The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into how the successors of family-owned manufacturing SMEs view and manage innovativeness. Research into company takeovers mainly focuses on large companies and little is known about innovativeness in research on family-owned businesses, often SMEs. This paper presents findings from ten company successions, five of which describe family successions and five external ones. The paper points to that there is little difference in how various types of successor view and manage innovativeness. A successor is chosen with care and this also influences the view and management of innovativeness; other criteria seem to apply in the succession and radical changes can only be introduced if a number of contextual factors are managed properly. The paper also indicates that while financial constraints may limit innovations, a strong financial situation is not an antecedent for innovativeness

Servicification is a key toward environmental conscious business in the manufacturing industry. After looking at the business and economic implications of Integrated Product and Service Offerings, the paper suggests specifications for methods beneficial for such a manufacturing company. The paper is based on the empirical case studies of 120 Swedish manufacturing firms of different sizes. It is expected to encourage discussion on this crucial theme in mature economies such as those of Europe and Japan.