Learning by Doing in Multiproduct Manufacturing: Variety, Customizations, and Overlapping Product Generations

Carolyn D. Egelman (), Dennis Epple, Linda Argote () and Erica R. H. Fuchs ()
Additional contact information
Carolyn D. Egelman: Medallia, Inc., Palo Alto, California 94306
Linda Argote: Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
Erica R. H. Fuchs: Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213

Management Science, 2017, vol. 63, issue 2, 405-423

Abstract: Extending research on organizational learning to multiproduct environments is of particular importance given that the vast majority of products are manufactured in such environments. We investigate learning in a multiproduct facility drawing on exceptionally rich data for a manufacturing firm that is a leading producer of high-technology hardware components. Weekly data for 10 years from the firm’s production and human resource tracking systems are augmented by surveys of managers and engineers and by extensive firsthand observation. We find that productivity improves when multiple generations of the firm’s primary product family are produced concurrently, reflecting the firm’s ability to augment and transfer knowledge from older to newer product generations. No significant transfer of knowledge is evident between the primary product family and other products. Productivity is, however, adversely affected when the production facility is faced with extensive within-product buyer-specific customizations. We develop the implications of these findings for theory and practice.

This paper was accepted by Serguei Netessine, operations management .

Keywords: manufacturing; strategy; organizational studies; productivity; production scheduling; learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2015.2352 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:63:y:2017:i:2:p:405-423

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Management Science from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().