Complexity is in the eye of the beholder: Lessons from the tyre industry,

In our view, the empirical content of the ‘complexity’ debate needs to be sought in the emergence of new ways of co-ordinating and integrating specialised learning processes, that focus on different disciplines and occur within independent, yet interconnected, organisational settings. We argue that knowledge should be characterised not only at the source but also at the point of application. We discuss in this article the systemic knowledge base of an industry, developing in particular the distinction between sources, users and integrators of knowledge and contributing capabilities. We then develop this approach by applying it through empirical analysis to the tyre manufacturing industry over the period 1974 to 2000. From this fuller account of the scale, scope and distribution of the knowledge base, we reflect on the importance and processes of knowledge specialisation and consider future avenues for research in this area