Exploiting and nurturing in-house technological capabilities: lessons from the aerospace industry

This paper identifies four major types of technological capabilities of firms developing multi-technology products: integrative, absorptive, coordinative, and generative. Using an in-depth case study of a high technology sub-system, the paper focuses on a firm's generative capabilities. The paper illustrates that a firm's generative capabilities enables it to (a) frame a particular problem, (b) enact an innovative vision, and (c) solve the problem by developing new manufacturing techniques. The triad frame-enact-solve is argued to be the primary feature of a firm's generative capability.