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Transfer of System Knowledge Across Generations in New Product Development: Empirical Observations from Japanese Automobile Development
Author(s) -
Aoshima Yaichi
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
industrial relations: a journal of economy and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1468-232X
pISSN - 0019-8676
DOI - 10.1111/1468-232x.00266
Subject(s) - new product development , argument (complex analysis) , automotive industry , context (archaeology) , knowledge transfer , product (mathematics) , empirical evidence , knowledge management , computer science , architecture , business , process management , engineering , marketing , mathematics , epistemology , geometry , aerospace engineering , art , paleontology , biochemistry , chemistry , philosophy , visual arts , biology
The objective of this article is to explore effective ways of retaining knowledge involved in new product development. Although human–based mechanisms, such as the direct transfer of project members, more effectively convey knowledge required in design integration at the higher level of product systems, the article shows that standardized mechanisms are more appropriate for retention of lower–component knowledge. However, it is also argued that product architecture affects these relationships through its impact on a locus of design change in a product system. Such argument is partially tested in the context of the Japanese automobile industry.