Transfer of System Knowledge Across Generations in New Product Development : Empirical Observations from Japanese Automobile Development

The objective of this article is to explore effective ways of retaining knowledge involved in new product development. Although human-based mechanisms, such as the direct transfer of project members, more effectively convey knowledge required in design integration at the higher level of product systems, the article shows that standardized mechanisms are more appropriate for retention of lower-component knowledge. However, it is also argued that product architecture affects these relationships through its impact on a locus of design change in a product system. Such argument is partially tested in the context of the Japanese automobile industry