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- All HBS Web (295)
- Faculty Publications (138)
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- 25 Sep 2000
- Research & Ideas
More Than the Sum of Its Parts: The Impact of Modularity on the Computer Industry
came from IBM in the early 1960s with the introduction of the System/360, the first modular family of computer systems." And it was modularity, Baldwin and Clark explain, that made all the difference. "Under this approach,... View Details
- Summer 2013
- Article
IP Modularity: Profiting from Innovation by Aligning Product Architecture with Intellectual Property
By: Joachim Henkel, Carliss Y. Baldwin and Willy C. Shih
Firms seeking to take advantage of distributed innovation and outsourcing can bridge the tension between value creation and value capture by modifying the modular structure of their technical systems. Specifically, this article introduces the concept of "IP... View Details
Keywords: Modularity; Value Appropriation; Distributed Innovation; Open Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Intellectual Property; Value
Henkel, Joachim, Carliss Y. Baldwin, and Willy C. Shih. "IP Modularity: Profiting from Innovation by Aligning Product Architecture with Intellectual Property." California Management Review 55, no. 4 (Summer 2013): 65–82.
- 2020
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 4 The Mirroring Hypothesis: Linkages Inside and Across Transaction Free Zones
A technology is a specific way to achieve a material goal. It describes a feasible path—a recipe—by which a group of people can arrive at a goal that none could achieve individually. Technical recipes thus require linkages between and among the various contributors to... View Details
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 4 The Mirroring Hypothesis: Linkages Inside and Across Transaction Free Zones." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-032, August 2020.
- 2020
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 6 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 1: Mapping Functional Relationships
Organizations are formed in a free economy because an individual or group perceives value in carrying out a technical recipe that is beyond the capacity of a single person. Technology specifies what must be done, what resources must be assembled, what actions taken in... View Details
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 6 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 1: Mapping Functional Relationships." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-039, September 2020.
- Forthcoming
- Article
Dynamic Silos: Increased Modularity and Decreased Stability in Intra-organizational Communication Networks During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By: Tiona Zuzul, Emily Cox Pahnke, Jonathan Larson, Christopher White, Patrick Bourke, Nicholas Caurvina, Neha Parikh Shah, Fereshteh Amini, Youngser Park, Joshua Vogelstein, Jeffrey Weston and Carey E. Priebe
Workplace communications around the world were drastically altered by COVID-19, related work-from-home orders, and the rise of remote work. To understand these shifts, we analyzed aggregated, anonymized metadata from over 360 billion emails within 4,361 organizations... View Details
Zuzul, Tiona, Emily Cox Pahnke, Jonathan Larson, Christopher White, Patrick Bourke, Nicholas Caurvina, Neha Parikh Shah, Fereshteh Amini, Youngser Park, Joshua Vogelstein, Jeffrey Weston, and Carey E. Priebe. "Dynamic Silos: Increased Modularity and Decreased Stability in Intra-organizational Communication Networks During the COVID-19 Pandemic." Management Science (forthcoming). (Pre-published online July 30, 2024.)
- 2012
- Chapter
IP Modularity in Software Ecosystems: How SugarCRM's IP and Business Model Shape Its Product Architecture
By: Josef Waltl, Joachim Henkel and Carliss Y. Baldwin
Keywords: Business Model; Digital Platforms; Open Source Distribution; Complexity; Applications and Software; Intellectual Property
Waltl, Josef, Joachim Henkel, and Carliss Y. Baldwin. "IP Modularity in Software Ecosystems: How SugarCRM's IP and Business Model Shape Its Product Architecture." In Software Business: Proceedings of the Third International Conference, ICSOB 2012, by M. A. Cusumano, B. Iyer, and N. Venkatraman, 94–106. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, 2012.
- Article
Exploring the Duality Between Product and Organizational Architectures: A Test of the 'Mirroring' Hypothesis
By: Alan MacCormack, Carliss Y. Baldwin and John Rusnak
A variety of academic studies argue that a relationship exists between the structure of an organization and the design of the products that the organization produces. Specifically, products tend to "mirror" the architectures of the organizations in which they are... View Details
Keywords: Organization Design; Architecture; Modularity; Open Source Software; Communication; Design; Governance; Management Practices and Processes; Open Source Distribution; Product Design; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Performance; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Software
MacCormack, Alan, Carliss Y. Baldwin, and John Rusnak. "Exploring the Duality Between Product and Organizational Architectures: A Test of the 'Mirroring' Hypothesis." Research Policy 41, no. 8 (October 2012): 1309–1324.
- 2020
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 5 Ecosystems and Complementarities
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce two new building blocks to the theory of how technology shapes organizations. The first is a new layer of organization structure: a business “ecosystem.” The second is the economic concept of “complementarity.” Ecosystems are... View Details
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 5 Ecosystems and Complementarities." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-033, August 2020.
- October 2014
- Article
Hidden Structure: Using Network Methods to Map System Architecture
By: Carliss Y. Baldwin, Alan MacCormack and John Rusnak
In this paper, we describe an operational methodology for characterizing the architecture of complex technical systems and demonstrate its application to a large sample of software releases. Our methodology is based upon directed network graphs, which allows us to... View Details
Baldwin, Carliss Y., Alan MacCormack, and John Rusnak. "Hidden Structure: Using Network Methods to Map System Architecture." Research Policy 43, no. 8 (October 2014): 1381–1397.
- 2013
- Chapter
Open Innovation and Organizational Boundaries: Task Decomposition, Knowledge Distribution and the Locus of Innovation
By: Karim R. Lakhani, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf and Michael L. Tushman
This chapter contrasts traditional, organization-centered models of innovation with more recent work on open innovation. These fundamentally different and inconsistent innovation logics are associated with contrasting organizational boundaries and organizational... View Details
Keywords: Innovation; Organizational Boundaries; Institutional Logics; Modular Innovation; Open Innovation; Knowledge Sharing; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Design; Boundaries; Collaborative Innovation and Invention
Lakhani, Karim R., Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, and Michael L. Tushman. "Open Innovation and Organizational Boundaries: Task Decomposition, Knowledge Distribution and the Locus of Innovation." Chap. 19 in Handbook of Economic Organization: Integrating Economic and Organization Theory, edited by Anna Grandori, 355–382. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013.
- 2017
- Working Paper
Digital Agility: The Impact of Software Portfolio Architecture on IT System Evolution
By: Alan MacCormack, Robert Lagerström, Martin Mocker and Carliss Y. Baldwin
The modern industrial firm increasingly relies on software to support its competitive position. However, the uncertain and dynamic nature of today’s global marketplace dictates that this software be continually evolved and adapted to meet new business challenges. This... View Details
Keywords: Information Systems; Software; Architecture; Modularity; Agility; Coupling; Applications and Software; Design; Decisions; Performance
MacCormack, Alan, Robert Lagerström, Martin Mocker, and Carliss Y. Baldwin. "Digital Agility: The Impact of Software Portfolio Architecture on IT System Evolution." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-105, May 2017. (Revised October 2017.)
- 2020
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 7 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 2: Strategy without Numbers
Functional analysis as set forth in the last chapter decomposes a technical system into functional components that do things to advance the system’s purpose and the goals of its designers. Functional analysis in turn can be used to construct value structure maps... View Details
Keywords: Modularity; Value Structure Mapping; Value Capture; Information Technology; Organizations; Strategy; Value Creation
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 7 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 2: Strategy without Numbers." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-040, September 2020.
- December 2012 (Revised April 2025)
- Case
AmTran Technology Ltd.
By: Willy Shih, Jyun-Cheng Wang and Karen E. Robinson
As an original design manufacturer (ODM) of television sets and leading supplier to Vizio, a market leader in the U.S. for LCD flat panel TVs, AmTran Technology Ltd. uses what founder Alpha Wu describes as a "WE" model in which western companies perform sales,... View Details
Keywords: Modularity; Technology Transitions; Analog; Digital; Television; TV; Flat-panel; ATSC; NTSC; Video; Global Strategy; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Product Design; Supply Chain; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Technology Adoption; Digital Platforms; Electronics Industry; Taiwan; United States; Japan
Shih, Willy, Jyun-Cheng Wang, and Karen E. Robinson. "AmTran Technology Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 613-069, December 2012. (Revised April 2025.)
- June–July 2019
- Article
A Methodology for Operationalizing Enterprise IT Architecture and Evaluating Its Modifiability
By: Robert Lagerström, Alan MacCormack, David Dreyfus and Carliss Y. Baldwin
Recent contributions to information systems theory suggest that the primary role of a firm’s information technology (IT) architecture is to facilitate, and therefore ensure the continued alignment of a firm’s IT investments with a constantly changing business... View Details
Keywords: Enterprise Architecture; Modularity; Information Systems; Modifiability; Design Structure Matrix
Lagerström, Robert, Alan MacCormack, David Dreyfus, and Carliss Y. Baldwin. "A Methodology for Operationalizing Enterprise IT Architecture and Evaluating Its Modifiability." Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly 19 (June–July 2019): 75–98.
- 2016
- Article
The Mirroring Hypothesis: Theory, Evidence, and Exceptions
By: Lyra J. Colfer and Carliss Y. Baldwin
The mirroring hypothesis predicts that organizational ties within a project, firm, or group of firms (e.g., communication, collocation, employment) will correspond to the technical dependencies in the work being performed. This article presents a unified picture of... View Details
Keywords: Modularity; Mirroring Hypothesis; Organization Design; Conway's Law; Knowledge Boundaries; Relational Contracts; Open Source Software; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Boundaries; Knowledge Management; Applications and Software
Colfer, Lyra J., and Carliss Y. Baldwin. "The Mirroring Hypothesis: Theory, Evidence, and Exceptions." Industrial and Corporate Change 25, no. 5 (2016): 709–738. (Lead Article.)
- September 2012 (Revised April 2013)
- Case
Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption
By: Willy Shih
Ulrich Simon, the head of the Microscopy business group at Carl Zeiss AG knew that his unit was facing a disruptive threat, so he chartered a special team to tackle the industrial segment. Given a high degree of autonomy, the project team developed an understanding of... View Details
Keywords: Modularity; High Technology Products; Emergent Strategy; Product Lines; Corporate Strategy; Digital Platforms; Disruptive Innovation; Technology Industry; Germany
Shih, Willy. "Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption." Harvard Business School Case 613-039, September 2012. (Revised April 2013.)
- 2012
- Article
Organization Design for Business Ecosystems
The modern corporation has long been the central focus of the field of organization design. Such firms can be likened to nation-states: they have boundaries that circumscribe citizen-employees, and they engage in production and trade. But individual corporations are... View Details
Keywords: Modularity; Business Ecosystems; Distributed Innovation; Problem Solving; Property Rights; Organization Design; Networks; Integration; Competition; Organizational Design; Innovation and Management
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Organization Design for Business Ecosystems." Special Issue on The Future of Organization Design. Journal of Organization Design 1, no. 1 (2012).
- August 2012 (Revised August 2013)
- Background Note
Competency-Destroying Technology Transitions: Why the Transition to Digital Is Particularly Challenging
By: Willy Shih
Some technology transitions are exceedingly difficult for incumbent firms to execute. The bankruptcy filing by the Eastman Kodak Company highlighted the difficulty companies faced when their core business transitioned from an analog to a digital world. Kodak's business... View Details
Keywords: Technology Transitions; Competency-destroying; Digital; Analog; Digital Transition; Modular; Modularity; Technological Change; Radical Innovation; Incremental Innovation; Architectural Innovation; Modular Innovation; Sustaining Innovation; Competency-enhancing; Noise Propagation; Perfect Copying; Digital Music; Digital Media; Consumer Electronics; Kodak; Sony; Panasonic; Disruptive Innovation; Technology Adoption; Transition; Change Management; Consumer Products Industry; United States
Shih, Willy. "Competency-Destroying Technology Transitions: Why the Transition to Digital Is Particularly Challenging." Harvard Business School Background Note 613-024, August 2012. (Revised August 2013.)
- 2016
- Working Paper
The Mirroring Hypothesis: Theory, Evidence and Exceptions
By: Lyra J. Colfer and Carliss Y. Baldwin
The mirroring hypothesis predicts that organizational ties within a project, firm, or group of firms (e.g., communication, collocation, employment) will correspond to the technical patterns of dependency in the work being performed. A thorough understanding of the... View Details
Keywords: Modularity; Innovation; Product And Process Development; Organization Design; Design Structure; Organizational Ties; Mirroring Hypothesis; Industry Architecture; Product Architecture; Complex Technical Systems; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Product Development
Colfer, Lyra J., and Carliss Y. Baldwin. "The Mirroring Hypothesis: Theory, Evidence and Exceptions." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-124, April 2016. (Revised May 2016.)