Public defence: Rocky Mahmud

Rocky Mahmud is defending his doctoral thesis in management. The thesis is about how autonomous solutions can emerge in the market, and how the choices companies make, new ways of making money and cooperation between multiple players play an important role.

18 Feb

Practical information

  • Date: 18 February 2026
  • Time: 10.00 - 15.00
  • Location: Vestfold, Room A1-39 and Zoom
  • Download calendar file

    • Participate on Zoom here 

    Programme

    10.00. Trial Lecture: «Research on business growth and scaling in the context of autonomous solutions.

    What frameworks and insights does the research literature on business growth and scaling offer, and to what extent are these frameworks and insights applicable to the context of autonomous solutions, and which aspects may require modification?Entrepreneurship in the age of cheap expertise: How AI reshapes access to opportunity and competitive advantage.»

    12.00. Public Defence. "Toward a Scaling Process for Autonomous Solutions: Exploring the influence of strategy, business model innovation, and ecosystem"

    Assessment committee

    • First opponent: Professor Tor Helge Aas at University of Agder
    • Second opponent: Research Director Marikka Heikkilä at University of Turku, Finland
    • Administrator: Associate Professor Rannveig Røste at University of South-Eastern Norway

    Supervisors

    • Principal Supervisor: Associate Professor Thomas Brekke at University of South-Eastern Norway
    • Co-supervisor: Chaired Professor in Entreprensurship and Innovation, Vinit Parida, and Associate Professor David Sjödin at University of Luleå. Both are also visiting professors at the University of South-Eastern Norway.
Any questions?

Rocky Mahmud will defend his thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the University of South-Eastern Norway. 

Portrett av Rocky Mahmud sittende i grå dress og med hendene på lårene og foldet

He has completed the doctoral programme in management at USN School of Business at the Department of Business, History and Social Sciences.

All interested are welcome to attend the trial lecture and the defence of the thesis.

keyboard_backspace Link to the dissertation

Summary

This dissertation explains the evolving scaling process of autonomous solutions (AS) markets through various phases and timelines. 

This thesis examined sixteen small and medium-sized AS providers and their value creation partners to understand the process of AS market scaling. This investigation resulted in a novel framework for scaling markets for AI solutions such as AS and similar innovative digital technologies.

A major finding of this research is that companies should invest in developing a clear market growth strategy alongside technology development to ensure their business processes match current market trends. Such a strategy formulation may be effective when companies focus on understanding their market conditions and conceptualize their business model to meet customer preferences.

Another significant finding of this research is that continuous optimization of the business process helps companies adapt to changing market conditions. While optimizing the business model is often a complex endeavor, particularly for autonomous solutions, companies may achieve it by emphasizing alignment of the interests of multiple partners. This thesis also finds that companies need to develop key ecosystem management capabilities to support the rapid expansion of the AS markets.

Based on these findings, this dissertation makes significant contributions to scholarly research and practice:

  • This thesis expands academic discussions by proposing a scaling framework for AS, highlighting three phases—strategic evaluation, process optimization, and ecosystem-enabled scaling—and identifying key activities and goals startups must achieve.
  • This thesis advances the theories on scaling by examining the influence of strategy, business model innovation, and ecosystem management approaches. 

Practical Implications:
The proposed scaling framework offers guidance to help founders and managers of companies that provide innovative and sustainable digital solutions, like AS, expand their markets. 

It also offers significant policy implications for policymakers to adopt to ensure the safe, trustworthy, and risk-free adoption of autonomous solutions across industries.