Abstract

In this study we are concerned with the ways digital components increasingly challenge preexisting work practices in traditional product development. By drawing on an in depth case study of an automakers attempt to respond to digital innovation, we explore digital innovation in a hardware regime. More specifically, we studied challenges connected to the specification process, and the difficulties of working with digital innovation in user interface design. Based upon our analyses of AutoInc, a world leading car manufacturer, we draw three overarching conclusions. First, specifying requirements for a digital material is in some ways a paradox. That is, the nature of digital innovation enforces agility both in terms of specification and use; it is, so to say, a volatile material. Second, we found that with two innovation regimes in one firm, different characteristic in forms of architecture, design and organizational structures need to coexist. This typically brings tensions between the urge for managerial control and the principles of openness. Last, this study indicates that fine-grained level of specifications may also force a shift in the locus of innovation. Thus, autonomy in the design process may be unintentionally narrowed.

Download

Share

COinS