VIRGINIA ACHA () (Innovation Studies Centre, Tanaka Business School, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK) STEFANO BRUSONI () (CESPRI & CRORA, Bocconi University, Via Sarfatti 25, 20136 Milan, Italy) ANDREA PRENCIPE () (DASTA, University G. d'Annunzio, Pescara, Italy; SPRU, University of Sussex, UK)
Additional information is available for the following
registered author(s):
We consider here the governance of learning and the diffusion of technological knowledge in the civil aircraft industry. We describe a systemic process by which specialization in knowledge encourages depth whilst breadth is captured through the integration of contributions by the lead manufacturer, which acts as systems integrator. We explore the boundaries of the knowledge bases related to airframe structure and systems and aircraft instrumentation by using patents as tracers, considering the range of scientific and technological disciplines related to the industry as well as the sources of that knowledge. We conclude that knowledge base supporting the aeronautics industry is complex and multidisciplinary, and that firms acting as system integrators have to hold the broadest knowledge bases to co-ordinate design and production.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.