You are here: Home > Publications > Additional Publications > Chapter 9

Part 2 - Theoretical and Conceptual Perspectives on Systems Integration

Chapter 9 : The cognitive basis of systems integration: redundancy of context-generating knowledge - Massimo Paoli (University of Perugia, Italy)

This chapter argues that the strategic control over the technological and commercial evolution of complicated multi-technological platforms (families of products) calls for a deep control of the processes of systems integration. The chapter aims to define the key elements of the cognitive nature of process of systems integration and provides an epistemological reflection on personal and social knowledge. It is argued that the meta-process of systems integration is first of all integration of knowledge: a process of processes that require a powerful control of knowledge development. Using a constructivist concept of personal and social knowledge, the chapter also argues that firms must retain and dominate in-house a whole host of generative contexts of knowledge in order to control the process of systems integration.
Contexts are defined as the bricks that generate the knowledge that supports the firm's capability of systems integration.