KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS IN RADICALLY NEW PRODUCT ARCHITECTURES

Knowledge development patterns in radically new product architectures are explored. The aim is to achieve rich insights to generate explanatory propositions from a longitudinal field-study of three years. Results descend from a strategically selected sample pictured by a large industrial corporation up to develop a new product architecture as a principal mean to achieve synergies from an acquisition process. The study demonstrates how knowledge about two domains; components and architecture, simultaneously changes when developing radically new product architectures. Explanatory propositions suggest: (1) architecture to add complexity and uncertainty; (2) components to reduce complexity and uncertainty; (3) and architectural knowledge to be developed from knowledge about components.