Mirroring or misting: On the role of product architecture, product complexity, and the rate of product component change

This paper contributes to the literature on the within-firm and across-firm mirroring hypothesis – the assumed architectural mapping between firms’ strategic choices of product architecture and firm architecture, and between firms’ architectural choices and the industry structures that emerge. Empirical evidence is both limited and mixed and there is evidently a need for a more nuanced theory that embeds not only whether the mirroring hypothesis holds, but under what product architecture and component-level conditions it may or may not hold. We invoke an industrial economics perspective to develop a stylised product architecture typology and hypothesise how the combined effects of product architecture type, product complexity and the rate of product component change may be associated with phases of mirroring or misting. Our framework helps to reconcile much existing mixed evidence and provides the foundation for further empirical research

Modularization Assessment of Product Architecture

Modularization refers to the opportunity for mixing-and-matching of components in a modular product design in which the standard interfaces between components are specified to allow for a range of variation in components to be substituted in a product architecture. It is through mixing-and-matching of these components, and how these components interface with one another, that new systems are created. Consequently, the degree of modularization inherent in a system is highly dependent upon the components and the interface constraints shared among the components, modules, and sub-systems. In this paper, a mathematical model is derived for analyzing the degree of modularization in a given product architecture by taking into consideration the number of components, number of interfaces, the composition of new-to-the-firm (NTF) components, and substitutability of components. An analysis of Chrysler windshield wipers controller suggests that two product architectures may share similar interface constraints, but the opportunity for modularization of one module is significant higher than the other due to the higher substitutability of its components and lower composition of NTF components.Product architecture, modularization, substitutability, new product development

Modified Stage-Gate: A Conceptual Model of Virtual Product Development Process

In today s dynamic marketplace, manufacturing companies are under strong pressure to introduce new products for long-term survival with their competitors. Nevertheless, every company cannot cope up progressively or immediately with the market requirements due to knowledge dynamics being experienced in the competitive milieu. Increased competition and reduced product life cycles put force upon companies to develop new products faster. In response to these pressing needs, there should be some new approach compatible in flexible circumstances. This paper presents a solution based on the popular Stage-Gate system, which is closely linked with virtual team approach. Virtual teams can provide a platform to advance the knowledge-base in a company and thus to reduce time-to-market. This article introduces conceptual product development architecture under a virtual team umbrella. The paper describes all the major aspects of new product development (NPD), NPD process and its relationship with virtual teams, Stage-Gate system finally presents a modified Stage-Gate system to cope up with the changing needs. It also provides the guidelines for the successful implementation of virtual teams in new product development.Comment: 24 page

Modified Stage-Gate: A Conceptual Model of Virtual Product Development Process

In today’s dynamic marketplace, manufacturing companies are under strong pressure to introduce new products for long-term survival with their competitors. Nevertheless, every company cannot cope up progressively or immediately with the market requirements due to knowledge dynamics being experienced in the competitive milieu. Increased competition and reduced product life cycles put force upon companies to develop new products faster. In response to these pressing needs, there should be some new approach compatible in flexible circumstances. This paper presents a solution based on the popular Stage-Gate system, which is closely linked with virtual team approach. Virtual teams can provide a platform to advance the knowledge-base in a company and thus to reduce time-to-market. This article introduces conceptual product development architecture under a virtual team umbrella. The paper describes all the major aspects of new product development (NPD), NPD process and its relationship with virtual teams, Stage-Gate system finally presents a modified Stage-Gate system to cope up with the changing needs. It also provides the guidelines for the successful implementation of virtual teams in new product development

Evolving the Modular Layered Architecture in Digital Innovation: The Case of the Car’s Instrument Cluster

Digital innovation entails the combining of digital and physical components to produce novel products. The materiality of digital artifacts, particularly the separation between their material and immaterial features, which is expressed through a layered architecture, lays the foundation for the generative potential of digital innovation. Gaining an understanding of the work involved in creating such a layered architecture and tracing the shifts in the material sub-stratum as physical products are digitalized provides insight into the organizational implications of digital innovation. To this end, we study the digitalization of the automobile by focusing on the evolution of a car manufacturer’s instrument cluster or Driver Information Module (DIM) from 2005 onwards. Based on laddering interviews with 20 people involved in the development of three increasingly digitized DIMs, this paper traces the progressive dissociation between the material and non-material aspects of digitalized artifacts and the organizational implications of evolving a modular layered architecture

Making Digital Infrastructures More Generative Through Platformization and Platform- driven Software Development: An Explorative Case Study

Digital innovation platforms are particularly known for their generativity producing and reproducing flexible solutions for multiple user groups and attracting third-party developers. Consequently, as a concept, generativity often relates to the consumer market as its focal unit of analysis. In contrast, this paper takes a public sector organization as a unit of analysis, investigating the potential for developing more generative digital infrastructures through processes of platformization and platform-driven software development practices. We define platformization as the transition from silo-based organization to platform-based organization, where the dismantling of monolithic legacy systems enables new ways of organizing the development and maintenance of software development. By decoupling systems, organizations can recouple their organization to overcome the limitations of traditional silo-based organization. Our contribution is twofold. First, we contribute by describing platformization as a sociotechnical process that consist of changes to both infrastructure and organization, where the dismantling of monolithic applications enables new ways of organizing the development and maintenance of software. Second, we contribute by theorizing how platformization processes can produce increased generativity for the IT organization and its digital infrastructure

Digital Platforms as Sources for Organizational and Strategic Transformation: A Case Study of the Midblue Project

The paper is centered on the role of technology and specifically of IT in the recombination of the factors of production. Particularly, the objective is to see how this technology contributes to the formulation of business strategies, the outlining of organizational structures and the alignment with the business environment. A theoretical framework is proposed that combines three perspectives. The first perspective stresses the importance of digital architectures in the modalities through which firms organize for innovation. Second, organization as a platform outlines a scenario for generating multiple organizational forms based on recombination of existent resources, routines and transactions. Third, digital platforms are seen as determinant tools for a dematerialization process that consents to recombine the factors of production for achieving a competitive advantage. The Midblue project provides an illustrative example of how strategy, structure and information technology co-evolve in organizations and how digital platforms can trigger transformation at both strategic and organizational levels.The paper is centered on the role of technology and specifically of IT in the recombination of the factors of production. Particularly, the objective is to see how this technology contributes to the formulation of business strategies, the outlining of organizational structures and the alignment with the business environment. A theoretical framework is proposed that combines three perspectives. The first perspective stresses the importance of digital architectures in the modalities through which firms organize for innovation. Second, organization as a platform outlines a scenario for generating multiple organizational forms based on recombination of existent resources, routines and transactions. Third, digital platforms are seen as determinant tools for a dematerialization process that consents to recombine the factors of production for achieving a competitive advantage. The Midblue project provides an illustrative example of how strategy, structure and information technology co-evolve in organizations and how digital platforms can trigger transformation at both strategic and organizational levels.Articles published in or submitted to a Journal without IF refereed / of international relevanc