services.

Previous findings have established that satisfaction with public transport service quality attributes (reliability/functionality, information, courtesy/simplicity, comfort, safety) relate to overall travel satisfaction. Recent studies propose that the importance of these attributes for travel satisfaction varies in different contexts and call for new approaches for enhancing the understanding of these relationships. We address this call by using a configurational perspective and applying fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), to explore how satisfaction with service quality attributes relate to high travel satisfaction. By analyzing user survey data before and after an intervention in public transport services in a Swedish city, we: 1) find that high travel satisfaction occurs in the interaction between service quality attributes; 2) identify different configurations of satisfaction with service quality attributes leading to high travel satisfaction; and 3) show how context alters overall travel satisfaction. We conclude that using a configurational approach is useful for understanding the complexity of travel satisfaction.

Organizations use idea screening to select which ideas will be developed into innovation projects. Extant research has revealed that, during idea screening, expert evaluators use intuition to make rapid holistic decisions about idea quality, analyze ideas in detail to determine their value and employ sensemaking to understand and elaborate on ideas. However, much of this takes place in the minds of the evaluators, which limits our understanding of how experts identify good ideas. This study addresses the issue by mapping the activities that expert evaluators use to screen ideas and by examining how these activities are used to identify high quality ideas. To study this, 204 idea screening cases were collected, using the think aloud method on two samples of experts. The data were analyzed using grounded theory techniques to outline the range of idea screening activities that expert evaluators use and then complemented with fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to understand how these activities are combined together to make judgments of idea quality. The findings break down intuition, analysis, and sensemaking into seven key activities that experts use when screening ideas and detail their dimensions on the micro‐level. The fsQCA further shows that experts combine these activities into distinct patterns in order to find high quality ideas, where sensemaking plays a crucial role. This demonstrates that finding high quality ideas often requires effortful interpretation, while also generating opportunities to develop ideas further. These findings add depth to our understanding of how evaluators think when screening ideas, suggesting that expert evaluators can be used for both the screening and development of ideas during the idea screening stage. Integrating idea development into screening can potentially lead to the more effective use of resources, while saving time at the front‐end of innovation.

The following sections are included: Introduction Applying a Practice View to Service Innovation Public Management Logics for Service Innovation Presenting a Model for Public Management Logics for Innovation Discussion and Implications References