Through decarbonization of the world economy a normative imperative to the realization of a post-fossil age emerged. The global ecosystem is threatened by the current world economic model and ...fundamental transformations are asked for in all economic sectors. For two decades now, the automotive industry is undergoing a permanent ambidextrous phase, after having been locked in technological routines for nearly a century. The omni-present electrification of the powertrain together with the technological convergence with connected-car and autonomous-driving technology are the key challenges. To process the pressure, new strategies are designed and implemented. Nevertheless, current studies, based on patent analysis show that classic powertrain technology still represents the dominant design. At the same time, patent analysis shows that competition between firms in the field of electric powertrain technology is fierce. We use patent citation analysis to improve our understanding of the underlying industrial learning processes and of their impacts. To analyze the change in the automotive industry and unveil actors’ strategies, we examine the three most essential differentiating features of an automobile: classic powertrain, electric powertrain and autonomous driving. We aim to analyze these main differentiators along three key questions: the geographic dimension, the positioning in the value chain, and the individual company perspective, by developing a new structuring logic– the ambidexterity matrix – and its dynamic representation along the ambidexterity path.
Not only with respect to the common overlaps within the market of urban air mobility, but also in terms of their requirement profile with regard to the systemic core, all mobility industries are ...converging. This article focuses on the required patterns of learning in order to cope with these changes, and what automotive managers can learn from the aerospace industry in this context. As organizational learning is the central parameter of economic evolution, and technology develops over trajectory shifts, companies are, at the very least, cyclically forced to learn ambidextrously, or are squeezed out of the market. They have to act and react as complex adaptive systems in their changing environment. Especially in these dynamics, ambidextrous learning is identified to be a conditio sine qua non for organizational success. Especially the combination of efficiency-oriented internal exploitation with an explorative and external-oriented open innovation network turns out to be a superior strategy. By combining patent data, patent citation analysis and data on the European Framework Programs, we show that there are temporal differences, i.e., position of the product in the product, technique, technology, and industry life cycle. Furthermore, we draw a conclusion dependent on the systemic product character, which enforces different learning requirements concerning supply chain position and, as an overarching conclusion, we identify product structure to be decisive for how organizational learning should be styled.
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