Christen Rose-Anderssen

A cladistic classification of commercial aerospace supply chain evolution

Purpose – This paper aims to address the advantage of considering an evolutionary classification scheme for commercial aerospace supply chains. It is an industry wide approach. By going beyond the performance of the single firm and considering the whole supply chain for a product a better understanding of present states and performances of the firms within the chain can be achieved.Design/methodology/approach – The approach is presented as evolutionary steps by introduction of key supply chain characters. These steps are brought together by applying cladistics to classify the evolutionary relationships between supply chain forms.Findings – Key character states define the change of supply chain forms in the evolutionary adaptation to market realities and to proactive responses to increased competition.Originality/value – The potential benefits of this approach include a benchmark of best practice, a strategic tool for policy development, and the creation of future scenarios.

Aerospace Supply Chains as Evolutionary Networks of Activities: Innovation Via Risk-Sharing Partnerships

In the aerospace industry competitive advantage is searched through product innovation. This paper sets out to explore the effects that relationship development in the commercial aerospace supply chains have on innovation and competitive advantage. A perspective of supply chains as complex activity networks is used for data analysis based on in-depth interviews in a global setting. Applying these concepts of supply chains as the interaction of multiple work activities assists in comprehending the forces of change. The processes of change are characterized by expansive learning processes of creating instruments for initializing, developing and sustaining these relationships. These processes take place in a terrain of complex power exercises. The long-term effects are totally dependent on nurturing the relationships. The findings may be useful to practitioners in understanding how implementation of successful supply chain changes may come about. It promotes risk-sharing partnerships as instruments for innovation. The paper provides evidence of changing relationships in commercial aerospace supply chains.

Diversity and learning for innovation: dialogue for collaboration

– This paper aims to develop an approach for improving linguistic skills to enhance work collaboration., – A framework has been developed using principles of complex systems thinking, cultural‐historical activity theory and theories of intercultural communication in an action research setting., – Organisational development and change are never a straightforward task, which the case clearly demonstrates. These are tension‐filled processes of continuously changing power relationships and distances between people. The development of shared sense making is an iterative learning process. Co‐developing shared communication strategies enhances dialogue and collaboration., – A single and in practice unsuccessful case has been the basis of the research findings. Although saturation of data was therefore never reached, typical inhibiting factors were brought to the surface. Controversy and underlying inhibitions may not always be easy to detect in successful cases. The understanding from this unsuccessful case may therefore be helpful for further research., – Collaboration and change in the workplace are complex processes and are therefore difficult to implement. Collective approaches for developing communication strategies are highly dependent on including all affected actors., – The realisation of the complexity of organisational change processes is important. This creates an awareness of a need and responsibility for everyone affected to try and co‐develop the practices for change. It is the bringing together of the diverse experiences into learning processes through dialogue that facilitates these changes. There must be an appreciation that the outcome is still unpredictable in a process of change. Collective ownership of the changes is essential for success.

Communicative interaction as an instrument for integration and coordination in an aerospace supply chain

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore the effects of communicative interaction on integration and coordination of a commercial aerospace supply chain.Design/methodology/approach – A perspective of supply chains as complex activity networks is used for data analysis based on in‐depth interviews in a global setting. Themes for interviews were identified through literature research.Findings – The paper finds that integration through risk‐sharing partnerships is chosen for co‐developing expertise and innovative capacity. Practices of integration and coordination through communicative interaction are emerging while they are producing innovative solutions and competitive advantage. The multi‐voiced interaction between partners in the supply chain is assisting in moving the product beyond what the airframe manufacturer could have created alone.Originality/value – The paper provides evidence of changing interactive practices in commercial aerospace supply chains. By applying concepts of supply chains as he intera...

Commercial aerospace supply chains

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolution of commercial aerospace supply chains.Design/methodology/approach – The approach is presented as evolutionary steps by introduction of key supply chain practices. These steps are brought together by applying cladistics, a classification approach from the biological sciences, to classify the evolutionary relationships between supply chain forms. This is presented in two stages.Findings – Earlier research produced a “conceptual cladogram” from secondary data that describes the evolution of aerospace supply chains. This paper expands on this through empirical validation and develops a “factual cladogram”, revealing a newly emerging supply chain form. Key practices define the change of supply chain forms in the evolutionary adaptation to market realities and to proactive responses to increased competition.Research limitations/implications – The factual cladogram as such does not necessarily prescribe world‐class performance but may serve as a pla...

The effects of communicative interactions on meaning construction in group situations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of communicative interaction on meaning construction in three focus group interviews.Design/methodology/approach – Within the framework of cultural‐historical activity theory, Bakhtins perspectives of communicative interaction was applied to three interview cases on commercial aerospace supply chains.Findings – These interactions are found to self‐organise without the control of any single actor. However, interventions by interviewees or the researcher affect the outcome when they create disturbances that go beyond the resilience of the established perspectives of the focus group community. The researchers intervention or guidance is helpful in opening up reality perspectives of the community.Research limitations/implications – Focus group interviews may be difficult to control by the researcher. The potential for gathering rich data may, however, out‐weigh that.Originality/value – The paper illustrates how focus group interviews enhance the ...

The evolution of commercial aerospace supply chains and the facilitation of innovation

The paper sets out to explore the effects relationships in commercial aerospace supply chains have on innovation and competitive advantage. A perspective of supply chains as complex activity systems is used for data analysis. Competitive advantage is searched through product innovation facilitated by risk-sharing partnerships. This is characterised by expansive learning processes of creating instruments for initialising, implementing and nurturing these relationships. These processes take place in a terrain of complex power exercises. The long-term effects are totally dependent on the success of nurturing the relationships.

Linnaean and Cladistic Classifications of Manufacturing Systems

This paper addresses the advantages of applying cladistics to explore and change manufacturing layout systems. The approach is presented as evolutionary steps by the introduction of key layout characters. These steps are brought together by applying cladistics to classify the evolutionary relationships between manufacturing layout systems. The classifications will form a knowledge base for a web-based expert system and diagnostic tool for the rapid design and virtual prototyping of factories of the future.

Cladistic Classification of Ancient Manufacturing Forms and Technologies

The purpose of the paper is to explore ancient manufacturing forms. Ancient evolutionary steps are brought together by applying cladistics. Earlier manufacturing cladistic research has simply presented the most ancient manufacturing forms as Ancient Craft System without reference to any characteristics. The paper tries to explore ancient forms through literature research based on archaeological and anthropological accounts. Ancient manufacturing forms can be represented by character states. Their relationships are based on the character states they share. There is a continuous adaptation to the environment.

Manufacturing systematics and cladistics: state of the art and generic classification

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the state of the art of applications of organisational systematics and manufacturing cladistics in terms of strengths and weaknesses and introduce new generic cladistic and hierarchical classifications of discrete manufacturing systems. These classifications are the basis for a practical web-based expert system and diagnostic benchmarking tool. Design/methodology/approach There were two stages for the research methods, with eight re-iterative steps: one for theory building, using secondary and observational data, producing conceptual classifications; the second stage for theory testing and theory development, using quantitative data from 153 companies and 510 manufacturing systems, producing the final factual cladogram. Evolutionary relationships between 53 candidate manufacturing systems, using 13 characters with 84 states, are hypothesised and presented diagrammatically. The manufacturing systems are also organised in a hierarchical classification with 13 genera, 6 families and 3 orders under one class of discrete manufacturing. Findings This work addressed several weaknesses of current manufacturing cladistic classifications which include the lack of an explicit out-group comparison, limited conceptual cladogram development, limited use of characters and that previous classifications are specific to sectors. In order to correct these limitations, the paper first expands on previous work by producing a more generic manufacturing system classification. Second, it describes a novel web-based expert system for the practical application of the discrete manufacturing system. Practical implications The classifications form the basis for a practical web-based expert system and diagnostic benchmarking tool, but also have a novel use in an educational context as it simplifies and relationally organises extant manufacturing system knowledge. Originality/value The research employed a novel re-iterative methodology for both theory building, using observational data, producing the conceptual classification, and through theory testing developing the final factual cladogram that forms the basis for the practical web-based expert system and diagnostic tool.