Professional Literature
This page collects the professional literature that forms the basis of my work with digitalization, innovation and value creation. Here you will find books on innovation, service design, UX, design, eMarketing, digital development, customer behavior and customer journeys - from classic theories to modern, practical approaches.
The library serves as both a scholarly overview and an introduction to further reading. All books have been selected because they provide insight into how technology, people and organizations interact in the development of good services and sustainable solutions. You can go directly from each book to relevant sales channels for further in-depth study.
From AC - This is where it all starts. From the big ideas about technology and the future, to how people actually make choices. These are books that explain why innovation happens – and why customers don't always do what we think they should. A good start… and maybe a few little aha moments along the way.
This library is under continuous development. Over time, selected titles will be expanded with academic summaries, reflections, and links to practice.
Professional Literature – A–C
This book explores how exponential technologies, innovation and entrepreneurship can help address some of the world's greatest challenges. The authors argue that technological advances in areas including artificial intelligence, energy, medicine and communications can create a future characterised by greater accessibility, improved quality of life and new opportunities for value creation. The book combines technological optimism with practical examples from business and research, offering an inspiring perspective on how innovation can be scaled when people, capital and technology come together.
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In this book, Rory Sutherland shows how people often make decisions based on emotions, psychology and experiences rather than pure logic. Through humorous and insightful examples from marketing, economics and society, he argues that creative and ‘irrational’ thinking can often produce better solutions than traditional analysis alone. Alchemy is particularly relevant to anyone working with customer experience, communication, innovation and value creation at the intersection of people and technology.
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This book explores how artificial intelligence is affecting society, politics, the economy and human thought. The authors analyse how AI is changing decision-making, power structures, working life and international relations, while also examining the ethical and philosophical implications of the technology. The book provides a broad and thoughtful framework for understanding how AI will shape the societies and organisations of the future.
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This book shows how marketing and sales must work closely together to create growth, better customer experiences, and stronger results. Tracy Eiler combines practical experience with modern data-driven marketing and shows how businesses can build common goals, clear organization, and better interaction between departments. The book is especially relevant in an era where digital customer journeys cross channels, technology, and organizational boundaries.
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This classic strategy book shows how businesses can create new markets and avoid direct price competition by thinking differently about value, innovation, and customer needs. The authors introduce the concept of “Blue Ocean” as a strategy for developing new opportunities rather than competing in established markets with increasingly tough competition. The book has become a central framework in innovation, business development, and strategic differentiation.
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In this book, Donald Miller shows how clear storytelling can make communication simpler, more human and more effective. Through the StoryBrand framework, he explains how organisations can build stronger customer journeys by placing customers’ needs and challenges at the centre. The book combines marketing, psychology and practical communication principles, and has become highly popular in branding, digital communication and customer experience.
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This book introduces the Business Model Canvas – a visual and practical framework for developing, analysing and refining business models. Through examples, illustrations and methodology, the authors show how organisations can create value, understand customer needs and adapt to rapid changes in the market. The book is now widely used in innovation, entrepreneurship, digital transformation and service development – in both the private and public sectors.
Business Model Innovation: It’s Not Just About Technology Anymore
Henry Chesbrough is regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the field of open innovation. In this work, he argues that innovation is not primarily about technology alone, but about how organisations structure, deliver and commercialise value creation. Chesbrough shows how strong business models are often crucial to achieving innovation in practice, and how collaboration, partnerships and open ecosystems are becoming increasingly important in modern business.
Here, Chesbrough further develops the idea that strong business models are often more important than the technology itself. Many organisations fail not because their ideas are poor, but because they are unable to turn innovation into a sustainable business model.
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This classic management book analyses what characterises companies that succeed over a very long period of time. Through extensive research, the authors show how strong values, a clear culture, long-term thinking and the ability to innovate continuously are often more important than short-term financial goals. The book has had a significant impact in the fields of strategy, organisational development and innovation management, and is particularly relevant to organisations seeking to build enduring institutions with a clear identity and role in society.
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Building Theories from Case Study Research
A classic methodological article on how theory can be developed through case studies. This type of research is important in innovation research because innovation often needs to be understood through complex real-world situations.
Drawing on research in neuromarketing, Martin Lindstrom explores how the brain responds to brands, advertising and purchasing situations. Through studies of emotions, the senses and unconscious decision-making processes, the book shows how people often make choices on a far more emotional basis than they themselves realise. Buyology has become an important book in marketing, branding and customer experience, providing insights into how psychology influences modern consumer behaviour.
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This classic strategy book shows how speed and responsiveness can provide crucial competitive advantages in modern organisations. The authors argue that companies able to reduce the time required for development, production, delivery and decision-making often achieve higher quality, lower costs and stronger customer experiences. The book has had a significant influence on product development, service design, logistics and digitalisation, and is particularly relevant in a world where rapid change and high expectations shape both customers and markets.
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In this book, Christensen develops the ‘Jobs to Be Done’ theory, arguing that people do not simply buy products or services — they ‘hire’ them to meet specific needs in their everyday lives. This perspective has had a significant influence on customer experience, service design and innovation.
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A key book on how organisations use data, analytics and insight as a strategic competitive advantage. Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris show how analytics can transform large amounts of data into better decisions, greater precision and more targeted business management.
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In this book, Jonah Berger explains why some ideas, products, and messages spread quickly while others fade away. Drawing on research in psychology, marketing, and social influence, he presents concrete principles for how content can create engagement, sharing, and attention. Contagious has become a key book in digital marketing, communications, and branding, especially in an era characterized by social media and rapid information flows.
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This classic textbook on consumer behavior explains how people make decisions as customers and consumers. The authors combine psychology, marketing, and social science to shed light on how motivation, perception, attitudes, culture, and influence shape purchasing processes. The book has been a central part of marketing education for many years and provides a solid foundation for understanding customer experience, segmentation, and modern consumer behavior.
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Joseph Schumpeter introduced the concept of “creative destruction” to describe how innovation drives economic development by continuously replacing old products, services, and business models with new ones. The perspective has gained enormous importance in innovation theory, entrepreneurship, and digital transformation, and is still used to understand how technology and new market players change business and society over time.
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Tom Kelley and David Kelley from IDEO show how creativity, design thinking and experimentation can be used to develop innovation in both people and organizations. Through practical examples, the authors explain how collaboration, curiosity and the courage to test new ideas create the foundation for the services, products and businesses of the future. The book has gained great importance in innovation, service design and organizational development, and emphasizes that creativity is not reserved for a few – but can be developed in everyone.
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This classic innovation book explains how technology products and digital services move from early enthusiasts to broad commercial breakthroughs in the mass market. Geoffrey A. Moore describes the challenge of “crossing the gap” between innovators and the broad market, and why many promising technologies fail in this transition. The book has become a central framework in the fields of technology, entrepreneurship, and the commercialization of innovation.
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