This book highlights innovative solutions together withvarious techniques and methods that can help support the manufacturing sectorto excel in economic, social, and environmental terms in networked businessenvironments. The book also furthers understanding of sustainable manufacturingfrom the perspective of value creation in manufacturing networks, bycapitalizing on the outcomes of the European 'Sustainable Value Creation inManufacturing Networks' project. New dynamics and uncertainties in modernmarkets call for innovative solutions in the global manufacturing sector. Whilethe manufacturing sector is traditionally driven by technology, it alsorequires other managerial and organizational solutions in terms of networkgovernance, business models, sustainable solution development for products andservices, performance management portals, etc., which can provide majorcompetitive advantages for companies. At the same time, the manufacturingindustry is subject to a change process, where business networks play a majorrole in value-creating processes. By far the biggest challenge in this contextis making value creation a sustainable process where economic, social, andenvironmental demands are met. Managing product and service-related businessoperations in manufacturing networks thus brings different challenges thatcannot purely be resolved using traditional methods, and techniques.

This book is an outcome of a European project funded by theEuropean Commission, and performed by a dedicated R&D consortium comprisedof some leading Research institutions and Industrial partners.