The Service Research Center (CTF)

The research project Gennovation at Karlstad University aims to provide small and medium-sized enterprises in Värmland with better conditions for growth and enhanced competitiveness.

By integrating gender, equality, and inclusion as strategic tools for business development and innovation, the project seeks to contribute to more sustainable regional development.

Gennovation is a four-year project funded by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket), Region Värmland, and Karlstad University. It is a collaboration between the Centre for Gender Studies (CGF) and the Service Research Center (CTF).

In the article “Towards High Circularity: Reconfiguring Firm-level Strategy”, researchers Andrey Abadzhiev and Alexandre Sukhov, both from Karlstad Business School and the Service Research Center, want to inspire hope among companies in conservative industries that are seeking to transition towards more circular and sustainable solutions.

What does circular economy actually mean – and how does it differ from a traditional linear economy?

– Economics is fundamentally about creating value through the redistribution of resources, says Alexandre Sukhov. In a linear economy, we tend to create value by extracting raw materials, producing and selling products, but we also lose value by considering consumed products as waste once they have been used and fulfilled their purpose. It’s from that perspective that the manufacturing industry has been streamlined.

In her doctoral thesis, Jana Huck, who recently completed her PhD in Business Administration, seeks to understand what idea development is really about by observing how people in various contexts work to improve an idea and pave the way to make it a reality.

Jana Huck got the impression that everyone talked about idea development as a phenomenon, yet without truly explaining or grasping what it actually involves – or even means. This is what inspired her doctoral thesis, Idea Development for Innovation: A Multi-Level Exploration of the Activities and Processes Propelling Ideas Towards Innovation.

Welcome as a PhD student in Industrial Engineering and Management! What will you be researching?

– Thank you! My research will focus on AI, idea management, and gender equality, with a particular interest in how AI can be used to improve efficiency in the early stages of the innovation process.

What does it actually mean to be a sustainable consumer? And why is it so hard to live up to the ideals, even when the willingness is there? In her doctoral thesis, Anne-Charlotte Paas, who recently completed her PhD in Business Administration at Karlstad Business School, wanted to know more about why it is so difficult to lead a sustainable life despite the threat of our planet’s collapse.

The doctoral thesis “Of Course I Want to Be Sustainable, but… : A Qualitative Study on Sustainable Consumption and Identity Construction” highlights the challenges of making everyday life as sustainable as possible. Household waste needs to be sorted, cycling or public transport should be the first choice, electronics should be switched off when not in use and food should ideally be organic. There is a lot to stay on top of to keep a clear conscience. These are the challenges that Anne-Charlotte Paas wanted to explore in her doctoral thesis.

“Hävstång Hälsa – systemledning för klimat och social hållbarhet (Hävstång Hälsa – System Leadership for Climate and Social Sustainability) is a research project you’re currently involved in. What’s it all about?

– It’s about sustainable societal development and is a collaborative project between Karlstad Municipality, Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), and CTF. The project focuses on behavioural change for improved health and climate, and we aim to explore how societal structures can be transformed to make health-promoting activities easier – enabling new solutions that benefit the people of Karlstad, with a focus on health and climate.