Oxford Scholarship Online: The Business of Systems Integration

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The Business of Systems Integration Prencipe, Andrea Research Fellow at the Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Sussex, and Associate Professor of Economics and Management of Innovation at the University G. D'Annunzio, Italy Davies, Andrew Senior Fellow at the Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Sussex Hobday, Michael Director of the Complex Products Systems Innovation Centre, University of Sussex Print publication date: 2005 (this edition) Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2007 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-19-926323-3
12 Modularity and Outsourcing The Nature of Co-evolution of Product Architecture and Organization Architecture in the Global Automotive Industry doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199263233.003.0012 Mari Sako Abstract: This chapter takes the automobile industry as an empirical setting for clarification of the concept of modularity in product architecture. Three arenas of modularity: Modularity in Design, Modularity in Production, and Modularity in Use are discussed as presenting alternative criteria for making boundary choices in complex products. The chapter moves on to understanding strategic drivers for pushing the product architecture towards modularity. It then considers the implications of these different paths for industry dynamics (in particular the power balance between customer and supplier companies) and supply chain management. Keywords: modularity, outsourcing, automotive industry, industry dynamics, supply chain management,