Organising the interplay between exploitation and exploration: The case of interactive development of an information system

Every company needs to exploit on its current technological solutions while also working on developing new ones, i.e. exploring new or modified solutions. The ways in which a company deals with these issues are closely connected with how it organises the interaction among actors within the firm as well as with external counterparts. In this paper we present a case study of a company that combines the two issues so that product features developed in interaction with specific customers can be systematically taken advantage of in future standard solutions. Owing to various interdependencies within and across products and product versions over time, this is not an easy task and the organising of interaction across projects, functions and firm boundaries can be seen as a key challenge. The paper ends by suggesting that new innovative ways of organising interaction are needed to cope with increasingly complex interdependencies that span organisational boundaries. We also suggest some key aspects of organising that need to be taken into account in such endeavours.

► Systematic interaction within and between firms balances exploitation and exploration.
► Interdependencies among internal and external actors are intertwined.
► By organising interaction among “the right” parties, actors can pool their knowledge.