The End of the Present Mode of Production – A New Kondratieff Wave? – New Directions for Research?

Abstract

This conceptual paper traces the history of production from simple offerings, with the logic of a product structure to a virtual structure, then how components are outsourced in a supply chain. In Wintelism, individual functions, within a product architecture and specified interfaces, are outsourced. Focal firms view the value chain as an ecosystem to optimize value. Destructive innovation restruct and destruct ecosystems that are outperformed by ecosystems providing new offerings. Fundamental destructive innovations disrupt the very way production is made, the mode of production, replacing it by another. This paper raises the question if we are close to such a fundamental disruption.