Learning at the boundary of the firm : learning-by-interaction between a manufacturer and its users

[摘要] (cont.) Chapter 3 extends what we know about firm boundaries from the existing theories and empirical findings, and focuses on a specific type of collaborative product design process between a manufacturer and its users. By using the grounded theory building method with multiple data sources from a manufacturing company in Canada, I develop a process model of how user-manufacturer problem-solving language differences can negatively affect the collaboration. Then the discussion shifts towards the actual process of how the language boundary can be mitigated by local coordination based on the technical interdependencies between user requirement and technological implementation. In Chapter 4, I identify the learning-by-interaction process between a manufacturer and its users in the product development stage. By examining 359 user-manufacturer co-development projects, I demonstrate that a focal manufacturer and its users have a learning curve identical to that observed within the boundary of the firm. But in contrast from what the traditional learning-curve effect suggests, I show that this learning-byinteracting with users benefits the design process rather than the manufacturing process. To understand the process of learning-by-interaction more deeply, I analyzed 2,365 communication data consisting of emails and phone call records and found that the timely and responsive feedback of interdependent information is critical in continuous-design problem-solving in this user-manufacturer learning process. The effects of prior templating - problem-solving with the products used against the use context - and distance - both spatial and temporal - on learning were examined as well, but it was revealed that they did not have a significant role in the context of this field study.

[发布机构] Massachusetts Institute of Technology