The Mechanics of Learning by Doing: Problem Discovery during Process Machine Use

Abstract

This article is cast in the mold of a relatively new interdisciplinary field called management of technology. Researchers who specialize in this field are interested in understanding the process of technological innovation, and in learning how to manage it better. Their primary disciplinary training tends to be in economics or organizational behavior, and they often have some engineering or scientific training and experience as well. Most are based in business schools, and their research insights are often influenced and enriched by close contact with R&D engineers and managers who are trying to execute the detailed, day-to-day process of developing new technology-based products and processes. Researchers in management of technology often seek to frame studies that simultaneously address practical issues of concern to technology developers and more general questions of interest to academic colleagues. The study we report on here follows this pat-