Relations between battery suppliers and automakers for knowledge base development during paradigmatic shifts in technology

In this paper, integrators’ and suppliers’ relative focus on component versus architectural knowledge during a potential paradigmatic shift in technology is studied, using the electrification of the vehicle’s powertrain as a case. US patents granted to six automakers and two of their battery suppliers during the period 1976 – 2009 form the main empirical basis. The study provides empirical support for an increasingly important role of batteries in the vehicle’s powertrain and illustrates the wide variety in knowledge development approaches of the automakers and battery makers. In relation to previous literature, this paper details the terminology used in relation to the component and architectural dimensions, it investigates the knowledge overlap in relation to the degree of uncertainty and it proposes additional factors potentially related to the knowledge strategies.