The small-scale quick-thinking entrepreneurs attract a lot of attention. We want to study the well-established actors who in many ways are facing more work.
Professor Inger G. Stensaker
How to manage radical technology-driven changes
NHH researchers have been granted around NOK 25 million for the research project ‘How should we manage radical technology-driven changes in established businesses?’
‘The competition was tough, especially in our fields of strategy and management,’ says Professor Inger G. Stensaker. She is head of the new research project which is being conducted under the FOCUS programme (Future-Oriented Corporate Solutions) at SNF.
Opportunities and challenges
The FOCUS group at NHH was one of six Norwegian research communities to recently be awarded funding from the Research Council of Norway.
For the four next years, they will study how big established businesses approach the opportunities and challenges represented by new technology.
‘The small-scale quick-thinking entrepreneurs attract a lot of attention. We want to study the well-established actors who in many ways are facing more work, because they have to restructure an organisation that has existed for a long time. The process is often compared to that of turning a big tanker around – and what’s the best way of doing that?’ asks Stensaker.
Relevant to business and industry
One of the criteria for receiving funding from the Research Council is that the project must be relevant to business and industry. Traditionally, funding has primarily been awarded for technology research projects, and this round was no exception. Four of the six projects that were awarded funding through the Research Council’s User-driven Research based Innovation (BIA) programme were technology projects.
‘The competition is fierce, and it’s especially difficult to win funding in our fields. Unlike many of the others, we’re not technology experts. Instead, we want to look at businesses’ views on technology. You could say that we're studying the business aspect of new technology.
Partners
Projects that are awarded funding are also required to receive financial support from the business community. Stensaker and the other four FOCUS researchers have joined forces with four industry partners. The researchers wanted their partners to represent different industries that are facing different restructuring challenges in connection with new technology.
Finally, they chose the consultancy, telecommunications, medical, and banking/financing industry, represented by Deloitte, Telenor, Lærdal Medical and DNB, respectively. Together, these companies have awarded NOK 5 million to the project.
‘Not consultants for business and industry’
Stensaker emphasises how important the link to business and industry is for the project’s success.
‘Businesses must be excited about the project in order for it to be considered within the framework of the Research Council’s BiA programme. The Research Council will quadruplicate the contributions from the industry partners, meaning that it will award almost NOK 20 million to the project.’
The industry partners not only contribute financially, but are also important to the research.
‘We work closely with our industry partners, especially on wording the research questions, but also when collecting and analysing data. The partners are also important to ensure that research-based knowledge is shared and disseminated.’
However, Stensaker emphasises that the FOCUS group's role is primarily research.
Businesses must be excited about the project in order for it to be considered within the framework of the Research Council’s BiA programme.
Professor Inger G. Stensaker
‘The intention is not for us to act as their consultants. We don’t sell answers to what changes are required or solutions to how they should implement these changes. We contribute by systematising knowledge and understanding.’
Want to find answers
‘The Government is heavily invested in research and innovation in business and industry, because it creates jobs and values to society, and because it’s important for restructuring Norway,’ said Minister of Trade and Industry Torbjørn Røe Isaksen in a press release.
With this project, the FOCUS group wants to research solutions that can help this restructuring process.
‘There’s a feeling in business and industry these days of uncertainty and of things progressing at enormous speeds. But change is by definition uncertain, and there is already quite a bit of research-based knowledge on how we can manage radical change and the uncertainty it brings.’
Deeply concerned about Norwegian laggard mentality
This year’s Lehmkuhl lecturer is investor and entrepreneur Frode Eilertsen. He fears that Norway will become a digital laggard: ‘I am concerned about how Norway is developing.’
One step ahead
The researchers will bring this perspective with them in their work on the project, but they will of course also study what is actually different now.
‘We believe we can make many new findings in ecosystem thinking, where a business has several large and small partners, often across industry boundaries. We see that businesses are trying to ensure innovation, but little research has been conducted on restructuring through such ecosystems.’
Stensaker is planning to start up the new project already in May 2019, and says that there are certain advantages to being a Norwegian research group.
‘Norway is leading the field in technology use. We see that businesses and end users start using new technology quickly, which also means that we can be one step ahead with our research. We also find that this type of project gives us an opportunity for unique collaboration with businesses that gives us access to data and knowledge that researchers in other countries can only dream of.’