Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199240299 ISBN 13: 9780199240296

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2007

Modularity, Strategic Flexibility, and Knowledge Management presents a revolutionary and comprehensive view of the central role that modular architectures can play in redefining product strategies, in coordinating new kinds of flexible "modular" organizations, and in enabling new approaches to managing knowledge assets, and guiding organizational learning.

The discussion of modularity draws on systems theory, options theory, and technology strategy concepts, and is complemented by numerous examples from Philips, General Electric, Volkswagen, and other companies pursuing modularity-based strategies. The volume clearly defines the core concepts of architecture and modularity, then builds on those concepts to explain the new product strategies, organization designs, and processes for knowledge management and organization learning that modular architectures make possible.

The volume is written in a practical, non-technical style intended to make modularity concepts and methods readily understandable and useful to managers. At the same time, the discussion of modularity concepts is theoretically grounded and provides an essential introduction to architectures and modularity for management academics.

About the Author:

Ron Sanchez is Professor of Strategy and Technology Management at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Lausanne, Switzerland. He has held previous appointments at the Copenhagen Business School; the Graduate School of Management, University of Western Australia; the University of Illinois; and ESSEC (Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales), Paris. Ron Sanchez consults with major corporations on organizational learning, knowledge management, and competence-based strategic management.