Fix me a glitch: an empirical investigation of glitch mitigation and inter-functional transactive memory systems in engineer-to-order manufacturing

Organizations face many challenges. Chief among them are: (1) how to respond to unexpected disruptions to operations and (2) how to benefit from knowledge and information contained in personnel’s brains. This dissertation helps organizations address these two challenges simultaneously. It finds that organizations are better able to find adequate solutions to unanticipated occurrences if enough employees are aware of each other’s areas of expertise. This awareness enables more effective solution development during moments of crisis. The dissertation also finds that organizations are able to encourage personnel to develop such awareness through specific policies and human resource selection practices.