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Gatekeeper

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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CAVEMAN

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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“Caveman” Social Structure• In a cave:

– Overlapping and redundant relationships

– Unwanted behavior by any individual will become more widely known

– Collective punishment of unwanted behavior will be easier

– Trust, discipline • Caves (clusters) are linked by

‘bridging connections.’

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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“Caveman” Social Structure• Robert Steward in the following slide.• He is a gatekeeper.

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Inventors in Boston’s Largest Connected Cluster circa 1986-1990

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Allegory of the Cave

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Caveman Benefit• Cohesively clustered structure will

greatly enhance the development of an idea.

• Cohesive structure can also aid the subsequent diffusion of an idea from its original creators to potential adopters.

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Caveman Benefit• Why? Synergy, imitation, fast

information flow, easier to mobilize effort and support for development – Hsin-Chu Industrial Park

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Caveman Problem• Clustering makes seminal creativity

less likely.• Isolated groups of inventors go stale

and risk vulnerability to groupthink.• Inventors within cohesive clusters

are less likely to invent a new idea but the new ideas are more likely to be developed and adopted by other inventors.

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Solution to the Caveman ProblemCohesive clusters with bridging connections

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Solution to the Caveman Problem• Bridging connections counterbalance

insularity by bringing in fresh and non-redundant information.

• Gatekeepers are ‘interpreters.’

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Examples - Lombardy“…the components of the design system – schools, studios, and manufacturers – were not significantly better or worse in that region than elsewhere. What distinguished Lombardy was the number, strength, and quality of the links between these components.”• Cf. Rochester, NY

Roberto Verganti, Design-Driven Innovation, p. 159.

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Italian furniture manufacturers’ portfolio of designers

% of products designed by external designers

90% 77%

Average number of external design firms in the portfolio

11.9% 4.4%

% of designers with a degree in architecture

45% 33%

% of designers with an engineering degree

6% 0%

% of designers with a degree in industrial design

31% 52%

% of non-Italian designers 46% 16%

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Interpreters as Designers“The designer who wants to propose a project doesn’t have to bring drawings, …He has to present new ideas, new proposals, even if he doesn’t know how to implement them. It is our Center for Research and Development that gives life to the project.”Federico Busnelli, B&B Italia

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Example - Intel• Open Innovation – will be introduced

later

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Danger• Most companies use regional centers

only as antennas to detect local trends rather than to mediate local talent.

• Need to know the rich web of local relationships

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Six Degree of Separation• Drawing a sample from the white

pages of Midwest towns and designating a friend in a Boston suburb as a “target,” Milgram asked each Midwesterner to forward a letter to a personal friend who might know the target.

J. Travers and S. Milgram, “An Experimental Study of the Small World Problem,” Sociometry, 32 (1969): 425-443.

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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Six Degree of Separation• Intermediate recipients who did not

know the target were asked to forward the letter to friends who might.

• The process continuing until the letter reached the Boston target.

• The average number of connections was six.

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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The World Is Smaller• WTO• Bilateral FTA• Talents are free to move.• Non competing or non disclosure

agreements will not work.– True talents do not want to be bound by

them.• Silos may be the norm if companies

want to keep ‘talents’ inside.• And what we should do?

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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What Companies Should Do in a Smaller World?

• Not afraid of information or talent outflow

• But to maximize the inflow!

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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What Companies Should Do in a Smaller World?

• Gatekeeper!

gatekeepers—technical professionals who span organizational boundaries, accelerating the process of invention by contributing to and capitalizing on inter-firm “spillovers” of technical knowledge.

Fleming, L, & Marx, M., “Managing Creativity in Small Worlds,” California Management Review, 48(4), Summer 2006.

created by Wesley Shu, Ph.D. in MIS, University of Arizona

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New Gatekeeper Business• Nine Sigma’s OI Process

Integration Services & Intelligence Services

• Altimeter Group