The existing theory of modularity explains how modular designs create value. We extend this theory to address value appropriation. A product or process design that is modular with respect to intellectual property (IP) allows firms to better capture value in situations where knowledge and value...

The boundaries and contours of design sciences continue to undergo definition and refinement. In many ways, the sciences of design defy disciplinary characterization. They demand multiple epistemologies, theoretical orientations (e.g. construction, analysis or intervention) and value...

The central role of quot;platformquot; products and services in mediating the activities of disaggregated quot;clustersquot; or quot;ecosystemsquot; of firms has been widely recognized. But platforms and the systems in which they are embedded are very diverse. In particular, platforms may exist...

This is the first of a series of papers that investigates the institutional forms that can arise and be sustained by a quot;technology of design.quot; This paper sets up our quot;model worldquot; in terms of its technology, actors and larger context. In subsequent papers, we will define three...

Every artifact has a design, and thus designs are an important class of information goods. In this paper, we establish the scope of the design valuation methodology based on real options, which we developed in Design Rules, Volume 1, The Power of Modularity (MIT Press, 2000). We argue that if an...

Designs are the instructions that turn knowledge into things that people value and are willing to pay for. In human cultures, almost all value inheres in designs. Designs in turn span the whole universe of human artifacts and activities. Tangible products and their production processes,...

The last twenty years have witnessed the rise of disaggregated quot;clustersquot; or quot;networksquot; of firms. In these clusters the activities of Ramp;D, product design, production, logistics and selling may be split up among hundreds or even thousands of firms. Different firms will design...

This article constructs a theory of the location of transactions and the boundaries of firms in a productive system. It proposes that systems of production can be viewed as networks, in which tasks-cum-agents are the nodes and transfersmdash;of material, energy and informationmdash;between tasks...

This paper seeks to explain the technological forces that led to the rise of vertically integrated corporations in the late 19th Century and the opposing forces that led to a vertical-to-horizontal transition in the computer industry one hundred years later. I first model the technology of step...

Modularity is a means of partitioning technical knowledge about a product or process. When state-sanctioned intellectual property (IP) rights are ineffective or costly to enforce, modularity can be used to hide information and thus protect IP. We investigate the impact of modularity on IP...