Eric Rebentisch

Into the Black Box: The Knowledge Transformation Cycle

This publication contains reprint articles for which IEEE does not hold copyright. Full text is not available on IEEE Xplore for these articles.

A knowledge asset-based view of technology transfer in international joint ventures

Abstract An integrated framework of the technology transfer process is proposed, developed from insights gained in the study of two international joint ventures. With it we try to address such questions as how much effort is required to transfer different types of technologies and what impact the organizations existing competencies or capabilities might have on that process. The framework depicts the organization as a collection of various types of embodied knowledge such as technology, operating procedures, and organizational structure. Differences between firms result from the different combinations of embodied knowledge types that are used to accomplish organizational ends. Technology transfer is considered here to be the transfer of these embodied knowledge assets between organizations. Four categories, Transfer Scope, Transfer Method, Knowledge Architecture, and Organizational Adaptive Ability, describe important elements of the transfer process. Transfer Scope describes the extent of embodied information being transferred. Transfer Method describes the approaches used to transfer the technology. Knowledge Architecture describes the structure and the interdependencies between the firms knowledge assets. Organizational Adaptive Ability describes an organizations ability to change its knowledge architecture over time. Finally, relationships between the categories are proposed. The discussion of those proposed relationships offers insights into the nature of the technology transfer process. It also suggests implications for practitioners involved in technology transfer, as well as for academics interested in future research in this area.

A Framework for Organizing Lean Product Development

Abstract: While in the last 20 years a large number of frameworks have been presented in literature, currently there is no consensus on how to define Lean Product Development (PD). We used content analysis to investigate existing approaches and integrated them into a single, coherent framework consisting of 11 Lean PD components. To better understand the nature of the novel definition of Lean PD, we conducted a theoretical investigation of the component interdependencies. We hypothesize that Lean PD needs to be understood as a system of highly interwoven components that only in their concurrency lead to high performance in PD.

Into the black box: the knowledge transformation cycle

This paper examines how knowledge is integrated in complex technology and product development settings. By framing the task of knowledge integration as a cycle, we highlight the inability of current knowledge transfer theories to explain the consequences that arise from the path-dependent nature of knowledge. We compare the complexity of this knowledge integration task to previous efforts in terms of its novelty and the organizational properties of specialization and dependence that are required. Drawing on evidence from two empirical studies, we outline three stages of the “knowledge transformation cycle,” which addresses the complexity of this integration task. We conclude with the implications of this knowledge transformation cycle on our understanding of knowledge management and organizational learning. (Knowledge Transfer; Boundary Spanning; Organizational Learning; Product Development)

A study of technology transfer in a multinational cooperative joint venture

The problem of technology transfer has been extensively addressed from many different perspectives. Very few of the research studies, however, have examined it as a process, trying to understand more about how different kinds of technologies are transferred across organizational boundaries. This research examines the transfer of technologies over a three-year period in an international joint venture comprising three operating divisions of large multinational chemical companies located in Germany, the United States, and Japan. A total sample of 208 technologies are identified as having been transferred between the ventures partners. Descriptions of the types of technologies, the methods used to transfer them, their degrees of success, and the organizational, national, and cultural differences in which the international transfers took place are investigated.

Understanding the Waste Net: A Method for Waste Elimination Prioritization in Product Development

This paper describes a method for prioritization of waste reduction efforts during a Product Development System (PDS) improvement project. Waste refers to activities that absorb resources and increase cost without adding value. Although waste identification and elimination along the value chain has proven useful to PDS improvement, previous work focuses on the waste identification, rather than on its prioritization. This work aims to fill this gap by proposing a “waste coupling” based method to define this sequencing. The method uses a waste set composed of 10 waste types specified into 28 subtypes. The approach is illustrated by an example of possible causal dependencies among subtypes in which both direct and indirect (reinforcement) waste relations are included. This paper’s main contributions are: (1) defining a PD specific waste set covering all the PDS elements; (2) describing a procedure to calculate the impact of coupling between wastes through indirect relations; and (3) presenting a heuristic to prioritize from highly coupled waste subsets.

Using Stakeholder Value Analysis to Build Exploration Sustainability

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139Abstract: The sustainabi lity of space exploration will depend in large part on its ability toconsistently and reliably deliver valued benefits to societal stakeholders over an extendedperiod. This on -going research studies the values of prospective stakeholders in the spaceex ploration enterprise — both in the near term and with a perspective extending overdecades. The immediate focus is human and robotic exploration of the Earth/Moon system,but extends to the exploration of Mars as well. Potential beneficiaries of space expl orationare identified in broad societal sectors. An analysis of these stakeholders, their values andneeds leads to the development of a comprehensive set of space exploration objectives thataddress those needs. The relative priority of exploration obj ectives is weighted usinginformation about stakeholder characteristics, values, and their role and place in theexploration value stream. The weighted exploration objectives can then be used to assess therelative value of different technical system arch itectures, and to design explorationenterprise architecture, attributes and policy frameworks to enable value delivery to societalstakeholders. Ultimately, through stakeholders’ continuing support, sustainable spaceexploration will be delivered.

Experiences in simulation-based education in engineering processes

The lean advancement (formerly lean aerospace) Initiative at MIT has applied lean business processes to the Aerospace Industry. The material has proven difficult to teach to engineers, as it is empirical and based on processes founded on human interactions, not scientific and based on mathematical and physical laws. Simulation-based education has proven highly effective in getting past this barrier. Design of a number of pedagogical simulations, and experience with both professional and student audiences are discussed. Data is available to evaluate both a manufacturing simulation and a full simulation of an aerospace enterprise and its supply and engineering chains which capture enterprise interactions. Good data on student satisfaction and perceived outcomes, and lower-quality data on some directly-measured outcomes, support the idea that simulation-based education is highly effective in this challenging situation.

What to Measure for Success in Lean System Engineering Programs

The system engineering literature acknowledges that lean principles foster the achievement of higher program performance. However in the literature it is not clear how exactly the six lean principles affect the performance of the systems engineering programs. This paper addresses this gap by discussing about the core benefits derived from the implementation of each lean principle. Main contribution of this paper is the proposal –through a deep literature investigation refined through a series of focus groups with the Lean in Program Management Community of Practice (MIT-PMI-INCOSE) – of a list of metrics to be considered in order to measure the performance affected by the introduction of a list of 43 Lean Enablers. Only when measuring the current situation of the systems engineering program in fact, it is possible to direct improvement efforts. Further steps of authors’ research are direct to understand how the collected metrics could practically and effectively support the lean journey within system engineering programs.

Operational excellence, organisational culture and agility: the missing link?

In an increasingly dynamic environment where change seems to be the only constant feature, operational excellence programmes are often used to achieve improved performance results. However, the capacity of such approaches to make organisations successful in the long term is yet to be demonstrated. Operational excellence should not be seen as an approach to promote change, but rather to provide tools and framing for people in the organisation to deal with it. Our literature-based theory is that the relationships of operational excellence with both organisational culture and agility have the potential for further integration in the promotion of long-term, sustainable operational excellence initiatives. To do so, such initiatives need to look beyond simple cultural fit and work to promote a more agile behaviour and a cultural capacity to deal with constant change. If these conditions are met, the sustainability of operational excellence should be achieved, with organisations being able to strive in the long term with the promotion of organisational agility capabilities and an adaptable culture. The objective of this paper is to sustain this theory building, proposing the research questions that will help us understand the relationships and integration between the concepts of operational excellence, organisational agility and organisational culture.