The Value and Costs of Modularity: A Cognitive Perspective

Stefano Brusoni (sbrusoni@ethz.ch), Luigi Marengo (luigi.marengo@sssup.it), Andrea Prencipe (a.prencipe@sussex.ac.uk) and Marco Valente
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Andrea Prencipe: Università G. D’Annunzio di Pescara, and SPRU, University of Sussex, http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/profile22168.html

No 123, SPRU Working Paper Series from SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School

Abstract: This paper discusses the issue of modularity from a problem-solving perspective. Modularity is in fact a decomposition heuristic, through which a complex problem is decomposed into independent or quasi-independent sub-problems. By means of a model of problem decomposition, this paper studies the trade-offs of modularity: on the one hand finer modules increase the speed of search, but on the other hand they usually determine lock-in into sub-optimal solutions. How effectively to balance this trade-off depends upon the problem environment and its complexity and volatility: we show that in stationary and complex environments there exists an evolutionary advantage to over-modularization, while in highly volatile – though “simple” – en- vironments, contrary to usual wisdom, modular search is inefficient. The empirical relevance of our findings is discussed, especially with reference to the literature on system integration.

Keywords: modularity; problem solving; complex systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2004-08-30
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-tid
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sru:ssewps:123

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