Building Systems Integration Capabilities: The Role of the Royal Netherlands Navy in Constructing and Innovating Warships, 1945-2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25071/2561-5467.1237Keywords:
Complex product systems, systems integration, innovation system, naval industry, Royal Netherlands NavyAbstract
This paper examines how the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) dealt with the restoration of a sizeable domestic industry capable of constructing and designing complex warships since the end of WWII. Given the relatively small size of the country and the high speed of naval technological change since 1945, the restoration was not self-evident, certainly not because of the ruined state of that industry. We argue that the development of systems integration capabilities played a key role in the restoration. By zooming in on the strategies of the Navy to support the development of systems integration capabilities we seek to understand how the Dutch naval sector developed since 1945. We show that the ability of the Navy to support the acquisition and maintenance of systems integration capabilities depended on both domestic and international political and commercial dynamics and that systems integration capabilities could also be lost.
Le présent article analyse les efforts déployés par la Marine royale néerlandaise pour restaurer une industrie nationale importante capable de concevoir et de construire des navires de guerre complexes depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Compte tenu de la taille relativement petite du pays et de l’évolution rapide des changements technologiques navals depuis 1945, la restauration n’allait pas aller de soi, notamment parce que l’industrie avait été laissée en ruines. Nous soutenons que le développement des capacités d’intégration des systèmes a joué un rôle clé dans la restauration. En mettant l’accent sur les stratégies de la Marine visant à appuyer le développement des capacités d’intégration des systèmes, nous cherchons à comprendre comment le secteur naval néerlandais s’est développé depuis 1945. Nous indiquons que les habiletés de la Marine à favoriser l’acquisition et la maintenance des capacités d’intégration des systèmes dépendait de la dynamique politique et commerciale sur le plan national et international et que les capacités d’intégration des systèmes pouvaient également se perdre.
References
Algemene Rekenkamer. "Rapport Van De Algemene Rekenkamer Inzake Besluitvorming En Uitvoering Van Het Walrusproject. Kamerstuk 19221, No 2.". The Hague, 1985.
Anthony, Ian. The Naval Arms Trade. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Bergek, Anna, Staffan Jacobsson, and Björn A. Sandén. "‘Legitimation’ and ‘Development of Positive Externalities’: Two Key Processes in the Formation Phase of Technological Innovation Systems." Technology Analysis & Strategic Management 20, no. 5 (2008): 575-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09537320802292768
Bergek, Anna, Steffan Jacobsson, Bo Carlsson, Sven Lindmark, and Annika Rickne. "Analyzing the Functional Dynamics of Technological Innovation Systems: A Scheme of Analysis." Research Policy 37 (2008): 407-29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2007.12.003
Bijker, W.E., T.P. Hughes, and Trevor J. Pinch. The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology. MA: MIT Press, 1987.
Birkler, John, Denis Rushworth, James Chiesa, Hans Pung, Mark V. Arena, and John F. Schank. "Differences between Military and Commercial Shipbuilding: Implications for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. ." In RAND Corporation monograph series. Prepared for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence, 2005.
Bonaccorsi, Andrea, and Paola Giuri. "When Shakeout Doesn’t Occur. The Evolution of the Turboprop Engine Industry." Research Policy 29 (2000): 847-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(00)00109-8
Bonaccorsi, Andrea, Fabio Pammolli, and Simone Tani. "The Changing Boundaries of System Companies." International Business Review 5, no. 6 (1996): 539-60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-5931(96)00027-3
Brouwer, J.W.L., and C.M. Megens. "Het Succesvolle Verzet Van De Koninklijke Marine Tegen Taakspecialisatie in De Navo." Transaktie 21, no. 1 (1992): 65-84.
Carlsson, Bo, and Richard Stankiewicz. "On the Nature, Function and Composition of Technological Systems." Journal of Evolutionary Economics 1 (1991): 93-118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01224915
Carral, Luis, Javier Tarrio-Saavedra, Gregorio Iglesias, and José San-Cristobal. "Evaluation of the Structural Complexity of Organisations and Products in Naval-Shipbuilding." Ships and Offshore Structures 16, no. 6 (2021): 670-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17445302.2020.1773049
Colijn, K. "Laat De Marine Niet Meer Wereldwijd Opereren: Is Te Duur." NRC newspaper, June, 17th 2021.
Colijn, K., and P. Rusman. Het Nederlandse Wapenexportbeleid 1963-1988. Den Haag: Nijgh & Van Ditmar, 1989.
Cooke, Philip, Mikel Gomez Uranga, and Goio Etxebarria. "Regional Innovation Systems: Institutional and Organizational Dimensions." Research Policy 26 (1997): 475-91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(97)00025-5
Davids, Mila, and Hans Schippers. "Innovations in Dutch Shipbuilding in the First Half of the Twentieth Century." Business History 50 (2008): 205-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00076790701868643
Davies, Andrew, and Michael Hobday. The Business of Projects: Managing Innovation in Complex Products and Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511493294
Dedehayir, Ozgur, Tomi Nokelainen, and Saku J. Mäkinen. "Disruptive Innovations in Complex Product Systems Industries: A Case Study." Journal of Engineering and Technology Management 33 (2014): 174-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jengtecman.2014.06.002
Edquist, Charles. "Design of Innovation Policy through Diagnostic Analysis: Identification of Systemic Problems (or Failures)." Industrial and Corporate Change 20, no. 6 (2011): 1725-53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtr060
Edquist, Charles, ed. Systems of Innovation:Technologies, Institutions and Organizations. London: Pinter Publishers, 1997.
Elk, B. van. "Het Succes Van Imtech." NIDV Magazine, 2010, 4-7.
Elzen, Boelie, Bert Enserink, and Wim A. Smit. "Socio-Technical Networks: How a Technology Studies Approach May Help to Solve Problems Related to Technical Change." Social Studies of Science 26 (1996): 95-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/030631296026001006
Gholz, Eugene. "Systems Integration in the Us Defence Industry. Who Does It and Why Is It Important?". In The Business of Systems Integration, edited by Andrea Prencipe, Andrew Davies and Michael Hobday, 279-306. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199263233.003.0014
Gholz, Eugene, Andrew D. James, and Thomas H. Speller. "The Second Face of Systems Integration: An Empirical Analysis of Supply Chains to Complex Product Systems." Research Policy 47 (2018): 1478-94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.05.001
Hekkert, M.P., R.A.A. Suurs, S.O. Negro, S. Kuhlmann, and R.E.H.M. Smits. "Functions of Innovation Systems: A New Approach for Analysing Technological Change." Technological Forecasting & Social Change 74 (2007): 413-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2006.03.002
Hobday, M. "Product Complexity, Innovation and Industrial Organization." Research Policy 26 (1998): 689-710. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(97)00044-9
Hobday, Michael, Andrew Davies, and Andrea Prencipe. "Systems Integration: A Core Capability of the Modern Corporation." Industrial and Corporate Change 14, no. 6 (2005): 1109-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dth080
Hone, Thomas C. "Replacing Battleships with Aircraft Carriers in the Pacific in World War Ii.". Naval War College Review 66, no. 1 (2013): 56-76.
Hughes, T.P. "The Evolution of Large Technological Systems." In The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology, edited by W.E. Bijker, T.P. Hughes and Trevor J. Pinch, 51-82. MA: MIT Press, 1987.
Imtech. 1860-2010. De Rijke Geschiedenis Van De Europese Technische Dienstverlener Imtech N.V. Gouda: Imtech N.V., 2010.
Jacobsson, Steffan, and Anna Johnson. "The Diffusion of Renewable Energy Technology: An Analytical Framework and Key Issues for Research." Energy Policy 28 (2000): 625-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-4215(00)00041-0
James, Andrew. "The Place of the Uk Defense Industry in Its National Innovation System: Co-Evolution of National, Sectoral and Technological Systems." In The Place of the Defense Industry in National Systems of Innovation, edited by Judith Reppy, 96-124. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Peace Studies Program, 2000.
Janssen, M.C.W.M., S.C. Horenberg, and F.G. Marx M. "Stand Van Zaken: Patrouilleschepen." Marineblad, 2008, 16-20.
Kluth. "Make or Buy? Explaining Diverging Frigate Procurement Approaches in Denmark and Norway." Defense & Security Analysis 38, no. 2 (2022): 190-209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14751798.2022.2063995
Korteweg, . ed. Maritieme Geschiedenis. De Canon Van Ons Maritiem Verleden in 50 Vensters. Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 2009.
Lazaric, N., V. Merindol, and S. Rochhia. "Changes in the French Defence Innovation System: New Roles and Capabilities for the Government Agency for Defence." [In English]. Industry and Innovation 18, no. 5 (2011): 509-30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2011.583464
Lemmers, Alan. "The Pillars of Dutch Naval Shipbuiding after 1945." The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord XXV, no. 3 (2015): 265-87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25071/2561-5467.241
Lovering, John. "The Defense Industry as a Paradigmatic Case of “Actually Existing Globalization”." In The Place of the Defense Industry in National Systems of Innovation, edited by Judith Reppy, 13-23. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Peace Studies Program, 2000.
Lundvall, Bengt-Ake, ed. National Systems of Innovation: Toward a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning. London: Pinter Publishers, 1992.
Lundvall, Bengt-Ake, Björn Johnson, Esben Sloth Andersen, and Bent Dalum. "National Systems of Production, Innovation and Competence Building." Research Policy 31 (2002): 213-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(01)00137-8
Malerba, Franco. "Sectoral Systems of Innovation and Production." Research Policy 31 (2002): 247-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(01)00139-1
Malerba, Franco., ed. Sectoral Systems of Innovation: Concepts, Issues and Analyses of Six Major Sectors in Europe. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511493270
Markard, Jochen, and Bernhard Truffer. "Technological Innovation Systems and the Multi-Level Perspective: Towards an Integrated Framework." Research Policy 37 (2008): 596-615. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2008.01.004
Megens, C.M. "American Aid to Nato Allies in the 1950s, the Dutch Case.", University of Groningen, 1994.
Miller, Roger, Mike Hobday, Thierry Leroux-Demers, and Xavier Olleros. "Innovation in Complex Systems Industries: The Case of Flight Simulation." Industrial and Corporate Change 4, no. 2 (1995): 363-400. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/4.2.363
Ministry of Defence. "Beleidsbrief Van Defensie Na De Kredietcrisis: Een Kleinere Krijgsmacht in Een Onrustige Wereld. Overzicht Van De Ombuigingen. Kamerstuk 32733, No. 1.". The Hague, 2011.
Ministry of Defence. "Defensie Industrie Strategie - Eindrapportage. Kamerstuk 31125 No. 1.". The Hague, 2007.
Ministry of Defence. "Defensienota." The Hague, 2018.
Ministry of Defence. "Defensienota 1964. Kamerstuk 7677-X, No. 1." The Hague, 1964.
Ministry of Defence. "Defensienota 1968. Kamerstuk 9635, No. 1." The Hague, 1968.
Ministry of Defence. "Defensienota 1974. Kamerstuk 12994, No. 2." The Hague, 1974.
Ministry of Defence. "Internationale Militaire Samenwerking. Kamerstuk 3279, No. 29." The Hague, 2019.
Ministry of Defence. "Op Weg Naar Een Nieuw Evenwicht: De Krijgsmacht in De Komende Jaren. Kamerstuk 29200x, No. 4." The Hague, 2003.
Ministry of Defence, and Ministry of Economic Affairs. "Defensie Industrie Strategie Nota. Kamerstuk 31125, No. 92." The Hague, 2013.
Ministry of Defence, and Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. "Defensie Industrie Strategie Nota." The Hague, 2018.
Minne, Bert. "Economische Gevolgen Van Korvettenaanschaf. Een Welvaartseconomische Analyse." In CPB Document no. 68, edited by Centraal Planbureau. Den Haag: SDU, 2004.
Naval Institute Press. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1996.
Nooteboom, S.G. Deugdelijke Schepen: Marinescheepsbouw 1945-1995. Zaltbommel: Europese Bibliotheek, 2001.
North, Douglas C. Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge, MA.: Cambridge University Press, 1990. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511808678
O'Connell, Robert L. Sacred Vessels: The Cult of the Battleship and the Rise of the U.S. Navy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Oosterhout, A.W.G. "De Precaire Autonomie Van De Nederlandse Marinescheepsbouw." University of Twente, 2001.
Pierce, Terry C. Warfighting and Disruptive Technologies. Disguising Innovation. London: Frank Cass, 2004.
Policy Research Corporation. "De Economische Effecten Van De Ontwikkeling En Bouw Van Korvetten in Nederland. In Opdracht Van De Stichting Nederland Maritiem Land." Rotterdam, 2004.
Prencipe, Andrea. "Corporate Strategy and Systems Integration Capabilities." In The Business of Systems Integration, edited by A. Prencipe, A. Davies and M. Hobday, 114-32. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/0199263221.003.0007
PriceWaterhouseCoopers. "De Nederlandse Defensiegerelateerde Industrie (the Dutch Defence-Related Industry). Report for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs." 1998.
Reppy, Judith. "Conceptualizing the Role of Defense Industries in National Systems of Innovation." In The Place of the Defense Industry in National Systems of Innovation, edited by Judith Reppy, 1-12. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Peace Studies Program, 2000.
Ruiter, R.M. de. "Defensienota 1991: Het Belang Van Een Visie. De Krijgsmacht Neemt Afscheid Van De Koude Oorlog." Militaire Spectator 180, no. 2 (2011).
Saxenian, AnnaLee. Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128. Cambridge, Mass.; London, England: Harvard University Press, 1999.
Smit, Wim A., roland De Penanros, Haico Te Kulve, Björn Hagelin, and Ian S. Goudie. "Naval Shipbuilding in Europe." In The Restructuring of the European Defence Industry: Dynamics of Change, edited by Claude Serfati. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2001.
Torres, Sam. De Heropbouw Van De Koninklijke Marine, 1945-1951. Verklaringen Voor Het Succes Van De Nederlandse Marine. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam Library, 2016.
Tweede Kamer. "Brief Minister Van Defensie over Project Hydrografische Opnemingsvaartuigen. Kamerstuk 28000-X, No. 23." The Hague, 2002.
Tweede Kamer. "Kamerstuk 25800, Nr. 23." The Hague, 2009.
Tweede Kamer. "Kamerstuk 25800, Nr. 24." The Hague, 2009.
Tweede Kamer. "Kamerstuk 27830, Nr. 307." The Hague, 2020.
Tweede Kamer. "Kamerstuk 34225, Nr. 24." The Hague, 2020b.
Tweede Kamer. "Motie Voorgesteld Door De Leden Van Baalen, Kortenhorst, Bakker En Herben. Kamerstuk 29200-X, No. 32." The Hague, 2003.
Tweede Kamer. "Motie. Toekomst Van De Nederlandse Onderzeedienst. Kamerstuk 34225, No. 18." The Hague, 2017.
Tweede Kamer. "Motie. Toekomst Van De Nederlandse Onderzeedienst. Kamerstuk 34225, No. 21." The Hague, 2017.
Tweede Kamer. "Nota Inzake Defensiebeleid. Tk 1672 Nr. 11." The Hague, 1950.
Tweede Kamer. "Prioriteitennota. Kamerstuk 22975, No. 2. ." The Hague, 1993.
Tweede Kamer. "Rijksbegroting 1951. Tk 1900 Viii a Nr.10." 1951.
Tweede Kamer. "Stenografisch Verslag Van De Openbare Hoorzitting Van De Commissie Voor De Rijksuitgaven En De Vaste Commmissie Voor Defensie over Het Walrusproject. Kamerstuk 19221, No. 8.". The Hague, 1986.
Tweede Kamer. "Toekomst Van De Nederlandse Onderzeedienst. Kamerstuk 34225, No.22." The Hague, 2017.
Tweede Kamer. "Verslag Van De Enquêtecommissie Rijn-Schelde-Verolme (Rsv). Opkomst En Ondergang Van Rijn-Schelde-Verolme. Kamerstuk 17817, Nr. 16." The Hague, 1984.
Tweede Kamer. "Verslag Van Een Rondetafelgesprek over Defensie. Kamerstuk 34775-X, No. 68." The Hague, 2018.
Tweede Kamer. "Vragen En Antwoorden Defensiebegroting Voor 2005. Kamerstuk 29800x, Nr. 15." The Hague, 2004.
