Hans Andersson
Assistant Professor
[email protected]
Lars Bengtsson
Professor at the
­Department of ­Industrial
Engineering and
­Management, University
of Gävle
[email protected]
Anna Bergek
Associate Professor
[email protected]
Christian Berggren
Professor
[email protected]
Karin Bredin
Assistant Professor
[email protected]
Mandar Dabhilkar
Research Fellow
[email protected]
The KITE Research Program
— Knowledge Integration and
­Innovation in Transnational Enterprise
Cecilia Enberg
Assistant Professor
[email protected]
Nicolette Lakemond
Assistant Professor
nicolette.lakemond@
liu.se
Lars Lindkvist
Professor
[email protected]
Thomas Magnusson
Assistant Professor
thomas.magnusson@
liu.se
Jonas Söderlund
Associate Professor
[email protected]
The KITE Team Members
For more information on the KITE research program, please contact one of
the ­program ­directors below.
Christian Berggren
Professor
+46-(0)13-28 15 00
[email protected]
Telephone
Fredrik Tell
Associate Professor
Telephone +46-(0)13-28 25 99
[email protected]
Fredrik Tell
Associate Professor
[email protected]
KITE is a research group studying the challenges of disintegrating
trends and integrating necessities emanating from three major
trends: 1) ­internationalization of R&D, ­manufacturing and markets;
2) ­transformations in national and global markets, such as e.g.,
­deregulation and privatization; and 3) changes in the character of
­developments in science and ­technology, in ­particular in terms of
­increasing speed and ­specialization. ­
Mainly based at Linköping University, Sweden, the kite group aims at being an inter­
nationally recognized center developing a both theoretically valid and socially relevant under­
standing of different types of ­knowledge integration, from international development projects to
technology alliances. Research is carried out in three research themes:
1.Project organization and knowledge integration
2.Outsourcing and knowledge integration
3.Innovation and integration of external knowledge
Research is conducted on the basis of a long-term research program financed by the Bank of Swe­
den Tercentenary Foundation from 2007 to 2014, supported by additional funding from other
research agencies and by specialized management education programs. All members of the kite
research program are senior researchers.
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KITE Research Themes
The KITE ­Network
The research is conducted in three different themes.
Theme I: Project Organization and
Theme II: Outsourcing and Knowledge
Theme III: Innovation and Integration of
Industry Partners:
Academic Partners
Advisory Board
­Knowledge Integration
­Integration
External Knowledge
See illustration below.
theme leader: Lars Lindkvist
theme leader: Lars Bengtsson
theme leader: Anna Bergek
Project organization is extensively used as a
­means of carrying out new product develop­
ment as well as timely delivery of ­customized
products. How to achieve knowledge
­integration and innovation are key challenges
in such ­contexts. Moreover, in exploring these
­challenges we need to differentiate between
organizational levels. First, on the level of the
individual project, a basic question concerns
how people with different but ­complementary
knowledge bases may yet bring about
­successful/innovative concerted action. How
to bring about knowledge integration across
projects, functions and organizational levels in
the firm is a second major question. Third, we
have the dynamic issue of how firms adapt to
changing market and technology conditions by
transforming their project organization.
The focus of the theme is on the balance and
tension between outsourcing imperatives
and the need of co-location and knowledge
­integration in technology based firms. Key
­research questions concern the interrelations
between critical competences in advanced
product development and manufacturing
processes. What competencies could be out­
sourced and otherwise disintegrated, and
what ­functions and capabilities need to be ­co­located and closely interacting in order to foster
innovation and industrialisation capabilities?
Which factors determine the strategies and the
dynamics of integration and disintegration over
time? Further, what mechanisms may be used
for integrating the competencies? How can
the interfaces between technology and product
development and manufacturing be effectively
and smoothly managed?
• Professor Michael Hobday,
University of Brighton, uk
• Professor Lars Hultman,
Linköping ­University, Sweden
• Professor Kristian Kreiner,
Copenhagen B­usiness School, Denmark
• Professor Jacky Swan,
Warwick Business School, uk
• Professor Andrew Van de Ven,
University of Minnesota, usa
projects:
• Project-based organization and beyond
• Communication and knowledge creation in
projects
• Project epochs: Knowledge dynamics in
P-form organizations
• Innovators in large organizations
• HRM challenges in project-based firms
• Management of complex product platform
projects
In the globalizing knowledge economy, an
increasing number of ­technology-based firms
have to consider their ­ability to ­acquire, process
and integrate a ­rapidly ­increasing amount of
knowledge and ­information into their existing
­knowledge bases. Theme 3 includes studies of
the ­implications for innovative performance of
various external knowledge sourcing strategies
in fields such as combined-cycle gas turbines,
hybrid cars, wind turbines and steam turbines.
Some of the questions addressed are: What are
the prerequisites for successful combination of
internal and external knowledge development
in rapidly changing industries? What are the
capabilities necessary for managing diverse
knowledge bases and orchestrating knowledge
creation in international partnerships? How
can a firm’s absorptive capacity, i.e. its ability to
­identify, assimilate and exploit knowledge from
the environment, be measured empirically?
Among our industry partners are; abb,
­AlfaLaval, AstraZeneca, bt, Ericsson, fmv,
Micronic, saab, Sandvik, sca, Scania, sectra,
­Siemens, ­ssab, TeliaSonera, TetraPak & Volvo
projects:
• Global manufacturing and outsourcing:
Integrating key competencies.
• Manufacturing knowledge in innovation
processes
• Managing interfaces in industrial
­innovation processes
• International purchasing survey
• Continuous innovation network survey
projects:
• Innovation in sustainable vehicles
— ­managing the new technology based
­competition in the automotive industry
• Knowledge integration in collaborative r&d
projects
• Managing external knowledge acquisition:
Sources and strategies
• Mature companies in new growth markets:
What is the importance of technological
­capabilities and absorptive capacity?
Centre for Research on Innovation
and Internationalization
Bocconi University, Italy
System Design and
Management Program
mit, usa
Innovation, Knowledge and
Organizational Networks
Warwick University, uk
Complex Products and
Systems Innovation Centre
University of Sussex, uk
Institute for Management
Free University Berlin, Germany
Management of Innovation
and Technology
University of Zurich, Switzerland
Innovation Studies Centre
Imperial College, uk
Organization and Industrial Sociology
Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
Centre for Innovation and
Change Leadership
Suffolk University, usa