Structuring product development in the 21st century: boundary management in the motor industry

The link between product development performance and organisational structure, is an ongoing pursuit for the academic and business communities. The challenges of the 21st Century business environment force a poignant question: 'is the choice of any one organisational structure over another really conducive to improvements in product development performance?' The 'Working the Boundaries' research project undertakes an investigation into the feasibility of a boundary-based view to product development in the automotive industry. This paper sets the research context and presents a 'tentative theory' that focuses on the importance of the informal organisation based on the network of interrelationships between product developers.

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