The agile promises of simplicity, responsiveness to change and enhanced operational efficiency from a customer perspective seem to have attracted attention from R&D units governed by bureaucratic traditions that were originally designed for predictability and control. When implemented, agile methods challenge much of the old logic, manifesting in habits, routines, processes and practices. Yet, several institutional pressures seem to be pulling the organization back towards its old ways. We introduce the concept organizational gravity to describe the combined institutional pressures that affected the possibility to reap the benefits from the transformation, by pulling the organization back towards their traditional workways. Although the setting for this research was the benefits of agile methods during agile transformations, we believe that the results may inform also other transformations, such as digitalization. All in all, we identify 10 forces pulling backwards and categorize these into three forms of organizational gravity.

This research presents four barriers to deploying agile methods in established R&D organizations that develop complex, mechatronic products. While prior research has identified success factors and common challenges when implementing agile methods, their adaptation in established multidisciplinary product development work, where coordination across diverse engineering domains is crucial, remains underexplored. Drawing on a qualitative case study based on two years of interviews and discussion meetings, we have studied barriers that emerge when deploying agile methods in an organization where legacy practices and organizational logics conflict with the new methods.

Our findings highlight twelve challenges that are categorized into four key barriers: complex dependencies & coordination, existing structures, new application & setting, and ambiguous values & benefits. The study thus offers insights into the barriers of changing workways in established R&D organizations and makes a threefold contribution: (1) identifying four barriers to agile adoption, (2) suggesting future research questions, and (3) providing practical advice for managers planning to deploy agile methods or other technological or methodological transformations that challenge the status quo. Managers should not assume immediate benefits, but instead be prepared to adapt the agile methods to their specific context. They should listen to those perceived as change averse and consider educating ‘boundary spanners’, that is, individuals who bridge engineering knowledge with method know-how. These roles help evaluate dependencies for coordination, identify rigid structures and articulate potential benefits to bridge the gap between the old and the new.

This research critically examines the reasons for adopting agile methods in a multidisciplinary R&D unit developing complex, mechatronic products. By studying how stakeholders undertake and experience the agile transformation, the study challenges the assumption that agile methods inherently address the problems of modern product development. Using qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews and roundtable discussions over a 2-year period, this paper explores the reasons for and results from adopting agile methods in one case organization. The findings highlight a mismatch between expected benefits of agile methods and the practical implementation of such work methods, highlighting the complexity of agile transformations. The study concludes that the impact of agile methods is inseparable from the quality of their implementation and contextual adaptation both to the specifics of the complex, mechatronic products being developed and to the need for coordination between disciplines in the R&D unit.

This research explores the challenges of adopting agile methods in multifunctional productdevelopment, studying the R&D division in a large international company. Using a qualitative method,we seek to understand how stakeholders experience and undertake this ongoing change. Over a 14-month period, in-depth interviews and meetings with managers from various units were conducted.

Our findings highlight the multifaceted challenges encountered in the transition towards agilemethodologies. Key barriers include organizational antagonism, lack of role models, establishingcross-organizational coordination, receiver capacity, and classic change management problems. Ourstudy underscores the need for nuanced managerial strategies to navigate these obstacles effectively.From formalizing new routines to acknowledging external constraints, managers must anticipate andaddress various challenges to ensure successful agile transformations.

The study adds to the current understanding of agile methodologies as new form of organizing R&D ina multifunctional product development setting. We offer insights into the stepwise adoption of agilepractices in multifunctional product development, making three key contributions: (1) identifyingobstacles in adopting agile methods, (2) suggesting areas for future research, and (3) providingpractical advice for managers overseeing multifunctional R&D projects.

This research explores the challenges of adopting agile methods in multifunctional product development, studying the R&D division in a large international company. Using a qualitative method, we seek to understand how stakeholders experience and undertake this ongoing change. Over a 14-month period, in-depth interviews and meetings with managers from various units were conducted. 

Our findings highlight the multifaceted challenges encountered in the transition towards agile methodologies. Key barriers include organizational antagonism, lack of role models, establishing cross-organizational coordination, receiver capacity, and classic change management problems. Our study underscores the need for nuanced managerial strategies to navigate these obstacles effectively. From formalizing new routines to acknowledging external constraints, managers must anticipate and address various challenges to ensure successful agile transformations.

The study adds to the current understanding of agile methodologies as new form of organizing R&D in a multifunctional product development setting. We offer insights into the stepwise adoption of agile practices in multifunctional product development, making three key contributions: (1) identifying obstacles in adopting agile methods, (2) suggesting areas for future research, and (3) providing practical advice for managers overseeing multifunctional R&D projects.

Collaboration is a long and strong academic tradition. Over the years we have seen many investments in increasing collaborations, nationally and internationally, such as Erasmus +, EIT etc. Many of these attempts fall short, there are some collaborations, some development of platforms/infrastructure, but as soon as funding ends, collaboration ends. This paper makes a strong argument for a structured approach to inter-organizational university collaborations where the opportunities and challenges of different alternatives are evaluated. The paper proposes that solutions for national inter-organizational university collaborations can be designed by combining the choice of technical educational platforms with an idea for how to organize the collaborative processes.  

We argue that it is possible to stake out the overall approach for inter-organizational university collaborations. Learning from previous initiatives, there are three main alternatives to choose from; (1) Focus on creating organizational collaborations; (2) Focus on creating and sharing content; and (3) Focus on creating common delivery of courses. It is noteworthy to mention that these are not mutually exclusive alternatives but can and should be combined.  

Digital technologies are increasingly used in assessment. On the one hand, this use offers opportunities for teachers to practice assessment more effectively, and on the other hand, it brings challenges to the design of pedagogically sound and responsible digital assessment. There is a lack of validated instruments and models that explain, assess and support teachers' critical pedagogical practice of digital assessment. This explorative work first develops and validates a survey instrument to examine teachers' digital assessment practices. Secondly, we build a model to investigate to what extent teachers' pedagogical digital assessment knowledge is a foundation for the future of digital assessment (ie, authentic, accessible, automated, continuous and responsible). A total of 219 university teachers at a large European university participated in the survey study. Factor exploratory analysis and structural equation modelling were used to validate the reliability and validity of items and internal causal relations of factors. The results show the survey is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing teachers' digital assessment practice in higher education. Teachers' pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge of digital assessment is critical, while teachers' technological pedagogical knowledge seems to have a more limited impact on the future of digital assessment. 

Digitalization, with its potential to enhance the openness of client–contractor knowledge collaboration (KC) at the front end of complex engineering projects, is gaining traction among project scholars and practitioners. Despite this growing interest, project actors still struggle to bring client and contractor experts into an open, digitally enabled collaborative space where they can freely access and cocreate project-related knowledge. In this context, our case study explores client–contractor KC in the front-end phase of oil and gas projects in Norway to understand why project actors struggle to achieve KC openness in the digital age. Based on our qualitative analysis, we developed a model that displays two intertwined aspects giving rise to tensions between knowledge sharing and protection. First, we show that these tensions stem from fragmented awareness of the expertise in the collaborating project organization. Second, we highlight how intrainstitutional complexity, instantiated in coexisting conflicting logics of digital and collaborative action, underlies divergent beliefs and behavior toward client–contractor KC and its digitalization. We offer novel insights into the project management literature by showcasing how organizational heterogeneity, in terms of expertise and institutions, challenges project organizations' pursuit of open, digitally enabled client–contractor KC during the front-end project phase.

This study examines the critical role of university IT departments in the digital transformation of higher education institutions. Despite their expertise, these departments often face challenges in facilitating digital transformation. Through a historical case study of a prominent research university, this paper explores the evolution of technology and organizational logic within the university's IT governance and its shortcomings in supporting digital transformation. It presents an in-depth analysis of the co-evolution of technological advancements and the organization responsible for technology support and maintenance. The paper traces the transition from the early era, dominated by academic logics, to contemporary IT organizations driven by bureaucratic and internal market logics. It further investigates the preference for specific technological solutions under different organizational logics. Crucially, the paper highlights a misalignment between the traditional logic of IT organizations and the demands of digital transformation, demonstrating that conventional IT approaches and logics are insufficient for addressing the challenges of digital transformation.

This study examines the role of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in digital transformation within Swedish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) amidst the fourth industrial revolution. Despite significant technological advances, the educational sector continues to rely on traditional methodologies and has not fully integrated digital technologies. Through a survey conducted among Swedish higher education CIOs, the research identifies a substantial variation in the understanding and implementation of digitalization, with 70% of institutions lacking a unified definition and only 40% having established digitalization plans. The results underscore that digital technologies are primarily utilized to improve administrative efficiency, often neglecting their potential to enhance educational and research outcomes. Moreover, the involvement of CIOs in strategic decision-making is inconsistent, which highlights the need for a reevaluation of their role to bolster their influence on policy and strategic planning. The paper advocates for a redefinition of the CIO’s role and calls for ongoing collaboration to develop effective digitalization strategies in higher education.