https://www.mdu.se/

The transition towards sustainable electrification, particularly in the context of electric vehicles (EVs), necessitates a comprehensive understanding and effective management of battery circularity. With a plethora of EV models and battery variants, navigating the complexities of circularity becomes increasingly challenging. Furthermore, efficient fleet management emphasizes the necessity for robust data collection and analysis across diverse EVs to optimize battery value throughout its lifecycle. Advanced digital technologies play a crucial role in bridging informational gaps and enabling real-time connectivity, intelligence, and analytical capabilities for batteries. However, despite the potential benefits, the integration of circularity and digital technologies in the battery sector remains largely unexplored. Both circularity and digital technologies in the battery domain are still emerging, lacking conceptualization on their integration. To tackle these challenges, this paper advocates for the concept of smart battery circularity, which amalgamates advanced digital technologies with circular economy principles. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the conceptualization of smart battery circularity and elucidate the key knowledge areas necessary to facilitate it. The study identifies three critical knowledge areas essential for enabling smart battery circularity: digitally enabled circular business models, digital twin platforms for circular battery services, and smart battery performance monitoring. The sub-areas within each key knowledge area are also outlined. By delineating these knowledge areas, the study proposes an integrative framework, showcasing how these areas contribute to smart battery circularity both individually and collectively. The study offers insights to accelerate the development of initiatives aimed at establishing a sustainable and circular battery ecosystem, thereby advancing global efforts towards climate-neutral electrification. 

The electrification of vehicles has become a critical means to achieve climate-neutral transportation. As more electric vehicles (EV) are adopted, an increasing number of lithiumion batteries will be utilized, inevitably experiencing capacity degradation over time. Retaining the value of these retired batteries through remanufacturing, reusing, and repurposing to create a second life holds significant environmental and economic benefits. However, many companies within the battery ecosystem struggle to capitalize on this opportunity due to a lack of business insight and suitable business models tailored to their operational contexts.

The ReCreate (Second Life Management of Electric Vehicle Batteries) research project was initiated to address these industrial needs through close collaboration with selected companies in the battery ecosystem. The project aims to define appropriate circular business models, methods, and processes to guide battery ecosystem actors in developing and implementing electric vehicle battery second life solutions, thereby advancing circularity around batteries and climate-neutral objectives. 

This handbook represents the culmination of three years of research within the ReCreate project. Its purpose is to present a simplified and practical overview of project outcomes across a series of key chapters. Comprising six chapters, the handbook will begin by discussing barriers and enablers, followed by circular business models and battery ecosystem management. It will then delve into design principles and performance monitoring guidelines, concluding with an integrated framework for second life and circular solutions for EV batteries. 

Each chapter briefly presents the main findings of the theme and concludes with discussion questions. The discussion questions include suggestions for relevant templates for workshops, and all templates are conveniently provided in the appendix for practical application. These templates serve as boundary objects, offering a starting point for internal and external cross-functional and cross-organizational dialogues within the electric vehicle battery ecosystem. They facilitate discussions and collaborations among various stakeholders, fostering alignment and synergy in developing circular business models for the second life of EV batteries.  

By facilitating reflection on current business strategies, needs, and pain points, the handbook aims to aid in the definition of future second life business strategies. We anticipate that this handbook will serve as a valuable resource for actors within the EV battery ecosystem, supporting their journey towards climate-neutral transportation. 

The electrification of vehicles has become a critical means to achieve climate-neutral transportation. As more electric vehicles (EV) are adopted, an increasing number of lithium-ion batteries will be utilized, inevitably experiencing capacity degradation over time. Retaining the value of these retired batteries through remanufacturing, reusing, and repurposing to create a second life holds significant environmental and economic benefits. However, many companies within the battery ecosystem struggle to capitalize on this opportunity due to a lack of business insight and suitable business models tailored to their operational contexts. The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated framework for designing and implementing second life for the EV batteries that could guide and navigate ecosystem actors towards circularity. This study employed an explorative qualitative inquiry approach, utilizing interviews and workshop methods, involving 15 companies in the EV battery ecosystem. Data collection involved 24 semi-structured interviews and 22 workshops. The framework includes four building blocks, including 1) barriers and enablers, 2) circular business models archetypes and design principles, 3) ecosystem management, and 4) battery performance monitoring. Further, the paper explains criteria influencing the selection of design and implementation of strategies for battery second life. This research contributes to the theory of circular business models and ecosystem management in general, with specific relevance to battery second life and circularity. 

Achieving battery circularity is crucial for meeting the targets of net-zero emission vehicles by 2030 and enabling climate-neutral transportation by 2050. To facilitate this transition, firms operating in the electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem must reassess their value creation, capture, and delivery methods. Although EV battery second life presents a promising solution for circularity, many vehicle manufacturers and stakeholders in the battery ecosystem struggle to adapt their organizations internally and externally due to a lack of insights into suitable circular business models. The purpose of this study is to identify viable archetypes of circular business models for EV battery second life and examine their implications on company collaborations within the EV battery ecosystem. Three main archetypes of circular business models are identified (i.e., extending, sharing, and looping business models) and further divided into eight sub-archetypes. These models are elucidated in terms of key business model dimensions, including value proposition, value co-creation, value delivery, and value capture. The paper provides visual representations of the necessary interactions and collaborations among companies in the EV battery ecosystem to effectively implement the proposed business model archetypes. This research contributes to the theory of circular business models in general, with specific relevance to EV battery circularity.

A tension between openness and formal appropriability (FA) emerges in start-ups as they require both in order to attract investors or innovation partners, yet their limited resources are a challenge in this pursuit. This paper sheds light on this tension through the study of the dynamics of openness and formal appropriability over time and the impact of combining openness and formal appropriability mechanisms (FAMs) on innovation performance. Using a longitudinal panel sample of Spanish start-ups during a period of ten years, it is found that start-ups change their openness and formal appropriability strategies over their development and that a combination of openness and formal appropriability enhances start-ups' innovation performance. This combinative strategy is more relevant for start-ups during the early years of start-up growth, and if they have a high R&D intensity. The study contributes to literature that analyses the trade-off between openness and appropriability, and bridges entrepreneurship and open innovation literatures, providing valuable implications for managers.

Open innovation (OI) has attracted great interest from both scholars and practitioners during the past decades. While the benefits of OI have been examined a lot, the potential challenges of OI have been less noted and studied. This book chapter addresses potential OI challenges in (1) value creation based on knowledge; (2) innovation appropriability and appropriation; and (3) innovation network orchestration. It introduces several “what-if” considerations and discusses some scenarios where open innovation could go wrong. The chapter reminds that open innovation has both the valuable bright side, and the challenging dark side. By recognizing and embracing the challenges, risks, and costs, innovators may be able to find a balance and turn the challenges into opportunities.

This paper aims to generate new insights to the complex issue of developing dynamic capabilities ( DC) for digital transformation (DT )in healthcare, and addressing the RQ: How are the microfoundations of DCs enabled or constrained in the context of DT initiatives in healthcare? In the findings, three levels of DC are identified: Ad hoc capabilities(AC), Micro-context and Shared DC. Further, the analysis identified enablers and constraints for AC, micro-context DC and shared DC. In some situations, the factors that act as constraints at shared DC level were also identified as enablers for AC and micro-context. This indicates that some of the very things that lay the grounds for microfoundations of DC may also hamper organisationally shared DC. This points to a continuous dynamic between the AC, micro-context and shared DC levels, where calibration at all levels is necessary in order to obtain and maintain DC on all organisational levels

Digital transformation is crucial for the healthcare sector, yet research shows that it also possesses a series of challenges at system-, organisational-, and individual levels, which require balancing. In this study, we adopt paradox theory to understand the balancing practices and requirements for digitalisation in healthcare. Based on gaps in previous research and practice, this paper aims to explore what characterises the different kinds of tensions and organisational paradoxes related to digital transformation. Also, this paper discusses how balancing practices in digital transformation are constrained and enabled. The paper is based on a project run in co-production between researchers at the Mälardalen University and project partners at a healthcare Region in Sweden. In the findings, two kinds of tensions are identified in digital transformation initiatives: Divergence at different organisational levels and competing demands between past, present and future needs. The divergent views are characterised by being latent while the competing demands are characterised by being salient to the organisation. This is followed by a discussion about balancing practices enabling digital ambidexterity and spurring virtuous cycles.

In this study, we build on prior research to explore problems arising and answers attempted when an international innovation contest (IC) is organised by multiple organisations in cross-border collaboration. A Consortium involving ten science parks and one university developed a multistage IC, consisting of four phases: exploration, ideation, implementation and international market launch. This study focuses on the first two phases. The Consortium attractedparticipation from 300 challenge owners from twelve countries, generating 559 proposals by 318 SMEs from 36 countries. The empirical setting is explored in great detail. Data were collected through open-ended written questionnaires and field notes. Identified problems were related to four themes: collaboration, coordination, communication, and commitment. These could be further divided into internal and external problems. Practical implications and future research avenues are suggested.

This study reviews literature on paradoxical tensions between value co-creation and capture in interorganizational relationships (IORs). The purpose of this review is to make a re-evaluation of the literature by engaging a paradox theory lens, thereby identifying factors that render tensions salient and factors that lead to virtuous or vicious cycles. This review of 143 articles reveals factors that make tensions salient; these relate to plurality (e.g. coopetition), scarcity (e.g. lack of experience with IORs), change (e.g. changes in collaboration scope) or combinations thereof (e.g. IORs in weak appropriability regimes). Results also uncover factors that resolve paradoxical tensions of value co-creation and capture, thus spurring virtuous cycles (e.g. carefully mixing trust and contracts), as well as factors that promote vicious cycles, owing to the emphasis on either value co-creation or capture (e.g. myopia of learning). This review also uncovers a new category of factors that may stimulate either virtuous or vicious cycles, depending on the extent to which they are enforced. This finding expands the value co-creation–capture paradox resolution, and brings to light new dynamics in the paradox framework of dynamic equilibrium. The authors thus contribute by: (1) reassessing the existing literature and applying paradox theory to the well-known hazard of value co-creation and capture; (2) highlighting factors that amplify paradoxical tensions related to this hazard; and (3) outlining factors that solve the paradox by embracing its contradictory poles and factors that hinder paradox resolution by emphasizing either value co-creation or appropriation. 

Firms’ innovative capabilities and performance increasingly rely on successful search and integration of internal and external knowledge. To this end, firms engage in various open innovation relationships, aiming to create and capture value in multi-actor contexts. This can give rise to a “paradox of openness” due to the contradictory role of knowledge as a key resource that creates value when shared, but also as a source of appropriability challenges. We explore the concept of a “paradox within a paradox;” the knowledge-leveraging paradox embedded within the paradox of openness. We integrate a knowledge-based view with paradox theory and develop a conceptual model to pinpoint core knowledge-related transferability and exposure tensions. We then show how these tensions are inversely moderated by innovation-related knowledge ambiguity. This ambiguity amplifies transferability tensions by making the knowledge more difficult to transfer and integrate across organizational boundaries, while relieving exposure tensions for the same reasons. We discuss potential solutions for resolving these core knowledge-related tensions by identifying separation and restructuring mechanisms that can facilitate simultaneous knowledge transfer and alleviate exposure hazards. 

The Valley of Death (VoD) highlights the challenging crossing from research and development to technology commercialisation. While some studies argue that open innovation (OI) might be beneficial in bridging the VoD, there is lack of consensus on whether and when OI is an enabler or hinder for the VoD. By reviewing literature on the intersection of these topics, this study identifies contexts when OI functions as enabler, e.g., by employing collaborative platforms or inter-industry collaborations, and also situations when OI may pose challenges in the VoD, e.g., highlighting opportunistic behaviour or conflicting perspectives of different partners. The study has theoretical and practical implications and identifies a number of avenues for future research.

This study focuses on the tense appropriability-openness relationship, defined by some as paradox. Based on an international survey of 415 manufacturing firms, we investigate how the use of different kinds of intellectual property protection mechanisms (IPPMs) affects interfirm R&D collaboration while considering partner location in the analysis as well. Our results show that the use of formal, semi-formal or informal IPPMs has different effects on openness in terms of partner variety and depth of collaboration with academic partners, value chain partners and competitors. Moreover, when considering location we uncover previously hidden appropriability-openness liaisons showing that semi-formal or informal IPPMs are mainly valid in relation to national partners, whereas formal appropriability explains international collaborations. One implication of the study is that to better understand the appropriability-openness relationship it is imperative to differentiate between national and international settings. We further suggest that the potential paradox delineating this relationship has a geographical dimension.

There is to date abundant evidence about the way openness-performance liaisons are shaped, yet parallel streams of research point towards an intricate relationship between appropriability and openness. Accordingly, while openness may reveal ample opportunities, risks of e.g. misappropriation should also be accounted for in open innovation processes, as they might affect performance. Recent research highlights the scarcity of studies investigating openness, appropriability and performance, and suggests a further need to analyze this in different stages of the innovation process. This study therefore aims to investigate the effects of three groups of intellectual property protection mechanisms (formal, semi-formal and informal) and openness (in terms of collaboration depth with eight types of partners) on two types of innovation performance (efficiency and novelty) across innovation phases. The analysis is based on a sample of 340 manufacturing firms from three European countries. Findings show that in early stages of the innovation process, efficiency is positively linked to the use of semi-formal appropriability mechanisms, such as contracts, yet negatively related to the use of formal ones, such as patents. The latter potentially illustrates the high uncertainty and increased risks of imitation or misappropriation in early innovation phases. Informal appropriability mechanisms contribute to novelty in earlier as well as later stages. Results further indicate novelty is explained by university collaboration throughout the innovation process, while competitor collaboration positively associates with novelty in later innovation stages. Vertical collaborations with supplier and customers reveal contrasting effects, which could also have implications linked to imitation risks. Furthermore, the negative effects of formal appropriability mechanisms and supplier collaboration on innovation performance in distinct stages of the innovation process might have implications for the so-called paradox of disclosure.

To maximize circularity, remaining value in electric vehicle (EV) batteries can be retained through deploying different strategies such as reusing and repurposing to enable second life applications before they are recycled. Since EV battery ecosystems for the so-called battery second life are at early, emergence stages, they are characterized by uncertainties and high complexity. Despite previous analyses on the topic, collaboration in terms of roles, hierarchies, as well as the circular ecosystem dynamics remain unclear. We thus conduct a systematic literature review, applying a complex adaptive systems lens to map the literature concerning the three core dimensions of ecosystems: conceptual, structural, and temporal. Results point to the need to collaborate to enable circular ecosystems for EV battery second life, but also hint to high diversity of actors- over 40 types of actors potentially relevant for EV battery second life ecosystems - and various challenges for collaboration in such ecosystems.

While creating value in open innovation (OI) requires knowledge sharing, appropriating value in OI entails some closedness and protectiveness. Hence, tensions between generating and appropriating value, known as the paradox of openness, may emerge in OI collaborations. Such tensions have been scarcely explored at the micro-level, even though it is a crucial piece to fully grasping the paradox of openness. Our study bridges this gap by examining individuals’ affective responses to tensions and their outcomes in OI, thereby capturing the microfoundations of the paradox of openness. The study adopts an inductive qualitative approach and delineates various micro-level coping mechanisms that build on figurative language and humor. Accordingly, our study reveals hidden tolls of the paradox of openness, highlighted by the dominance of destructive rather than constructive affective responses. These hidden tolls illuminate a “dark side” of OI, which taps into the potential failures and high costs of opening up.

In an increasingly globalized world, the challenges of society need to be tackled not by single organisations but by a multitude of stakeholders. Universities can contribute by extending their role and by collaborating with external stakeholders. This study employs qualitative methods to explore how a university engages with its innovation ecosystem through two different projects.The findings, connected to the development of educational and digital systems, show: 1) evidence of two extreme approaches to external stakeholder engagement and 2) three levels of tensions (multi-layered tensions) - on an overarching level, between stakeholder groups, and within groups of stakeholders. The contribution connects to literature on open innovation, quadruple helixes and lastly to university social innovation, especially responsibility diffusion.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the long-term, deeper transformations occurring in thewider energy transition to anticipate emerging issues through collective anticipatory intelligence.

Design/methodology/approach – Through a co-productive research design, the authors collectivelyscanned and discussed contemporary developments in the Swedish energy transition. The acquiredinsight was used in a causal layered analysis over three horizons to separate between views anddevelopments in time and space.

Findings – Findings of this study present current, transitionary and emerging issues and how theyemerge from deeper levels such as values and worldviews. These issues are discussed around howunderlying changes may change to mitigate them, suggesting three strategies.

Practical implications – The framed and anticipated issues enable monitoring and proactive response,and the discussion contributes insight to ongoing political debates, as well as implications for managingsimilar initiatives.

Social implications – Insights are provided into the changing cultures and values required in a futureenergy system, showing, e.g. how demand-side response may either come through relinquishing controlover consumption or through increased flexibility and change.

Originality/value – Studying issues of growing concern and novel approaches, this paper should be ofinterest to practitioners in the energy sector and foresight professionals. It provides a critique and framingof issues to be monitored, adding to the growing library of energy futures studies.