Patterns of modularization: The dynamics of product architecture in complex systems

Abstract

Building on the research tradition that understands organizations as problem solving institutions, this paper focuses on the micro processes that underlie problem framing and solving. The paper compares the developmental efforts of the three world's leading aircraft engine manufacturers, and their suppliers, to single out the strategic and organizational elements that may - or may not - lead firms to identify the critical interdependencies underlying a technical problem. We argue that firms that are able to frame and re-frame problems successfully are those equipped with systems integration capabilities, namely, a set of routines and heuristics that enable firms to explore and experiment alternative patterns of problem decomposition. © 2011 European Academy of Management.