Hi, I am Vetle and I started my PhD in April 2015. During my PhD, I will focus on how organizations with mature production systems may better organize to capture the value from step-change improvements.
My background is a master's degree in innovation and entrepreneurship. My master thesis focused on the importance of learning, cooperation and networks for regional innovation systems. Before starting my PhD, I worked as a project manager at Kjeller Innovasjon, where I commercialized research results. I am passionate about innovation, and being able to immerse myself in real challenges organizations face is what drives me in my quest for knowledge.
Industrial organizations need to continuously improve their production process in order to remain competitive. Improvements typically take the form of efficiency gains through cost reductions and increased production volumes. Local improvements in organization of work, gained from rationalization techniques such as lean, TQM and Six Sigma, are important, but more complex organizational learning from exploration activities are also needed to remain competitive.
During my PhD, I will assess how Scandinavian industry should organize to be able to gain the most from these explorative activities. I will look at questions such as: What characterises organizational learning in process industries? How should expert divisions (like R&D) collaborate with the line organization to support implementation of new technology? And how do rationalization efforts in the production process impact the organizations ability to innovate?