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This paper analyzes the modularization in the world auto industry. The modularization
in the industry has involved architectural changes in product, production, and supplier
systems with each region (Japan, Europe and the U.S.A.) emphasizing different
purposes and aspects. As an attempt to understand such multi-faceted, complex
processes coherently, this paper proposes a conceptual framework that sees
development / production activities as interlinked, multiple hierarchies of products,
processes, and inter-firm boundaries. With this framework, drawing on case studies and
questionnaire survey data, the paper examines the on-going processes of modularization
in the industry. It is argued that tensions exist among the three hierarchies, and such
tensions may lead to further changes in product, production and supplier-system
architectures in the auto industry, in a dynamic and path-dependent manner. |
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