Abstract
The paper examines the acquisition, depreciation and transfer of knowledge acquired through learning by doing in service organizations. The analysis is based on weekly data collected over a one and a half year period from 36 pizza stores located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The 36 stores, which are franchised from the same corporation, are owned by 10 different franchisees. We find evidence of learning in these service organizations: as the organizations gain experience in production, the unit cost of production declines significantly. Knowledge acquired through learning by doing is found to depreciate rapidly in these organizations. Knowledge acquired through learning by doing is found to depreciate rapidly in these organizations. Knowledge is found to transfer across stores owned by the same franchisee but not across stores owned by different franchisees. Theoretical and practical implications of the work are discussed.
Keywords
Depreciation (economics)ProductivityBusinessOrganizational learningKnowledge transferProduction (economics)CorporationService (business)Work (physics)Knowledge acquisitionUnit (ring theory)MarketingIndustrial organizationKnowledge managementEconomicsFinanceMicroeconomicsComputer scienceHuman capitalEconomic growth
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
The Persistence and Transfer of Learning in Industrial Settings
The persistence of learning within organizations and the transfer of learning across organizations are examined on data collected from multiple organizations. Results indicate t...
Toward a knowledge‐based theory of the firm
Abstract Given assumptions about the characteristics of knowledge and the knowledge requirements of production, the firm is conceptualized as an institution for integrating know...
Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology
How should we understand why firms exist? A prevailing view has been that they serve to keep in check the transaction costs arising from the self-interested motivations of indiv...
Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and the Literatures
This paper differs from previous examinations of organizational learning in that it is broader in scope and more evaluative of the literatures. Four constructs related to organi...
<i>Review</i> : Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations And Research Issues1,2
Knowledge is a broad and abstract notion that has defined epistemological debate in western philosophy since the classical Greek era. In the past few years, however, there has b...
Publication Info
- Year
- 1995
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1750-1762
- Citations
- 1443
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
1443
OpenAlex
Cite This
Eric D. Darr,
Linda Argote,
Dennis Epple
(1995).
The Acquisition, Transfer, and Depreciation of Knowledge in Service Organizations: Productivity in Franchises.
Management Science
, 41
(11)
, 1750-1762.
https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.41.11.1750
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1287/mnsc.41.11.1750