Learning and Network Collaboration in Product Development: How Things Work for Human Use

Abstract

This article studies the learning and capability formation of a biotechnology fi rm by analysing its development path, which is composed of successive product development and innovation processes. In collaborative product development work, network collaboration, as well as the acquisition of new competences and learning, evolves simultaneously and interactively. Searching for and encountering partners with complementary knowledge and resources is important in the emergence of new product-development processes. To improve understanding of this path formation, the article draws on cultural-historical activity theory, science and technology studies and the epistemology of things and effects. These all underline the signifi cance of material artefacts for learning and activity. The epistemology of things and effects addresses the knowledge of how things work in experimental systems and products. Enzymes, proteins and instruments are put to work in a stabilized way as parts of new products. The effects so mastered entail the functional qualities that make products competitive in the marketplace. Key Words: competencies; epistemology of things and effects; network collaboration; path formation; product development This article addresses two decades of competence development in a small biotechnology fi rm that produces reagents, enzymes and instruments for genetic engineering and research in the global biotechnology market. Competence development is analysed in terms of the formation of a path consisting of successive product-development projects accomplished by a fi rm with a partner or partners having complementary knowledge and resources. Each process leads

Management learning in business networks: The process and the effects

“…It echoes the contention that in every new collaborative innovation prior resource and competencies of a firm are complemented by the mastery of new entities and effects (Miettinen et al, 2008). This article urges that a strategic reflection inherent in this evolving constellation is a necessary part of co-evolution.…”

“…It found an important skill which this study terms pollination because it fosters the formation of KCT -a unique phenomenon in business network collaboration. These findings advance our understanding of concepts such as collective invention (Allen, 1983), combinative capability (Kogut and Zander, 1992) and co-evolution (Miettinen et al, 2008;Walter et al, 2007). More importantly, they contribute to the study of management learning in network collaboration and provide directions for future research.…”

“…The exception is Halme (2001), who found network learning may produce exchange-type transactional outcomes so that completely new knowledge can be created. Miettinen et al (2008) also recognise this complementarity and highlight the importance of co-evolution. Prior work suggests that a company's understanding of a new product or process improves not only by the knowledge of being transferred by the partner company but also by accommodating it within its own work, so enriching its knowledge stock (Liu and Hart, 2011).…”

“…Prior research on management learning in network contexts (Enberg et al, 2006;Kogut, 2000;Miettinen et al, 2008;Owen-Smith and Powell, 2004;Walter et al, 2007) has produced diverse, even contradictory results, often raising more questions than it answers. Most notably, while it is clear that the impact of network collaboration on the success of projects varies considerably, the reasons for this are somewhat opaque (Knudsen and Mortensen, 2011;Van de Vrande et al, 2009).…”

Business Model Innovation Opportunities for the Biopharmaceutical Industry: A Systematic Review

“…110 This is driven in part by the scope and coherence of a firm's knowledge base 201 which follows an evolutionary path dependency of successive experiences and endeavors. 202 This absorptive capacity is critical to innovation success. It is a key factor that allows a firm to recognize, assimilate and to exploit different types of knowledge 282 and is often the differentiator for success among firms.…”