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Integrated Product Development and Design

The research within the unit Integrated Product Development and Design focuses, on the one hand, on organisational and technical processes for efficient development of innovative technology-oriented products, services and businesses, and on the other hand, on design and development of sustainable product service systems.

Our research areas

Design and Development of Sustainable Product and Service Systems

The aim of this transdisciplinary research is to contribute to design and development of sustainable product and service systems, as well as an open exploration of what is required from these to contribute to sustainability transitions.

Sustainable Human Centered Design

This research takes humans as a starting-point and aims at both understanding people's everyday lives and creating systems and services based on those.

Meet the unit 

The unit has two groups, one with focus on innovation and organisation and one with focus on sustainable design. The research within both groups is carried out in close collaboration with corporations and organisations and with high ambitions to be leading within its field by advancing both theory and practice.

Innovation and organisation

The research within innovation and organisation is characterised by the pursuit of a holistic approach, considering the whole and its parts, as well as the relations between them such as products, processes and organisations. In addition to creating new knowledge related to product development and innovation, great importance is attached to new insights being translated into organisational changes in practice. This research uses both qualitative and quantitative methods, often with action and change elements.

Sustainable design

The research within sustainable design aims at accelerating transformations towards an ecologically and socially sustainable society by engaging in design methods. In transdisciplinary projects, often in collaborations with partners from the design field, prototypes of sustainable solutions are created in small or large design interventions, and tested by users. The research develops both deep design knowledge and concrete results that can be scaled up and be used in practice.

Latest publications

[1]
[2]
L. Engstam et al., "Dynamic board capabilities: Developing board practices that impact corporate renewal and performance," Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 142-160, 2024.
[3]
I. Kihlander, M. Magnusson and M. Karlsson, "Critical Factors to Consider When Designing an Innovation Management System," Research technology management, vol. 67, no. 3, pp. 34-43, 2024.
[4]
N. Wormbs and S. Ritzén, "Framtidens studier är tvärvetenskapliga," Dagens Nyheter, vol. DN Kultur 17 april, 2024.
[5]
K. M. B. Paredes, S. Ritzén and M. Olander Roese, "Exploring the use of innovation measurement in retail organisations : a multiple case study," International Review of Retail Distribution & Consumer Research, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 361-380, 2024.
Full list in the KTH publications portal