**3. The case studies: the setting**

## **3.1 The FabLab concept**

In the case studies presented in this chapter, in which two companies (Alpha and Beta)1 are featured, researchers from Halmstad University, Sweden, collaborated with two industry partners at FabLab Halmstad in co-creation business model innovation projects. The FabLab concept, which was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is an outreach project initiated by MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms in 2001. The concept has flourished until today there are approximately 1500 FabLabs in 90 countries [27]. At FabLab Halmstad, the focus is on small-scale innovation and experimentation in digital fabrication and production.
