| Should a firm interested in improving quality emphasize learning in the process of innovating and designing products or should it emphasize learning in the process of production? Some of the answers to this dilemma may be found by considering the fundamental stage of design. Since the firm's design and production capabilities determine product characteristics and represent accumulations of know-how or experience, it is important to consider the relationship between, on the one hand, the accumulation of experience in design and production and, on the other, a product's characteristics, including quality.; Accordingly, this study develops and tests a model relating certain dimensions regarding the set of designs used by a firm to the quality of the products based on those designs. The model is empirically tested in the context of the American automobile market, using data for a 23-year period. The study's limitations are discussed in detail, as they may have had substantial impact on the limited support obtained for the hypothesized relationships.; The study is significant because it (a) develops a logical framework for thinking about a firm's design choices, and the implications of those choices for where the firm will develop learning, (b) addresses the neglected area of the links between design, learning, and quality, and, (c) develops a method for empirical study of learning within the firm. |
