TY  - JOUR
AU  - Kelley,Maryellen R.
AU  - Cook,Cynthia R.
TI  - The Institutional Context and Manufacturing Performance: The Case of the U.S. Defense Industrial Network
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 6460
PY  - 1998
Y2  - March 1998
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6460
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6460.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Maryellen Kelley
Senior Economist
Office of Economic Assessment
Advanced Technology Program
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD  20899
Tel: 301-975-4759;  Maryellen.Kelley@nist.gov
AB  - U.S. manufacturing firms that make sophisticated weapons systems for the Pentagon are subject to an unusual regulatory regime that obligates them to volunteer' information on their business practices to the government and to prime contractors as a condition of their special relationship with the government.  Within this organizational community information sharing with and assistance to other firms have come to be viewed as an ordinary obligation - i.e., a condition of citizenship. This cooperative learning environment is indicative of a collaborative manufacturing network that enables member organizations to learn quickly about relevant process technology innovations and to implement them effectively.  We find that defense contractors learn about information technology applications more quickly than enterprises outside the network.  Moreover, learning advantages are not confined to transactions specific to the Pentagon, but benefit the non-military operations of the networked enterprises as well.
ER  -