The project

In today's dynamic business landscape, the race to develop innovative and user-centric products is more competitive than ever. This degree project aims to investigate how large language models can be harnessed to optimize and expedite various stages of the product development lifecycle. Due to the novelty of the topic, the thesis will be exploratory in nature.

Methodological design

By relying on case studies and interviews at selected firms, the aim of the thesis is provide knowledge on whether and how employees involved in the innovation processes use LLMs to support various stages of the innovation process. Relevant stages of the innovation process include but are not limited to idea generation, market research, user feedback and support, product development and design, and sales. The thesis may focus on some of these stages or provide a general overview. Other relevant aspect may be included in addition whenever appropriate.

Expected Outcomes

The applicant will have high autonomy with respect to his or her degree project and will be given the opportunity to specify and work out the details of research questions and the exact design, inluding selection of firms, conducting the interviews and cases studies with a focus to the research questions, and summaring the results in the thesis. This research offers an opportunity to contribute to the field of innovation analying the new possibilities that state-of-the-art AI technology offer. Specifially, the thesis shall focus on the identifcation of potentials and limitations of the effective use of LLMs for innovation and provide a critical reflection on their usefulness in redesigning innovation processes.

Requirements

A background in innovation management, innovation economics or business strategy is helpful but not mandatory.

What you can expect

We guarantee a close mentorship for this degree project. When necessary the supervisor will support the student in making connections to relevant firms.

Contact

For questions about the master thesis project contact Torben Schubert: torben.schubert@design.lth.se