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Linking product modularity and innovativeness to supply chain management in the Italian furniture industry

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  • Caridi, Maria
  • Pero, Margherita
  • Sianesi, Andrea

Abstract

Much of the literature on modularity assumes that firms with modular products adopt modular organization. In the realm of supply chain management, no consensus has been reached on the effects of product modularity on supply chains (SC). This paper investigates whether SC choices depend on product modularity and innovativeness, and how SC choices can be aligned to these product features to maximize performance. A medium scale survey has been performed in the Italian furniture industry. By means of factor and cluster analyses, the SC of firms that introduced products with different levels of modularity and innovativeness have been compared. The results show that both product features must be considered when designing the SC.

Suggested Citation

  • Caridi, Maria & Pero, Margherita & Sianesi, Andrea, 2012. "Linking product modularity and innovativeness to supply chain management in the Italian furniture industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 207-217.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:136:y:2012:i:1:p:207-217
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.11.012
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    2. Arash Najmaei, 2016. "Revisiting The Modularity-Performance Nexus: Business Model Innovation As A Missing Mechanism," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(07), pages 1-41, October.
    3. Latan, Hengky & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz & de Camargo Fiorini, Paula & Foropon, Cyril, 2020. "Innovative efforts of ISO 9001-certified manufacturing firms: Evidence of links between determinants of innovation, continuous innovation and firm performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    4. Pero, Margherita & Stößlein, Martin & Cigolini, Roberto, 2015. "Linking product modularity to supply chain integration in the construction and shipbuilding industries," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(PB), pages 602-615.
    5. Wong, Christina W.Y. & Wong, Chee Yew & Boon-itt, Sakun, 2013. "The combined effects of internal and external supply chain integration on product innovation," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 566-574.
    6. Marcus Brandenburg & Tobias Rebs, 2015. "Sustainable supply chain management: a modeling perspective," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 229(1), pages 213-252, June.
    7. Elaine Q. Borazon & Vivien T. Supangco, 2018. "Effect of Supply Chain Integration on the Business Performance and Competitiveness of the Philippine Small and Medium Enterprises," Working Papers id:12922, eSocialSciences.
    8. Shashi, & Centobelli, Piera & Cerchione, Roberto & Singh, Rajwinder, 2019. "The impact of leanness and innovativeness on environmental and financial performance: Insights from Indian SMEs," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 111-124.
    9. Malacina, Iryna & Teplov, Roman, 2022. "Supply chain innovation research: A bibliometric network analysis and literature review," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    10. Zulkaif Ahmed Saqib & Luo Qin & Rashid Menhas & Gong Lei, 2023. "Strategic Sustainability and Operational Initiatives in Small- and Medium-Sized Manufacturers: An Empirical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-20, April.
    11. Asif Arshad Ali & Asif Mahmood, 2023. "How Do Supply Chain Integration and Product Innovation Capability Drive Sustainable Operational Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-20, December.

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