In recent years, my research has focused on organizational and strategic aspects of environmental issues.
Since 2015, I have participated in various roles and sub-projects at the Biogas Solutions Research Center (BSRC, formerly BRC) at Linköping University, leading to numerous projects and collaborations. Currently, I am involved in the project “New business models for digestate value extraction and nutrient circulation,” funded by the Kamprad Family Foundation, which aims to enhance the value of biofertilizer and nutrient recirculation. Other environment-focused projects have addressed topics such as the management of “fines”—waste produced in certain recycling processes—strategies for recyclable residual flows, and industrial symbiosis.
Organizing for individuality
Previously, I conducted a series of projects on innovative individuals within large, patent-intensive organizations and explored how companies can support and benefit from their inventors’ creativity. In all of the companies studied, a small number of individuals were significantly more productive in terms of patent applications than their colleagues. Our studies involved interviewing these inventors, along with their managers, inventive colleagues, and patent engineers, to understand how their creativity could be fostered and utilized.
My interest in individuals who are especially valuable to their organizations began with my doctoral thesis, “Organizing for Individuality – Transparent and Opaque Aspects in Development Processes” (2002). This work examined the organization and transformation of product development processes at Orrefors Kosta Boda, a company that has long combined tradition with innovation. Here, the individuality and uniqueness of specific people—especially designers—were crucial to the company’s success.
