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Studying modular design: an interview with Carliss Y. Baldwin

Author

Listed:
  • Navya Pandit

    (Bocconi University)

  • Constantin Prox

    (INSEAD)

  • Carliss Y. Baldwin

    (Harvard Business School)

Abstract

Carliss Baldwin has brought large advances to the fields of technology and organization design. In this conversation, we trace her academic career and the stories behind her most important contributions, including her work on options, transactions, and her seminal book, Design Rules Volume 1. We sketch out how her understanding of modular systems evolved over the course of her career and provide advice to other academics.

Suggested Citation

  • Navya Pandit & Constantin Prox & Carliss Y. Baldwin, 2022. "Studying modular design: an interview with Carliss Y. Baldwin," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 11(2), pages 77-85, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jorgde:v:11:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s41469-022-00119-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s41469-022-00119-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baldwin, Carliss Y & Ruback, Richard S, 1986. "Inflation, Uncertainty, and Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 41(3), pages 657-668, July.
    2. Alan MacCormack & John Rusnak & Carliss Y. Baldwin, 2006. "Exploring the Structure of Complex Software Designs: An Empirical Study of Open Source and Proprietary Code," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(7), pages 1015-1030, July.
    3. Donald MacKenzie, 2008. "An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262633671, April.
    4. Baldwin, Carliss Y & Tribendis, Joseph J & Clark, Joel P, 1984. "The Evolution of Market Risk in the U.S. Steel Industry and Implications for Required Rates of Return," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 73-98, September.
    5. Scholes, Myron S, 1998. "Derivatives in a Dynamic Environment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 350-370, June.
    6. Baldwin, Carliss Y. & Clark, Kim B., 1994. "Capital-Budgeting Systems and Capabilities Investments in U.S. Companies after the Second World War," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(1), pages 73-109, April.
    7. Jianxi Luo & Carliss Y. Baldwin & Daniel E. Whitney & Christopher L. Magee, 2012. "The architecture of transaction networks: a comparative analysis of hierarchy in two sectors," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 21(6), pages 1307-1335, December.
    8. Baldwin, Carliss & MacCormack, Alan & Rusnak, John, 2014. "Hidden structure: Using network methods to map system architecture," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1381-1397.
    9. CARLISS Y. Baldwin & Kim B. Clark, 1992. "Capabilities And Capital Investment: New Perspectives On Capital Budgeting," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 5(2), pages 67-82, June.
    10. Baldwin, Carliss & Hienerth, Christoph & von Hippel, Eric, 2006. "How user innovations become commercial products: A theoretical investigation and case study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 1291-1313, November.
    11. Carliss Y. Baldwin & Kim B. Clark, 2000. "Design Rules, Volume 1: The Power of Modularity," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262024667, April.
    12. MacCormack, Alan & Baldwin, Carliss & Rusnak, John, 2012. "Exploring the duality between product and organizational architectures: A test of the “mirroring” hypothesis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(8), pages 1309-1324.
    13. Carliss Y. Baldwin & Kim B. Clark, 2006. "The Architecture of Participation: Does Code Architecture Mitigate Free Riding in the Open Source Development Model?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(7), pages 1116-1127, July.
    14. Carliss Y. Baldwin & Joachim Henkel, 2015. "Modularity and intellectual property protection," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(11), pages 1637-1655, November.
    15. Baldwin, Carliss Y. & Meyer, Richard F., 1979. "Liquidity preference under uncertainty: A model of dynamic investment in illiquid opportunities," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 347-374, December.
    16. Baldwin, Carliss Y, 1983. "Productivity and Labor Unions: An Application of the Theory of Self-Enforcing Contracts," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(2), pages 155-185, April.
    17. Carliss Y. Baldwin, 2008. "Where do transactions come from? Modularity, transactions, and the boundaries of firms," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 17(1), pages 155-195, February.
    18. Carliss Y. Baldwin, 2019. "Setting the stage for corporate headquarters: a technological explanation for the rise of modern industrial corporations," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 8(1), pages 1-16, December.
    19. Clark, Kim B., 1985. "The interaction of design hierarchies and market concepts in technological evolution," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 235-251, October.
    20. Baldwin, Carliss Y, 1982. "Optimal Sequential Investment When Capital Is Not Readily Reversible," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(3), pages 763-782, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Modularity; Design; Real options; Technology;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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