Interactive research in production start-up—application and outcomes

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reflect on interactive research as a means to create relevant knowledge in the domain of operations management in general and specifically in the context of production start-up.Design/methodology/approachThe reflection on the use of interactive research in production start-ups was based on a study of two completed interactive research projects. The lens for reflection was a framework including context, quality of relationship, quality of the research process itself and outcomes.FindingsThe context was industrial manufacturing companies in Sweden, with different kind of challenges related to production start-ups, such as collaboration between involved functions and suppliers, competence development and work routines. Indicators of the quality of relationship between researchers and practitioners were initiated development activities and new collaboration between functions, within the company, between companies and in supply chains. The reflection of the quality of the research process itself was based on an interactive research process including four iterative steps with regular follow-ups allowing joint practitioner and researcher reflection on the progress. Identified outcomes included increased awareness and competence on how to deal with production start-ups, improvements of communication, work procedures and structures, better use of competences, increased cross-functional dialogue and cultural understanding.Practical implicationsImplications for practitioners are the possibilities for knowledge creation through interactive collaboration in research projects enabling exchange between researchers from complementary fields and other companies dealing with production start-ups.Originality/valueThe interactive research approach enables joint knowledge creation in a fast-changing context such as production start-ups as well as value-adding results both for practitioners in industry and for academia.

Engineering Tools as Boundary Objects Between Product Development and Production

“…In this paper, results from two workshops and one case study are reported. A joint arena for learning is an essential element in a research project guided by interactive research [19]. In this research project, we have developed a workshop format labelled knowledge sharing sessions, referring to the purpose of the workshop.…”

The Dynamic of Knowledge Creation in Joint Industry-Academia Research Projects: Return from Recent Action-Research Experiences in the Domain of Logistics and Supply Chain Management

“…The action research (AR) choices for both projects combine aspects from the approaches presented in subsection 3.2. The research and practice spheres [23][24][25][26] were clearly identified, and partners agree their identity must be preserved (interactive AR), but a collaborative action learning [27] sphere was considered necessary to have more day-to-day dialogue and co-construction (action learning research). The educational task [23] (interactive AR) linked to the participation of a PhD student in each project was crucial to create this collaborative sphere.…”

“…Interactive research [23][24][25][26] explicitly includes an educative ambition, called "the third task" in [23]. Interactive research "focusses on creating opportunities for researchers and practitioners to engage in joint learning and knowledge creation" [25].…”

“…From the data and in line with the choices made in Section 2, we identified: knowledge transfers from academics to partitioners (coded Ta), knowledge transfers from partitioners to academics (Ti), interactive knowledge sharing (S), research knowledge generation (Gr) -with reference to theory and elaborated during "back-stage-reflections" -, practice knowledge generation (Gp) -related to "on-stage-performance" at the workplace -, and knowledge generation combining both (Gr + p). It is important to note that in action research [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] both academics and partitioners can participate to Gr, Gp and Gr + p. Among the many interactions and knowledge processes episodes, we focused on patterns ending with knowledge creation with value for partners and being attested by some "production" (P) (some being public academic publications -work-in-progress papers, conference papers, articles -, others being for internal use in the company and in formats that best suit knowledge transfer and dissemination (in line with ART [28])).…”

Exploring the Handling of Critical Work Practices in Rapid Change Contexts : A study of an industrial startup and the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The researcher participates in different interaction arenas during the research process without taking ownership of driving the practice system's change processes. The use of interactive research has been previously used in production startups in industrial manufacturing companies, i.e., other types of rapid change contexts (Berglund et al, 2020), and has been an essential platform for the studies in the startup context of this thesis.…”