With a background in technical consultancy, most recently at Sweco, Björn Boberg joins Dig-IT Lab to research how digitalisation impacts organisations and collaborations in the built environment. In partnership with SISAB, his PhD project aims to strengthen organisations’ ability to navigate innovation while balancing stability and long-term development.
Hi Björn, what were you doing before joining Dig-IT Lab?
I worked in several roles at a technical consultancy with various construction projects—both commercial and infrastructure projects—leading, designing, coordinating, or acquiring projects. Team manager at Sweco was my latest position with a total of 13 years’ of experience from the industry. During that period I developed my interest in how firms work together, risk/reward sharing, long term partnerships and relational aspects.
What will you be doing as a PhD candidate?
The project examines how property owners reorganise their activities and resources in response to or in driving digital transformation. Digital transformation includes reshaping operations, business models, and industry relationships, requiring organisations to adapt while considering prior investments that have shaped existing activity and resource structures, both internally and, in and through important relationships. This project contributes to Dig-IT-Lab by the organisational angle, how firms can prepare their own organisation and relations to other actors and networks to achieve digital transformation and have the capacity to utilise new technology.
Are there any challenges related to sustainable digitalisation within the area of Digitalisation and Business Models in Real Estate Management?
The digitalisation of facility management is a necessity to make data-driven decisions, address current challenges and transform the business. The ability to adapt to market and demand changes as well as policy or strategy changes is dependent on the organisations’ readiness and learning abilities. I would consider that ability to challenge, to keep challenging and testing new methods or technology while keeping the core business stable and long term is a real challenge.
Varför valde du det här projektet?
The combination of my interest in economic and organisational perspectives (from both academia and industry) and my engagement in the industry of the built environment all seemed to lead down this path. The ambition with industry-oriented research as in Dig-IT Lab makes the project feel valuable and impactful. I really enjoy learning, and the best way of learning is together with partners, colleagues and networks, a competence center like Dig-IT Lab is a great place for joint learning.
Hur kan din forskning tillämpas i förvaltningen av byggnader?
Hopefully my research will explore or even clarify some organisational and collaboration aspects of digitalisation and capabilities to lead or follow innovation and digitalisation within the built environment. It could maybe even give some support in strategic decision making. The facility management sector is very exciting due to great prerequisites for increased collaboration between actors.
Hur kommer ditt samarbete med industrin att se ut?
In the first study we have already been in contact with SISAB, and will further explore their network and relations around a limited section of digital transformation, including their other long term partners in these projects. In future studies, we can hopefully add several more actors to get a wider scope.
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