The Changing Governance of Knowledge in Avionics

Taking in hand the two sides (i.e. cognitive and risk-bearing) of authority in design and production in complex tasks, this paper aims to give a first look at shifts in the locus of authority in the aviation electronics – or avionics – industry. Relying on patent and joint ventures data, we attempt to trace the evolution of problem-solving ‘authority’ over the evolution of the industry, using an empirical approach which can then be used to explore similar trends in other industries.We find that while it is still too early to say whether we are observing a wholesale shift of ‘authority’ from aircraft makers to avionics producers, it is clear that the leading avionics producers are challenging their clients in taking the role of systems integrators. We can speculate that we may be observing the beginning of a ‘market for technology’. At the very least, we are observing an increasing distribution of both problem-solving authority and risk in this industry.