**7. Conclusions**

#### **7.1 Co-creation in business model innovation**

The two case studies exemplify how companies and academia can beneficially collaborate in co-creation teams engaged in business model innovation. Academia can provide volunteer research expertise and experience and even experimental/ test facilities, especially for scientific and technical projects. Companies can provide the candidate products that are produced in the traditional manufacturing system. Co-creation activities can lower the knowledge barriers for experimentation and entrepreneurial entry and can shorten development loops, especially for simple constructs. For company leaders who are neophytes in the high-tech world of 3D printing technologies, such assistance can be highly valuable. For academics who often engage with theoretical knowledge, the opportunity to engage with practical knowledge

*From Traditional Manufacturing to Digital Manufacturing: Two Swedish Case Studies DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111862*

can be equally valuable. From a monetary perspective, company leaders receive free support in co-creation projects; from a knowledge perspective, academics receive real-world experience in co-creation projects.
