Transferring Core Manufacturing Technologies in High-Technology Firms

Galbraith, Craig S.

doi:10.2307/41166628

Cited by 311 publications

(210 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

194

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…First of all, complexity only plays a role in determining the most effective imitation strategy when there are similar peers to be imitated and the time horizon is longenough. This finding is noteworthy because even though it is well known that complexity harms the ability to imitate (e.g., Ounjian and Carne, 1987;Galbraith, 1990;Rivkin, 2000), we show that from the point of view of a firm deciding on the best imitation strategy, complexity only plays a role under specific conditions. The decision tree can also be used to state the following testable hypotheses regarding imitation (each hypothesis maps to one leaf of the decision tree, read from left to right).…”

Section: < Insert Figure 11 About Here >mentioning

confidence: 72%

“…Empirical studies include Ounjian and Carne (1987), who observed that increased complexity reduced the rate of diffusion of innovations in a large organization. Likewise, Galbraith (1990), in the context of manufacturing plants, found that the time to successfully adopt an innovation increased with the complexity of the innovation. Using a simulation model, Rivkin (2000) showed more formally how interactions among a firm's activities can create formidable barriers to imitation.…”

Section: Prior Work On Imitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

How Much to Copy? Determinants of Effective Imitation Breadth

Csaszar

Siggelkow

2010

Organization Science

125

148

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is a common and frequently implicit assumption in the literature on knowledge transfer and organizational learning that imitating practices from high-performing firms has a positive impact on the imitating firm. Although a large body of research has identified obstacles to successful imitation, not much is known about what breadth of imitation is most effective. In this paper, we use a simulation model to explore how context and firm similarity, interdependence among practices, context and firm similarity, and time horizon interact in nontrivial ways to determine the payoffs that arise from different breadths of imitation. The results of the model allow us to qualify and refine predictions of the extant literature on imitation. In particular, the results shed light on the conditions under which increases in imitation breadth, and hence investments that facilitate the faithful copying of more practices, are valuable. In addition, the results of the model highlight that imitation can serve two different functions-mimicking high performers, and generating search by dislodging a firm from its current set of practices-each requiring different organizational routines for its successful implementation. How much to copy? The contingent value of imitation capabilities Abstract: It is a common (and frequently implicit) assumption in the literature on knowledge exchange and organizational learning that imitating practices from high-performing firms has a positive impact on the imitating firm. While a large body of research has pointed out obstacles to successful imitation, very little is known about what degree of imitation is most effective. In this paper, we use a simulation model to explore the role that interdependence among practices, firm-similarity, and time horizon play in influencing the value of different degrees of imitation, and show how they interact in non-trivial ways.For instance, we find that in the presence of interactions, the most effective imitation strategy between similar firms with long time horizons is the worst strategy for short time horizons. One implication of our results is that even if a firm has the capability to copy all practices from a high-performing firm, this will only occasionally be the most appropriate imitation strategy. We also show that imitation can serve two different functions-mimicking high performers and dislodging a firm from its current set of practiceseach one requiring very different organizational routines for its successful implementation. Lastly, we use the model to shed light on three previous disputes in the literature: the controversy between slow and fast learning, whether imitation is effective only at the start of operations or on a continuing basis, and whether firm similarity increases or decreases learning opportunities.

show abstract

Section: < Insert Figure 11 About Here >mentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Prior Work On Imitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Much to Copy? Determinants of Effective Imitation Breadth

Csaszar

Siggelkow

2010

Organization Science

125

148

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Pela transferência de práticas as empresas podem ganhar com as sinergias e a maximização do desempenho em suas diversas unidades, assegurando consistência e tornando-se capazes de elevar suas práticas baseadas naquilo que elas -ou outras empresas -fazem melhor (O'dell e Grayson Jr., 1998;Argote, 1999). Existem diferentes abordagens para se estudar a transferência de práticas entre e intra-empresas, de um estudo individual focado em uma única organização (Brannen et al, 1998;Fruin, 1998) até estudos de grande escala (Galbraith, 1990;Szulanski, 1996).…”

Section: Revisão Da Literaturaunclassified

“…A capacidade de absorção é definida por Cohen e Levinthal (1990) como a habilidade da empresa em reconhecer o valor de informações externas, assimilá-las e aplicá-las. Embora eles não usem esse conceito em específico, outros autores encontraram resultados semelhantes aos de Szulanski: muitos problemas surgem quando a organização receptora não tem compreensão do que está sendo transferido (Rothwell, 1978) e experiências anteriores com a tecnologia na organização receptora minimizam as perdas de produtividade na transferência (Galbraith, 1990).…”

Section: Revisão Da Literaturaunclassified

Transferindo práticas: construindo conhecimento arquitetural localmente

Prochno

2004

Rev. adm. empres.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

RESUMOO artigo traz um estudo qualitativo dos processos organizacionais que deram suporte à transferência de conhecimento para uma nova fábrica, detalhando os maiores desafios que a organização teve de enfrentar durante seu primeiro ano de operações. Apesar do sucesso obtido na transferência de conhecimento individual para cada área em separado, a empresa enfrentou muitos desafios em sua aplicação, uma vez que não tinha desenvolvido o conhecimento arquitetural -relativo à junção e aplicação das várias bases individuais de conhecimento. Conhecimento este que teve de ser desenvolvido localmente por meio de mecanismos de experiência, negociação e sensemaking. O estudo ressalta a importância do conhecimento arquitetural, uma dimensão até agora não considerada nos estudos de transferência de conhecimento. PALAVRAS-CHAVE Transferência de conhecimento, aprendizado, América Latina, rotinas organizacionais, competências organizacionais. Paulo Prochno

show abstract

“…The latter is mainly concerned with technology transfer and diffusion, as well as withinnetwork learning (see e.g. Gailbraith [7] and Flaherty [8]). However, in some instances attempts have been made to integrate the two issues to get an overall view of the manufacturing network (see e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Manufacturing Networks — An Empirical Study

Feldmann

Olhager

Persson

Advances in Production Management Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The design of the manufacturing network for a firm is an important factor for its competitive position. By manufacturing network we mean the plant or plants of the manufacturing firm and the relationships with external suppliers. The way that these operate together is central to the entire supply system supports the competition of the products in the marketplace. The decisions are typically categorised as related to facilities and vertical integration, two decision categories in an operations strategy. This paper presents the results of a survey of 84 Swedish manufacturing plants. The results show that competitive priorities such as quality and price play different roles in the networks, and that there is a significant difference in terms of how internal and external suppliers are selected.

show abstract

Transferring Core Manufacturing Technologies in High-Technology Firms

Cited by 311 publications

References 3 publications

How Much to Copy? Determinants of Effective Imitation Breadth

How Much to Copy? Determinants of Effective Imitation Breadth

Transferindo práticas: construindo conhecimento arquitetural localmente

Designing Manufacturing Networks — An Empirical Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About