IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/uto/labeco/200808.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Complexity and Organizational Change in the Coordination of Technological Knowledge: Evidence from the Automobile Cluster in Turin

Author

Listed:

Abstract

The paper adopts a complexity perspective to understand the transformations in the organizational forms that coordinate the generation and dissemination of technological knowledge within firms. Complexity theory provides the framework to understand the evolution and transformation of economic systems. These are seen as emergent processes brought about by changes in the structure of interactions among actors. Changes in those interactions are steered by the modification in the pattern of specialisation and differentiation in the capabilities and technological skill of economic actors. The paper illustrates these elements through the evidence of the automobile cluster in Piedmont, in North-western Italy. This is characterized by the emergence of a distributed innovation platform, which is seen as a major organizational innovation in the organization of diffused technological capabilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrucco, Pier Paolo, 2008. "Complexity and Organizational Change in the Coordination of Technological Knowledge: Evidence from the Automobile Cluster in Turin," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 200808, University of Turin.
    • Handle: RePEc:uto:labeco:200808
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.est.unito.it/do/home.pl/Download?doc=/allegati_wp/wp2008dip_l_b/8_wp_momigliano.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robinson, Douglas K.R. & Rip, Arie & Mangematin, Vincent, 2007. "Technological agglomeration and the emergence of clusters and networks in nanotechnology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 871-879, July.
    2. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    3. Antonelli, Cristiano, 2005. "Models of knowledge and systems of governance," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 51-73, June.
    4. G. M.P. Swann, 2009. "The Economics of Innovation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13211.
    5. Sah, Raaj Kumar & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1986. "The Architecture of Economic Systems: Hierarchies and Polyarchies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(4), pages 716-727, September.
    6. Richard N. Langlois, 2002. "Modularity in Technology and Organization," Chapters, in: Nicolai J. Foss & Peter G. Klein (ed.), Entrepreneurship and the Firm, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Sah, Raaj Kumar & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1988. "Committees, Hierarchies and Polyarchies," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 98(391), pages 451-470, June.
    8. Claudia U. Ciborra, 1996. "The Platform Organization: Recombining Strategies, Structures, and Surprises," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(2), pages 103-118, April.
    9. Steven N. Durlauf, 2005. "Complexity and Empirical Economics," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(504), pages 225-243, June.
    10. Douglas K. R. Robinson & Arie Rip & Vincent Mangematin, 2007. "Technological agglomeration and the emergence of clusters and networks in nanotechnology," Post-Print hal-00424519, HAL.
    11. Brian J. Loasby, 2002. "The division and coordination of knowledge," Chapters, in: Shelia C. Dow (ed.), Keynes, Uncertainty and the Global Economy, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Masahiko Aoki, 2013. "Endogenizing institutions and institutional changes," Chapters, in: Comparative Institutional Analysis, chapter 16, pages 267-297, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    14. Stan Metcalfe, "undated". "Capitalism and evolution," Openloc Working Papers 1201, Public policies and local development.
    15. Brusoni, Stefano & Prencipe, Andrea, 2001. "Unpacking the Black Box of Modularity: Technologies, Products and Organizations," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(1), pages 179-205, March.
    16. Horst Hanusch & Andreas Pyka, 2007. "Principles of Neo-Schumpeterian Economics," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 31(2), pages 275-289, March.
    17. Luis Garicano, 2000. "Hierarchies and the Organization of Knowledge in Production," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(5), pages 874-904, October.
    18. Patrucco, Pier Paolo, 2005. "Collective Knowledge Production, Costs and the Dynamics of Technological Systems," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 200506, University of Turin.
    19. John Foster, 2005. "From simplistic to complex systems in economics," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 29(6), pages 873-892, November.
    20. Josh Whitford & Aldo Enrietti, 2005. "Surviving the Fall of a King: The Regional Institutional Implications of Crisis at Fiat Auto," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 771-795, December.
    21. Antonelli, Cristiano, 2007. "The system dynamics of collective knowledge: From gradualism and saltationism to punctuated change," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 215-236, February.
    22. Pier Patrucco, 2008. "The economics of collective knowledge and technological communication," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 33(6), pages 579-599, December.
    23. Timothy J. Sturgeon, 2002. "Modular production networks: a new American model of industrial organization," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 11(3), pages 451-496, June.
    24. Jason Potts, 2000. "The New Evolutionary Microeconomics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2258.
    25. Herbert A. Simon, 2002. "Near decomposability and the speed of evolution," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 11(3), pages 587-599, June.
    26. Koen Frenken, 2006. "Technological innovation and complexity theory," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(2), pages 137-155.
    27. Davide Consoli & Pier Paolo Patrucco, 2008. "Innovation Platforms And The Governance Of Knowledge: Evidence From Italy And The Uk," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(7-8), pages 699-716.
    28. Pier Paolo Patrucco, 2009. "Collective knowledge production costs and the dynamics of technological systems," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 295-310.
    29. Bruce Kogut, 2000. "The network as knowledge: generative rules and the emergence of structure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 405-425, March.
    30. Foster, John, 1993. "Economics and the Self-Organisation Approach: Alfred Marshall Revisited," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 103(419), pages 975-991, July.
    31. Richardson, G B, 1972. "The Organisation of Industry," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 82(327), pages 883-896, September.
    32. Jason Potts, 2001. "Knowledge and markets," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 413-431.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Davide Consoli & Pier Paolo Patrucco, 2011. "Complexity and the Coordination of Technological Knowledge: The Case of Innovation Platforms," Chapters, in: Cristiano Antonelli (ed.), Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Davide Consoli & Pier Paolo Patrucco, 2011. "Complexity and the Coordination of Technological Knowledge: The Case of Innovation Platforms," Chapters, in: Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 8 Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Patrucco, Pier Paolo, 2013. "The Evolution of Knowledge Organization: The Emergence of Innovation Platform in the Turin Car System," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 201315, University of Turin.
    4. Patrucco, Pier Paolo, 2013. "Innovation Platforms, Complexity and the Knowledge-Intensive Firm," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 201316, University of Turin.
    5. Pier Paolo Patrucco, 2012. "Innovative Platforms, Complexity and the Knowledge Intensive Firm," Chapters, in: Michael Dietrich & Jackie Krafft (ed.), Handbook on the Economics and Theory of the Firm, chapter 26, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Cristiano Antonelli, 2011. "The Economic Complexity of Technological Change: Knowledge Interaction and Path Dependence," Chapters, in: Cristiano Antonelli (ed.), Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Cristiano Antonelli & Pier Paolo Patrucco & Federica Rossi, 2010. "The Economics of Knowledge Interaction and the Changing Role of Universities," Chapters, in: Faïz Gallouj & Faridah Djellal (ed.), The Handbook of Innovation and Services, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Cristiano Antonelli, 2010. "Pecuniary Externalities and the Localized Generation of Technological Knowledge," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Verónica Robert & Gabriel Yoguel, 2011. "The Complex Dynamics of Economic Development," Chapters, in: Cristiano Antonelli (ed.), Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 17, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Ron Martin & Peter Sunley, 2010. "Complexity Thinking and Evolutionary Economic Geography," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Frigant, 2004. "Modularity: the foundations of an architect firm? (In French)," Industrial Organization 0405002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Cristiano Antonelli & Federico Barbiellini Amidei, 2011. "The Dynamics of Knowledge Externalities," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13292.
    13. Leonardo Bargigli, 2005. "The limits of modularity in innovation and production," KITeS Working Papers 176, KITeS, Centre for Knowledge, Internationalization and Technology Studies, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy, revised Sep 2005.
    14. Verónica Robert & Gabriel Yoguel & Octavio Lerena, 2017. "The ontology of complexity and the neo-Schumpeterian evolutionary theory of economic change," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 761-793, September.
    15. Chassagnon, Virgile, 2014. "Consummate cooperation in the network-firm: Theoretical insights and empirical findings," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 260-274.
    16. Stan Metcalfe, 2014. "Capitalism and evolution," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 11-34, January.
    17. Vincent FRIGANT & Stéphanie PERES & Stéphane VIROL, 2012. "How do SMEs to rise at the top of the supply chain? An econometric exploration of the French auto industry (In French)," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2012-16, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    18. Stan Metcalfe, "undated". "Capitalism and evolution," Openloc Working Papers 1201, Public policies and local development.
    19. Vincent Frigant & Damien Talbot, 2003. "Convergence et diversité du passage à la production modulaire dans l'aéronautique et l'automobile en Europe," Post-Print hal-00246171, HAL.
    20. Antonelli, Cristiano & David, Paul, 2015. "The Generation of Knowledge as an Emergent System Property: An Introduction," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201540, University of Turin.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:uto:labeco:200808. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Piero Cavaleri or Marina Grazioli (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/leifrit.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.