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Publications
  • 2012
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Modularity and Organizations

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:17
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Abstract

Modularity describes the degree to which a complex system can be broken apart into subunits (modules) that can be recombined in various ways. Modularity is important for organizations and the economy because the boundaries of organizational units and corporations are likely to match the boundaries of underlying technological modules. (This correspondence is called "mirroring.") In this essay, I explain the concept of modularity and describe how systems can be modularized. I then explain why mirroring is likely to be a commonly observed organizational pattern and review the empirical evidence. I conclude with open research questions.

Keywords

Complex Systems; Information Hiding; Loosely-coupled Systems; Mirroring; Mirroring Hypothesis; Modules; Modularity; Near-decomposable Systems; Product Architecture; Option Value; Organizational Design; Complexity

Citation

Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Modularity and Organizations." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13-046, November 2012. (To appear in the Elsevier International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition; available on request to the author.)

About The Author

Carliss Y. Baldwin

→More Publications

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    Computer-Implemented Methods and Systems for Measuring, Estimating, and Managing Economic Outcomes and Technical Debt in Software Systems and Projects: US Patent 11,126,427 B2

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    Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 6 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 1: Mapping Functional Relationships

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More from the Author
  • Computer-Implemented Methods and Systems for Measuring, Estimating, and Managing Economic Outcomes and Technical Debt in Software Systems and Projects: US Patent 11,126,427 B2 By: Daniel J. Sturtevant, Carliss Baldwin, Alan MacCormack, Sunny Ahn and Sean Gilliland
  • Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 7 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 2: Strategy without Numbers By: Carliss Y. Baldwin
  • Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 6 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 1: Mapping Functional Relationships By: Carliss Y. Baldwin
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