Technology brokering and innovation in a product development firm

Administrative Science Quarterly, Dec, 1997 by Andrew Hargadon, Robert I. Sutton

Social network theory describes networks of individual or organizational actors and the relationships between them. Within these networks, subgroups bound sets of actors that "know one another, are aware of the same kinds of opportunities, have access to the same kinds of resources, and share the same kinds of perceptions" (Burt, 1983: 180). Another network perspective, actor network theory, has emerged from studies in the social construction of technology and presents networks as comprising not only actors but also the physical artifacts and concepts with which those actors relate (e.g., Callon, 1980; Latour, 1987; Law, 1987). The relationships of this more diverse network arrange physical artifacts, individuals, and concepts into complex organizational and technological systems. Just as organizations comprise networks of actors, products become "networks of juxtaposed components" (Law, 1987: 113). This expanded definition of network elements may more accurately reflect the technological environment that IDEO designers face, where information about existing solutions resides within the artifacts themselves, and brokers need not have close ties to other actors to access that information. For example, in one project we followed, designers learned as much about designing a new consumer product by studying the existing (and related) products as they did from talking to the client.

Subgroups in this expanded network, then, reflect relatively isolated sets of actors, technologies, and concepts. The boundaries between these subgroups can exist at many different levels, between individuals, organizations, or industries; we chose to draw them between industries because technologies most clearly emerge and evolve within particular industries yet may have potential value in other industries (Basalla, 1988; Hughes, 1989).(5) The transfer of potentially valuable technologies to other industries, when it occurs, can cause significant economic and competitive changes (Schumpeter, 1934; Rosenberg, 1982), but gaps in the flow of information across industry boundaries often prevent this diffusion. Organizations like IDEO, by occupying positions within multiple industries, may bridge these gaps.

IDEO's access to outside industries offers an advantage to clients who want new product innovations. IDEO's designers have generated part or all of over 3,000 new product designs for clients since its formation in 1978. They have worked most heavily in the personal computer, medical products, and office furniture industries and have also designed products for the toy, telephone, automotive, movie, ski, bicycle, printer, and video game markets. IDEO does not maintain a database of clients by industry, but our research indicates it has worked in over 40 industries. From these industries, IDEO's designers have typically seen a broader range of technologies than clients with experience in only one or a few industries. The network concept of range describes the extent to which an actor contacts a diversity of other actors and can be measured in two ways, as volume of contacts or as quality of contacts (Burt, 1983). Volume measures the total number of contacts an actor has; quality measures the extent to which an actor's contacts provide nonredundant information and support. The evidence summarized in table 2 suggests that IDEO's value as a technology broker depends not only on the number of clients and industries it works with (volume of contacts), but also on the technologies in those industries that are potentially valuable yet previously unknown in others (quality of contacts). IDEO's Methodology Handbook recognizes this value: "Working with companies in such dissimilar industries as medical instruments, furniture, toys, and computers has given us a broad view of the latest technologies, materials, and components available."