Management innovations are an important source of competitive advantage, but we lack knowledge on the implementation process, not least in small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs). Recognising that psychological ownership (PO) represents a crucial aspect of the implementation process, we address micro-foundational characteristics of the implementation process. PO and critical incident theory (CIT) provide a lens enabling this micro analysis. The empirical setting is the implementation of Hoshin Kanri, a strategic management system in eight small companies. From the analysis of the eight cases, we operationalise four dimensions that characterise how PO evolves in the implementation process: types of PO incidents, frequency of PO incidents, incidents indicating an increase or decrease in PO, and incidents addressing individual or collective PO. Looking at how PO is developed both among CEOs and managers in SMEs, we use the four dimensions to characterise the evolvement of PO within the focal organisations. In doing so, our article elaborates on PO as a driver and, if insufficiently developed, an impediment to effectively implementing management innovations.

By building upon the prior work exploring the nature of practicing and knowing in collaborative research (CR), this article argues that focusing on how trust evolves in collaborative dialogue could enhance the learning potential in CR projects. Drawing from 42 workshops within a CR project, we analyze how dialogue and learning practices develop trust. We use the dialogical framework developed by Walton and Krabbe (1995) to identify and classify 107 dialogues. From our data, we identify three distinct dialogical patterns (educating, inquiring and practicing). These three dialogical patterns are related to four learning practices that are conceptualized as knowledge sharing, knowledge gapping, knowledge bettering and knowledge speculating. Combined, these dialogical patterns and learning practices develop collaborative trust in CR projects. We propose that these results represent an emerging conceptual language that addresses the development of trust in managing CR projects. This conceptual language can both improve managerial practice in the CR context and inspire future theory building.

This book focuses on the implementation of Hoshin Kanri. It is a response to most books on strategic planning that tend to downplay the implementation and only describe the fully implemented planning process. The power of this book originates from a project in which a team of five professionals over a period of three years implemented Hoshin Kanri in 14 companies; results were drawn from 130 workshops with leadership teams. The project team subsequently ran several accelerators inside large and small companies as well as public institutions. All these experiences together form the implementation focus of the book.

Moreover, the organization of the book mirrors the message of its scientific thinking, which is also the basic principle of Hoshin Kanri:

• Chapter 1 focuses on the basic analysis—Is Hoshin Kanri something for your organization?
• Chapter 2 addresses the ambition—What is the vision for strategy work in your organization?
• Chapter 3 presents the conditions needed for effective strategic work.
• Chapter 4 discusses the choice of implementation strategy and your role as the change agent.
• Chapter 5 describes how Hoshin Kanri works when implemented.
• Chapter 6 addresses coaching/mentoring and the Kata philosophy.
• Chapter 7 presents important analytical tools.
• Appendix 1 describes the journey made by a medium-sized construction company.

Essentially, this book describes in a concrete and structured way how you—the change agent—can use Hoshin Kanri in your organization to tackle large and complex challenges.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to develop knowledge on the implementation of Hoshin Kanri (HK) in small manufacturing companies. Two research questions are addressed: (1) what factors influence the implementation of HK in small manufacturing companies? (2) How do the factors influence the implementation of HK in small manufacturing companies? Design/methodology/approach: The research presented in this paper is based on an extensive literature review and data from the implementation process in five small manufacturing companies. In the literature review, factors influencing the implementation of HK, lean production and total quality management (TQM) in small manufacturing firms are identified. Thereafter, five implementation cases are analyzed. Findings from the cases are then contrasted with the factors identified in the literature and further theorized. Findings: Seven factors were found to either enable or hamper HK implementation in small manufacturing companies. Management involvement was identified as a critical factor. Management involvement can be typologized as collaborative or demanding, and the types of involvement is decisive in implementation processes within the small manufacturing company context. Originality/value: In this paper, the authors focus on small manufacturing companies as the starting point and relate theoretical and practical results to the implementation processes in this defined target group. Conceptualizing implementation as a learning process, this research contributes to this emerging perspective on small firm development.

I tidigare kapitel har DIALOGEN beskrivits med termen strategi. Vår uppfattning är att det gått lite inflation i begreppet strategi. Som titeln på detta kapitel avslöjar menar vi att det finns många delar av strategiarbete som ibland går förlorade genom att ordet används i allt fler sammanhang. I det här kapitlet hoppas vi kunna ge en bild av de olika aspekter som begreppet strategi inbegriper och hur begreppet kan förstås för att kunna tillämpas bättre i organisationer. Vi utgår från forskning inom området för att, som komplement till de tidigare kapitlen om arbetet med och erfarenheterna av DIALOGEN, fördjupa bilden av strategiarbete.

I tidigare kapitel har vi redovisat arbetet med DIALOGEN genom att bland annat beskriva den som en långsiktig strategi för att främja utveckling och förbättring i organisationen. Vi har också beskrivit ständiga förbättringar som en viktig komponent i denna utvecklingsstrategi. Vi menar att ledningen har ett stort ansvar om arbetet med ständiga förbättringar ska leda tillkontinuerliga förbättringar i organisationen. Ledningen kan inte luta sig tillbaka och hänvisa till att verksamheten nu arbetar med ständiga förbättringar. Förr eller senare behöver ledningen aktivt förbättra de övergripande processerna för att långsiktigt stödja verksamhetsutvecklingen och samordna verksamhetens mål för gemensamma utmaningar. I detta kapitel belyser vi en modell och teoretiska begrepp för hur strategiarbete och ständiga förbättringar kan vävas samman. Vi lyfter även fram viktiga aspekter för att ledningen och medarbetarna ska åstadkomma en långsiktigt hållbar utveckling med ständiga förbättringar som en del av det strategiska arbetet.