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This paper develops an approach for understanding Project Based Production. This form of production is characterized by unique deliverables, high complexity, high value, high risk, profound uncertainty and many stakeholders and is increasingly important the postmodern society. Common to the practices of PBP and other production practices is the goal of balancing the dilemma between creativity and productivity. In response to industrialized production, the concept of modularity gained popularity for addressing this dilemma by exploring product, process and organization structures. However with the starting point in system theory and a strong bias towards industrial production, the predominant understanding of modularity faces difficulty in explaining practices of Project Based Production in both social – technical and dynamic – stable aspects. Illustrated by a case the paper addresses this gap, by offering a reinterpretation of the modularity concept from a socio-technical perspective in general and Actor Network Theory (ANT) in particular. By formulating modularity from an ANT perspective covering social, material and process aspects, the modularity of a socio-technical practice can be understood as an entanglement of product, process, organizational and institutional modularity. The paper concludes proposing central questions for the development of the concept of modularity for understanding, designing and managing of PBP.
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Understanding Project Based Production through Socio-technical Modularity
AOM 2012, Boston
Christian Thuesenchth@dtu.dk
dk.linkedin.com/in/matute
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)2 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Areas of interest
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)3 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Project Based Production• An increasing amount the production in of our society is realized
through projects.
• Some examples are– construction industry (buildings, infrastructure…)– offshore projects (shipbuilding, oil & gas rigs…)– creative projects (movies, theatrical productions, festivals…)– IT projects (IT development, programming…)
• These cases on project based production (PBP) combines in various degrees technologies and practices from
industrialized production and project management
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)4 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Order Chaos
Disciplinary Interdisciplinary
Hierarchy Network
Standardized Unique
Efficiency Creativity
Linear Iterative
Bureaucratic Dynamic
Codifying Experimenting
Repetition Innovative
Class Individual
Degeneration Stress
Challenges of Project based Production
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)5 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Order Chaos
Disciplinary Interdisciplinary
Hierarchy Network
Standardized Unique
Efficiency Creativity
Linear Iterative
Bureaucratic Dynamic
Codifying Experimenting
Repetition Innovative
Class Individual
Degeneration Stress
Possible solution… modularity
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)6 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
What is modularization?• Modularity is an attribute of a complex system that advocates designing
structures based on– Minimizing interdependence between modules and – Maximizing interdependence within them
that can be mixed and matched in order to obtain new configurations without loss of the system’s functionality or performance (Baldwin and Clark 1997; Langlois 1992).
• Each module communicates and interacts with the others via standardized interfaces that allow modules’ decoupling
Source: Campagnolo & Camuffo 2009
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)7 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Two ways to describe modularity
Source: (Fixson 2003)
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)8 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Literature review of modularity
Campagnolo & Camuffo (2010) reviews 125 publications and finds:
• A complex field of studies offering different definitions, measures and applications of the modularity concept
• Three main units of analysis – product design modularity– production system modularity– organizational design modularity.
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)13 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
The shortcommings of existing theories
• Research is based on an assumption of technological determinism (Campagnolo & Camuffo 2010, p 279). hard to explain the dynamic contexts and social entanglements of modularity
• “Modularity is mostly studied in static situations…. In reality, however, no system is really static. Products change, processes evolve, organizations adapt, and innovations appear, and all of these changes are accelerating.” (Fixon 2006, p.31)
• No studies are capable of linking the three perspectives (Campagnolo & Camuffo 2010, p. 277).
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)14 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Requirements to a reinterpretation • A reinterpretation of the concept of modularity should be
able to understand a system with– physical and material artifacts– social actors
• while at the same time both – handle stability and dynamism…
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)15 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Ambition• to explore the possibilities for
understanding modularity from a socio-technical perspective in general and actor network theory in particular.
• More specifically is the intention to develop: an approach for analyzing the modularity
of Project Based Productions practices covering both social – technical and
dynamic – stable aspects.
• open up new avenues of research and practice.
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)16 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Actor Network Theory• A theory of technology, science, social actors, society, nature and power,
all analyzed with the same conceptual framework (Callon 1986, Law 1992 & Latour 2005).
• Key concepts – Network– Actors– Translations
• Principle of symmetry– Covering both human and nonhuman actors– An actor is an network and visa versa
• Not a normative theory subscribing predefined analytical categories any importance
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Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)18 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Understanding the socio-technical modularity
Through: Actors…
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)19 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Understanding the socio-technical modularity
Through: Actors, Network…
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)20 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Understanding the socio-technical modularity
Through: Actors, Network, Translations…
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)21 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Understanding the socio-technical modularity
Through: Actors, Network, Translations and Black boxes
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)22 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Modularity in ANTModules = groups of actors (black boxes) which have stabilized over time.
Product modularity
stable collection of non human actors
Organizational modularity
stable collection of human (and non human) actors
Process modularity
translations processes with a high degree of repetition among certain actors
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)23 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Types of modularity
Source: Campagnolo & Camuffo 2009
Processmodularity
Organizational modularity
Product modularity
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)24 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Consequences
Modularity is a matter of perspective
Different types of modularity• Product, Process, Organizational• Customer, User, Market• Practices• Institutionalized
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)25 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Consequences Modularity is in the making
Enables us to understand learning and innovation processes• Reproductive/Incremental• Disruptive/Radical
• Might be combined with existing normative modularization tools like MFD and PVM
Managerial challenge
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)26 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Framework for understanding the socio-technical modularity of Project-based Production practicesDimension Questions
Market To whom is it produced / delivered? (customer/user/market)
Product What is produced / delivered?(product/service/experience)
Organizational Who is producing / delivering it? (organization/practice)
Process How is it produced / delivered? (process/practice)
Institutional How is it influenced by institutional actors?
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)27 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Directions for further studies
“For a hammer everything is a nail”
we must be reflective in our approach for studying, designing and managing modularity
This opens up a research agenda regarding • Clarification of the concept of Modularity
(theoretical and practical)• Conducting empirical analysis of the modularity
of different socio-technical systems• Development of tools and practices for
studying, designing and managing modularity.
Christian Thuesen (chth@dtu.dk)28 DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark
Questions and comments
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