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The development of robotized welding is truly impressive and is today one of the major application areas for industrial robots. The first industrial robots were introduced in the early 1960s for material transfer and machine tending. Not long after that, robots were used for spot welding and in the early 1970s for arc welding as well. During the years, significant developments have taken place both concerning the robot equipment and the welding equipment to meet the different challenges within the application area. This paper describes the development and progress of robotization in welding over the years and also some projections and trends for the near future.

Presents an approach to improved performance and flexibility in industrial robotics by means of sensor integration and feedback control in task‐level programming and task execution. Also presents feasibility studies in support of the ideas. Discusses some solutions to the problem using six degrees of freedom force control together with the ABB S4CPlus system as an illustrative example. Consider various problems in the design of an open sensor interface for industrial robotics and discusses possible solutions. Finally, presents experimental results from industrial force controlled grinding.

Aims to present general concepts and framework for increasing the flexibility in robotic arc welding with respect to use of sensors and small series production.

Presents a conceptual model with a framework that integrates existing tools and needed developments and research to increase the usefulness of sensors in robotic arc welding. The conceptual model is based on research within the field which covers supporting tools like robot simulation, sensor modelling and handling and optimization issues with respect to the robot task execution. A descriptive structure and concept is outlined to include welding procedure specifications (WPS) as a key module to provide an integrated and holistic control model of the robotic.

Finds that the outlined conceptual model and architecture supports an increased flexibility of sensor controlled robots for arc welding applications. The arguments are specifically made for small series and one‐off production.

The paper is limited to arc welding applications and the concept and arguments are made with small series and one‐off production in mind.

Increased use of sensors and robots in small series production.

Introduces a holistic approach for task level control of a robot which introduces a structured way for integrated and coordinated control of the arc welding task. The objective is to execute the welding task with maintained robustness with respect to predefined specifications (quality, productivity).

Using Arroyo’s (2012) institutional entrepreneurship (IE) framework, the purpose of this paper is to enhance our understanding of how top managers interpret change in the macro-political and economic environment and integrate it into their performance management systems (PMSs).

The paper combines multiple data sources to study PMS change in the big four Swedish banks over the deregulations’ first quarter of a century.

The findings support previous research by identifying IE as a collective phenomenon. Moreover, it points to the importance of distinguishing between different types of field-level events, when investigating change initiated by such events. Finally, the findings also indicate that change at different levels of analysis have separate timings, advising future research on change to pay closer attention to the aspect of time.

The paper tests Arroyo’s (2012) multi-level framework in an accounting setting and specifically focuses on top managers’ interpretation and integration of field-level events. It does so in the specific context of banks and thereby contributes to our understanding of how different field-level events affect banks’ PMS. In the post-financial crisis era, organizational and accounting scholars should engage time and effort to better understand this complex industry, not least to advice policymakers and regulators in the ongoing re-regulation of the financial markets.

Inspired by organizational studies of IE, this paper uses a longer time-frame and includes more organizations, than conventional management accounting case studies. By studying a field, rather than a single organization, the paper opens up to a “wider perspective” on PMS change.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how emergent changes are handled in research and development (R&D) projects. R&D projects’ business potential lies in their exploration of the unknown; conversely, this makes them uncertain endeavours, prone to emergent changes.

Uses a single-case-study design, based on a projects-as-practice perspective and a soft systems methodology (SSM) analysis, to map how ad hoc R&D teams handle emergent changes, specifically the solution identification and assessment phase and the implementation plan. An R&D project in the power industry, involving over 250 engineers, was analysed.

This paper shows how emergent changes are handled differently from initiated changes during the decision-making phase. The system analysis shows that the most critical factors for managing these changes are: collective reflection between project parties; and including experienced engineers in implementation-plan reviews.

The results are of relevance both to R&D managers aiming to improve team performance and to general project management. Informal notions of emergent changes can be formalised in the change request process. Weaknesses in the project team’s organisation are highlighted, and details of how of how to mitigate these are provided.

Combines engineering-design and project-management research on emergent changes, adding to the former regarding people–organisational and strategic issues. Furthers understanding of the projects-as-practice approach and emergent change (deviations) handling by ad hoc teams in a project environment. SSM has not previously been used to explore aspects of projects-as-practice, and this is a novel way of adding to the body of knowledge on project praxis and practise.

The purpose of this paper is to present a punctuality improvement method system and to show how it was developed for application in the railway industry.

The method is based on principles from quality management theory and developed through four cases: delayed departures from a freight‐terminal; delays caused by wheel damages at freight‐train cars; delays at a single track railway line; and delays created at a railway junction.

The result is a method called PIMS: Punctuality Improvement Method System. PIMS does especially focus on the coupling of results from quantitative analyses with experience‐based knowledge. It also focuses on the interaction between the improvement project and the base organizations.

The research and development work was performed by researchers from academia in cooperation with practitioners from the railway industry.

Punctuality is claimed to be one of the most important quality factors in railway operations and improvement of punctuality is therefore an objective in most railway companies. Punctuality depends on how all actors involved in railway operations perform, and cooperation and communication within and between railway organizations is therefore essential to achieve improvements.

In Norway, there was a lack of an established method describing how to organize and accomplish punctuality improvement work. Thus, the authors initiated a project to develop a coherent method to solve identified punctuality challenges. Through the cases, the method has proven its capability to generate feasible improvement measures and measurable punctuality improvements have been achieved.

Traditional process‐oriented system development methods often result in fragmentary user interfaces with information presented in various windows without considerations of requirements for simultaneous viewing. Opening, closing, moving and resizing these windows attracts the users’ attention away from the actual work. User interface design according to the workspace metaphor could provide skilled professional users with an efficient, customised user interface to administrative information systems. This can improve work performance and facilitate efficient navigation between workspaces. A case study in co‐operation with the Swedish National Tax Board (RSV) describes practical use of the workspace metaphor.

The chapter proposes a model for evaluating environmental information based on informativity as a measurement of whether corporate environmental disclosures provide readers with information relevant for making reasonable assessments of companies’ environmental work.

On a general level, informativity denotes a set of universal principles for information qualities. In order to make informed assessments, information ought to provide readers with information on specific projects, outcome, and long-term impact. The model proposed herein allows researchers and practitioners to quantify corporate environmental information based on a set of key textual variables. By allowing for the quantification of qualitative information, the model allows for comparative studies of CSR communication across, for example, companies, sectors, and nations.

The model is applicable for corporations with an interest to evaluate their performance by applying standardized and set principles.

The model can be used as a tool for consumers and investors alike in making better and more informed assessments about a corporation’s environmental initiatives and performances. This application is particularly relevant for stakeholders with an interest in developing statistical data for assessing and benchmarking environmental communication.

The chapter proposes a model for evaluating environmental information as a measurement of whether corporate environmental disclosures provide readers with information relevant for making reasonable assessments of companies’ environmental work.

There are several ways to implement and work with the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). The company Ericsson Data AB was one of the pioneers in employing the BSC in Sweden. As early adopters, they were interested in obtaining an evaluation performed by external researchers. We were fortunate to have that opportunity. During the autumn of 1998, Majvor Karlsson and Ellen Sharma had full access to the developmental department dealing with the implementation of BSC at the company. The present article is based on interviews with managers and developers with the aim to determine how the BSC was implemented and how it functions in the day‐to‐day life of the company. The BSC model introduced in Ericsson was given the name Cockpit. As one might expect, implementing BSC requires a great deal of time and energy. We found that it resembles the process in other organisational changes as well. In our research, we found that there were many aspects of the implementation of BSC with which we could interpret and explain our observations with the help of theories of organisational change. Our findings led us to formulate a theory concerning the implementation process of the BSC. It was a relief to discover that we could use a method that allowed us to listen and learn from the persons involved in the implementation process at Ericsson Data.