Philadelphia, PA — The Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is pleased to announce it is expanding its research network through the addition of the Program on Vehicle and Mobility Innovation (PVMI).
The integration of PVMI expands the application of the Mack Institute’s expertise and rigorous research methods to critical questions of mobility and the evolving global automotive industry. To highlight this new relationship, on November 22, 2013, the Mack Institute and PVMI will host their first joint conference, When Disruptive Technologies Meet Integrated Systems: Who Captures the Value? at the Wharton School. In addition to cross-disciplinary faculty from the University of Pennsylvania and researchers from the PVMI network, confirmed speakers include senior executives from Google/Motorola Mobility and Nissan, who will all explore the challenges and opportunities of disruptive technologies.
“We are very excited to combine PVMI’s historic depth of knowledge in the mobility domain with the Mack Institute’s vast expertise in innovation management. I look forward to the extensive contributions we will make to advance thought leadership, research, and collaboration,” said John Paul MacDuffie, Director of PVMI. MacDuffie is a leading researcher of the auto industry, a Mack Institute Core Team member, and an Associate Professor of Management at the Wharton School.
PVMI’s network includes more than 50 prominent scholars of innovation, strategy, technology, operations, organization, and human resources, who have conducted interdisciplinary—often collaborative—research at more than 25 universities worldwide. This network of scholars has produced innovative, influential research, established benchmarking standards, and probed topics across the automotive value chain. These scholars share a commitment to gathering primary data—both quantitative and qualitative—during field research and developing knowledge of the industry context to deepen the theoretical and empirical contributions of their work.
“We are honored to welcome the PVMI network to the Mack Institute as a partner in furthering innovation management insights,” said Harbir Singh, Co-director of the Mack Institute, Mack Professor of Management, and Vice Dean for Global Initiatives at the Wharton School. “This arrangement will allow leading minds to collaborate with the goal of advancing research-based guidance and valuable lessons that extend across industries.”
Originally founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985 as the International Motor Vehicle Program (IMVP), the initiative has been restructured and renamed PVMI as part of its incorporation into the Mack Institute. It is the largest and oldest international researcher consortium focused on understanding the challenges facing the global automotive industry. Among its many accomplishments, the program is known for developing the concept of “lean production” to characterize the new paradigm that challenged mass production starting in the 1970s and 1980s. The best-selling book The Machine That Changed the World documented these findings and insights.
PVMI has long tracked disruptive changes in the auto industry—including massive reductions in vertical integration, increases in outsourcing, and the influx of new technologies—to assess the implications for industry structure and firm competitiveness. Now based at Wharton, PVMI will pick up and extend this agenda, connecting with the Mack Institute’s longtime focus on emerging technologies, evolving industries, and the management of innovation.
“The addition of PVMI is an ideal way to expand our reach and impact now that we are a research institute,” said Saikat Chaudhuri, Mack Institute Executive Director and Adjunct Associate Professor of Management at Wharton. “The Mack Institute’s research community studies how firms compete, survive, and succeed in the pursuit of innovation, and PVMI’s accomplished academics have significant knowledge to share on this topic. Our joint Fall Conference is a perfect example of how PVMI and the Mack Institute will intersect.”
About the Wharton School
Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. With a broad global community and one of the most published business school faculties, Wharton creates ongoing economic and social value around the world. The School has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and a powerful alumni network of more than 92,000 graduates.
About the Mack Institute for Innovation Management
The Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School is an exclusive network that connects business leaders, researchers, world-class Wharton faculty, and students. At the Institute, thought leaders from across academic disciplines and industries come together to explore how companies survive, compete, and thrive through innovation management. The Institute’s multidisciplinary faculty and researchers develop practical approaches to managing innovation and share this knowledge through thought-provoking conferences, workshops, and publications.