Exploring the duality between product and organizational architectures: A test of the “mirroring” hypothesis

Alan MacCormack, Carliss Baldwin and John Rusnak

Research Policy, 2012, vol. 41, issue 8, 1309-1324

Abstract: A variety of academic studies argue that a relationship exists between the structure of an organization and the design of the products that this organization produces. Specifically, products tend to “mirror” the architectures of the organizations in which they are developed. This dynamic occurs because the organization's governance structures, problem solving routines and communication patterns constrain the space in which it searches for new solutions. Such a relationship is important, given that product architecture has been shown to be an important predictor of product performance, product variety, process flexibility and even the path of industry evolution.

Keywords: Organizational design; Product design; Architecture; Modularity; Open-source software (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (31)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:41:y:2012:i:8:p:1309-1324

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2012.04.011

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