Public defence: Anders Råve - Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge

Anders Råve will defend his PhD in Marketing Management. The dissertation explores how companies develop and use dynamic capabilities — that is, their ability to build, adapt, and coordinate resources—in business ecosystems where actors are mutually dependent on each other to create value.

24 Feb

Practical information

Date: 24 February 2026
10.00 - 15.00
Vestfold, Room A1-39 Holmestrand and Zoom
Download calendar file
Organizer: USN Handelshøyskolen

Link to digital participation

Programme

10.00. Trial lecture: «Discuss key issues in employing a critical realist methodology in empirical research, and its implications for research practice to secure the quality and credibility of the research outcomes. The discussion should also address challenges and benefits of using AI in critical realist research.»

12.00. Public Defence: «Dynamic Capabilities in Business Ecosystems»

Assessment committee

First opponent: Professor Inger Stensaker, NHH (Norwegian School of Economics)
Second opponent: Professor Jacob Brix, Aalborg University
Administrator: Professor Håvard Ness, USN School of Business, University of South-Eastern Norway

Supervisors

Principal supervisor: Associate Professor Birgit Andrine Apenes Solem, USN School of Business, University of South-Eastern Norway
Co-supervisor: Professor Seidali Kurtmollaiev, Kristiania University College

Any questions?

Cecilia Strandman
35 95 25 25

Anders Råve is defending his thesis for the degree philosophiae doctor (PhD) at the University of South-Eastern Norway.

The doctoral work has been carried out at the USN School of Business in the program Marketing Management.

Link to full dissertation

You are invited to follow the trial lecture and the public defence.

Summary

Organizations have long created value by leveraging their value chains, but business ecosystems are increasingly used to describe how organizations collaborate with multiple, interdependent actors. In these ecosystems, value is created collectively rather than through linear relationships.

This doctoral thesis shows that effective collaboration in business ecosystems depends less on formal structures and more on how shared capabilities develop and are expressed through interaction. Based on in-depth studies of business ecosystems at different stages of development, the research demonstrates that what enables actors to work together and how this works in practice changes as ecosystems evolve.

In early-stage ecosystems, collaboration is typically informal and experimental, relying on close interaction and personal relationships. As ecosystems mature, collaboration becomes more structured, with clearer roles, routines, and shared ways of working. The thesis identifies the concrete activities and interactions that make collaboration possible, rather than treating it as an abstract concept.

A key finding is the importance of managerial interfaces, such as meetings, workshops, and cross-organizational interactions. How these situations are set up and experienced can either enable or constrain how actors interact, align their efforts, respond to change, and create value together.

The results have clear practical implications for managers and policymakers working with partnerships, networks, and collaborative innovation. Rather than assuming that ecosystems develop on their own, the research shows that active involvement in collaboration is essential for strengthening shared capabilities and sustaining value creation over time.

Overall, the thesis provides new insight into how collaboration works in practice in business ecosystems, helping organizations better navigate complexity, uncertainty, and change.