On October 3, 2013 The Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced an expansion of 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.
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. 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.
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.
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