Introduction

It is well known that the development of successful business and production systems are full of conflicting forces; initiatives that seem conducive to one line of work can be a constraint on another line of work. This kind of dilemma is the core subject of the current book, and by applying alternative perspectives to such dilemmas, the book will present ideas on how these could be managed in organizations. Organizations need to manage a number of challenges in terms of dualities in order to create a contemporary production system, which seems to be key to future innovative quality improvements in operations. The challenges and dichotomies that are addressed in this book are all part of four interrelated processes that together constitute key elements of a contemporary production system: The innovation process—creation and implementation of new offerings and solutions, The production process—production and distribution of offerings and solutions, The knowledge creation process—emergence and distribution of knowledge, The value creation process—created customer value based on the offerings and solutions developed.