Philosophy

Sophistication

Actuarial science

Statistics

Social psychology

Knowledge transfer

Computer science

Business

Empirical research

Psychology

Mathematics

Sociology

Industrial organization

Novelty

Theology

Knowledge management

Empirical examination

Social science

Academy of Management Proceedings

This paper examines how the knowledge-based view (KBV) can be applied to firm boundary decisions and the performance implications of those decisions. At the center of the paper is a theoretical and empirical examination of how firms efficiently organize manufacturing in a regulated industry. We find that distinct organizational approaches are advantaged in terms of regulatory performance, depending on the complexity (i.e., technological sophistication) and structure (i.e., novelty) of particular problems, as well as the distribution of problems within the organization. We make theoretical and empirical contributions to KBV research that examines organization and performance related to problem solving, knowledge development and knowledge transfer. The medical device manufacturing industry serves as the empirical setting.

Strategic Problem Solving: A Knowledge-Based Examination in Medical Device Manufacturing