Component Connectivity, Team Network Structure and the Attention to Technical Interfaces in Complex Product Development

37 Pages Posted: 24 Nov 2007

See all articles by Manuel Sosa

Manuel Sosa

INSEAD

Martin Gargiulo

INSEAD - Organisational Behavior

Craig Rowles

Pratt & Whitney Aircraft

Date Written: November 2007

Abstract

The development of complex products poses substantial operational and organizational challenges to established firms. Previous research has shown that coordinating technical interdependencies is vital for the successful development of complex products. We integrate research streams in product development and organizational theory to study the determinants of the capability of teams to attend to technical interfaces in complex product development projects. We hypothesize that the connectivity among product components and teams' communication network structure significantly influence their attention to critical technical interfaces. We show that to effectively examine the role of component connectivity and team network structure is essential to recognize the dual role that teams play as acquirers and providers of technical information during the design process. We test our hypotheses by examining the network of components of a large commercial aircraft engine and the technical communication network structure of the organization that designs it. Our findings suggest that the connectivity of product components pose capacity restrictions when teams are requested to provide attention to critical design interfaces while teams with sparse communication networks are more capable of aligning their communication patterns with the design interfaces of the components they design.

Keywords: Product Architecture, Modularity, Product Development Organizations Design, Social Networks

Suggested Citation

Sosa, Manuel and Gargiulo, Martin and Rowles, Craig, Component Connectivity, Team Network Structure and the Attention to Technical Interfaces in Complex Product Development (November 2007). INSEAD Business School Research Paper No. 2007/68/TOM/OB, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1032142 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1032142

Manuel Sosa (Contact Author)

INSEAD ( email )

Boulevard de Constance
77305 Fontainebleau Cedex
France

Martin Gargiulo

INSEAD - Organisational Behavior ( email )

Finance area, Boulevard de Constance
Fontainebleau 77305
France
(33) (0)1 60 72 43 23 (Phone)
(33) (0)1 60 74 55 00/01 (Fax)

Craig Rowles

Pratt & Whitney Aircraft ( email )

East Hartford, CT
United States

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