How two global companies co-create innovations

Abstract

Title. How two global companies co-create innovations. Authors. Frida Nilsson (1989.07.23) and Mathilda Lund (1989.03.03). Supervisor. Johan Brink, School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg. Purpose. The purpose of this study is to investigate how Company X and Company Y are cocreating innovations at Innovation Center X. We want to enable Company X to realize and take advantage of the opportunities that evolve through their co-creation with Company Y. Methodology. To answer our research question a qualitative research strategy was chosen. Since we wanted to describe the co-creation and the innovation process from the view provided by the staff at Innovation Center X we conducted a single case study. The data collection for our single case study was based on primary data from semi-structured interviews with the employees at Innovation Center X, and secondary data through a literature study. Furthermore, the present study involves an abductive way of doing research since we test our empirical foundation, primarily from interviews, towards existing theories. Conclusion. In this study, we have identified that Innovation Center X facilitates co-creation between Company X and its customer Company Y and it allows for the two companies to benefit from brief interactions and knowledge- and information sharing, which can lead to cocreation. At Innovation Center X there is a goal of doing one project together (which is our definition of co-creation). This is the only incentive we have found when it comes to doing a project together (with people hired by respective company). Only occasionally do the project teams consist of representatives from both companies, since there is an imbalance of people in terms of which company they are hired by. Furthermore, project team set-up is a matter of combining the right skills, interests, knowledge and passion, rather than combining teams based on diversity. Innovation Center X is set up in a way that provides Company X with a ‘seat at the table’, therefore, co-creating activities are not prioritized, and no BU from Company X is involved in the projects at Innovation Center X.