Managing the uneven evolution of know-how: engineering design as 'social technology'

This paper focuses on the relationship between organisational design and product design. Much of the literature that studies this relationship stresses the key role played by a few key product characteristics: its overall architecture, its components, their complexity and criticality. This paper focuses instead on the organisational implications of the uneven evolution of specialised know how, namely fluid engineering. It builds upon a three-year study of the UK chemical industry that analysed firms’ vertical integration decisions and their project management strategies