James Fleck

Learning by trying: the implementation of configurational technology

Abstract In this paper some issues concerning the nature of technological development are examined, with particular reference to a case study of the implementation of Computer Aided Production Management (CAPM). CAPM is an example of a configurational technology, built up to meet specific organizational requirements. It is argued that there is scope in the development of configurations for significant innovation to take place during implementation itself, through a distinctive form of learning by ‘struggling to get it to work’, or ‘learning by trying’. Some policy implications are outlined in conclusion: the need to recognize the creative opportunities available in this type of development, and the need to facilitate industrial sector-based learning processes.

Contingent knowledge and technology development

It is widely recopnized that many different opes and forms of knowledge contribute to technology development. Formal codified knowledge, tacit knowledge, informal knowledge and cultural knowledge have all recently been addressed. However, one other particular form of knowledge—the contribution of knowledge/information embodied in the working context—has not been directly or explicitly addressed to the same extent. Tet this form of knowledge—‘contingent knowledge’—it is argued, plays a crucial but under-appreciated role in technology development and innovation. In this paper, the concept of contingent knowledge is further explicated and illustrated by means of examples, and the strategic and practical implications are drawn out.

Exploring Expertise: Issues and Perspectives

We live in an age where the number and range of specialist fields of knowledge is burgeoning, and where ‘experts’ from these fields are called on to solve problems and advise in ever more areas of social and economic life. Time and again, however, our reliance on experts and expertise creates dilemmas which strike at the root of modern society — from the practice of democracy and political change to how companies decide on, and implement strategies for, economic growth. Accordingly, the subject of expertise is becoming a recognized ‘issue’ in a range of scholarly disciplines: not least, science and technology studies, including technology assessment and science and technology policy; gender studies, especially feminist critiques of science and medicine; organizational sociology and behaviour; management, especially strategic management, technology management, and human resource management; and in the various disciplines associated with the development of expert systems and artificial intelligence.

DYNAMICS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION - A REASSESSMENT OF PARADIGMS AND TRAJECTORIES OF DEVELOPMENT

Abstract Concepts of technological paradigms and trajectories have been advanced to explain patterns of technical innovation and their implications for work organization and content. This article examines three existing technologies where some trajectory has been imputed—computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools, robotics and office automation—and one emerging technology—computer-aided production management (CAPM). It reviews the ways in which these technologies were initially conceived and developed, how they were implemented, and how they have evolved in use. Existing frameworks are oversimplified and unhelpful both as theories and as guides to practice. Detailed examination of the implementation of technologies offers a more dynamic understanding of processes of innovation and the relationship between technological and organizational change. These insights are particularly relevant to the analysis of organizationally complex technologies such as IT networks.

Innofusion: Feedback in the Innovation Process

Innovation — “the process of bringing inventions into commercial use” (Freeman, 1982) — is an important subject, crucial to the health of modern economies. There is currently much discussion in policy circles about how best to encourage innovation. For instance, the first UK Innovation Lecture, sponsored by the Royal Society, the Fellowship of Engineering and the DTI featured Mr. Akio Morita, the Chairman of the highly innovative Sony Corporation (DTI, 1992). There is also an emerging focus on the role of the user in technology development, with a long-running debate centering on the role of the market versus various forms of planning or organizationally mediated transactions (Williamson, 1975). These issues essentially concern the function of different forms of feedback in the innovation process.

National policies and patterns of robot diffusion: United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden and the United States

Abstract Widely varying patterns of diffusion of robots have been experienced to date among the leading industrialised countries of the world. These patterns have been associated with varying national contexts and, in particular, with quite different national policies towards robots. The paper presents results from a study of the relation of national policies and strategies to robot diffusion, focusing primarily on the Japanese and British cases, but also taking account of Swedish and North American experience. Various factors have been of clear importance in robot diffusion: the means of promotion of robots; the opportunities afforded by industrial structure; the climate created by national labour situations; the role played by robotics supply and service infrastructures; and of course, the effects of government policies, both in the broad sense of those policies which shape the general environment for diffusion, and in the narrow sense of those aimed specifically at robotics. These issues are discussed with reference to the countries considered. The authors conclude that the correct identification of the nature of development of robotics technology itself, which may be characterised as a case of “evolutionary innovation”, is of crucial importance in understanding the differing patterns of diffusion and the varying effectiveness of the policies pursued.