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Science 23 February 1990:
Vol. 247. no. 4945, pp. 920 - 924
DOI: 10.1126/science.247.4945.920
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Articles

Learning Curves in Manufacturing

Linda Argote 1 and Dennis Epple 2

1 Associate professor of industrial administration, Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
2 Professor of economics at the Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Large increases in productivity are typically realized as organizations gain experience in production. These "learning curves" have been found in many organizations. Organizations vary considerably in the rates at which they learn. Some organizations show remarkable productivity gains, whereas others show little or no learning. Reasons for the variation observed in organizational learning curves include organizational "forgetting," employee turnover, transfer of knowledge from other products and other organizations, and economies of scale.


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