IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/syseng/v10y2007i2p118-137.html

The Implications of Product Architecture on the Firm

Author

Listed:
  • Ali A. Yassine
  • Luke A. Wissmann

Abstract

Product architecture defines the functional requirements within a product system, maps these requirements to physical elements or subsystems, and describes the interaction between these physical elements. In spite of the diverse literature on the topic, it is clear that the implications on the firm have not been clearly outlined. In an attempt to fill this void, this paper offers a framework for classifying the vast amount of existing literature relevant to product architecture and summarizes the managerial implications. The proposed framework classifies the impact of product architecture on the firm along two dimensions: “facet of the firm” and “what is managed.” The facet dimension indicates which system element (i.e., organization, product, or consumer) a piece of research considers and the second dimension categorizes how value is created by the facet (managing portfolios, establishing a structure, or executing processes). The key domains surrounding product architecture are research domains in and of themselves. Nevertheless, the task of this paper is to articulate the concepts and research at the intersection of these key domains with product architecture. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 10: 118– 137, 2007

Suggested Citation

  • Ali A. Yassine & Luke A. Wissmann, 2007. "The Implications of Product Architecture on the Firm," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 118-137, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:syseng:v:10:y:2007:i:2:p:118-137
    DOI: 10.1002/sys.20067
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sys.20067
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sys.20067?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. V. Krishnan & Saurabh Gupta, 2001. "Appropriateness and Impact of Platform-Based Product Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 52-68, January.
    2. Sharon Novak & Steven D. Eppinger, 2001. "Sourcing By Design: Product Complexity and the Supply Chain," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 189-204, January.
    3. Sah, Raaj Kumar & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1986. "The Architecture of Economic Systems: Hierarchies and Polyarchies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(4), pages 716-727, September.
    4. Raghu Garud & Praveen R. Nayyar, 1994. "Transformative capacity: Continual structuring by intertemporal technology transfer," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(5), pages 365-385, June.
    5. Clark, Kim B., 1985. "The interaction of design hierarchies and market concepts in technological evolution," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 235-251, October.
    6. Marshall Fisher & Kamalini Ramdas & Karl Ulrich, 1999. "Component Sharing in the Management of Product Variety: A Study of Automotive Braking Systems," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(3), pages 297-315, March.
    7. V. Krishnan & Karl T. Ulrich, 2001. "Product Development Decisions: A Review of the Literature," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 1-21, January.
    8. Ernst Fricke & Armin P. Schulz, 2005. "Design for changeability (DfC): Principles to enable changes in systems throughout their entire lifecycle," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(4), pages 1-1.
    9. Rebecca Henderson & Iain Cockburn, 1994. "Measuring Competence? Exploring Firm Effects in Pharmaceutical Research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(S1), pages 63-84, December.
    10. K. Sridhar Moorthy & I. P. L. Png, 1992. "Market Segmentation, Cannibalization, and the Timing of Product Introductions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(3), pages 345-359, March.
    11. Andrew P. Sage & Charles L. Lynch, 1998. "Systems integration and architecting: An overview of principles, practices, and perspectives," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 1(3), pages 176-227.
    12. Donald Gerwin, 1993. "Manufacturing Flexibility: A Strategic Perspective," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(4), pages 395-410, April.
    13. Taylor Randall & Karl Ulrich & David Reibstein, 1998. "Brand Equity and Vertical Product Line Extent," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(4), pages 356-379.
    14. Jeremy Howells, 1999. "Research and Technology Outsourcing and Innovation Systems: an Exploratory Analysis," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 111-129.
    15. Brusoni, Stefano & Prencipe, Andrea, 2001. "Unpacking the Black Box of Modularity: Technologies, Products and Organizations," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(1), pages 179-205, March.
    16. Sanchez, Ron, 1996. "Strategic product creation: Managing new interactions of technology, markets, and organizations," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 121-138, April.
    17. Karl T. Ulrich & David J. Ellison, 1999. "Holistic Customer Requirements and the Design-Select Decision," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(5), pages 641-658, May.
    18. Kelvin Lancaster, 1990. "The Economics of Product Variety: A Survey," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(3), pages 189-206.
    19. Kathleen Reavis Conner, 1988. "Strategies for product cannibalism," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(S1), pages 9-26, June.
    20. Tyson R. Browning & Ernst Fricke & Herbert Negele, 2006. "Key concepts in modeling product development processes," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(2), pages 104-128, June.
    21. V. Krishnan & Shantanu Bhattacharya, 2002. "Technology Selection and Commitment in New Product Development: The Role of Uncertainty and Design Flexibility," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(3), pages 313-327, March.
    22. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    23. Tobias K.P. Holmqvist & Magnus L. Persson, 2003. "Analysis and improvement of product modularization methods: Their ability to deal with complex products," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(3), pages 195-209.
    24. Ron Sanchez, 1995. "Strategic flexibility in product competition," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(S1), pages 135-159.
    25. Mark W. Maier, 1998. "Architecting principles for systems‐of‐systems," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 1(4), pages 267-284.
    26. Tyson R. Browning, 2002. "Process integration using the design structure matrix," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(3), pages 180-193.
    27. Andreas Vollerthun, 2002. "Design‐to‐market integrating conceptual design and marketing," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(4), pages 315-326.
    28. John D. C. Little, 1970. "Models and Managers: The Concept of a Decision Calculus," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(8), pages 466-485, April.
    29. David M. Sharman & Ali A. Yassine, 2004. "Characterizing complex product architectures," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(1), pages 35-60.
    30. Stuart Arnold & Harold W. Lawson, 2004. "Viewing systems from a business management perspective: The ISO/IEC 15288 standard," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(3), pages 229-242.
    31. Carliss Y. Baldwin & Kim B. Clark, 2000. "Design Rules, Volume 1: The Power of Modularity," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262024667, December.
    32. Marc H. Meyer & Peter Tertzakian & James M. Utterback, 1997. "Metrics for Managing Research and Development in the Context of the Product Family," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(1), pages 88-111, January.
    33. Johan Bendz & Harold W. Lawson, 2001. "A model for deploying life‐cycle process standards in the change management of complex systems," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(2), pages 107-117.
    34. Jeffrey H. Dyer & Wujin Chu, 2003. "The Role of Trustworthiness in Reducing Transaction Costs and Improving Performance: Empirical Evidence from the United States, Japan, and Korea," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(1), pages 57-68, February.
    35. Shaker A. Zahra & Anders P. Nielsen & William C. Bogner, 1999. "Corporate Entrepreneurship, Knowledge, and Competence Development," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 23(3), pages 169-189, April.
    36. Tyson R. Browning, 1999. "Designing system development projects for organizational integration," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 2(4), pages 217-225.
    37. Michael C. Jensen & William H. Heckling, 1995. "Specific And General Knowledge, And Organizational Structure," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 8(2), pages 4-18, June.
    38. Hoyer, Wayne D & Brown, Steven P, 1990. "Effects of Brand Awareness on Choice for a Common, Repeat-Purchase Product," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 17(2), pages 141-148, September.
    39. Ulrich, Karl, 1995. "The role of product architecture in the manufacturing firm," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 419-440, May.
    40. Hau L. Lee & Christopher S. Tang, 1997. "Modelling the Costs and Benefits of Delayed Product Differentiation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(1), pages 40-53, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Eun Suk Suh & Noemi Chiriac & Katja Hölttä‐Otto, 2015. "Seeing Complex System through Different Lenses: Impact of Decomposition Perspective on System Architecture Analysis," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(3), pages 229-240, May.
    2. Ghadir I. Siyam & David C. Wynn & P. John Clarkson, 2015. "Review of Value and Lean in Complex Product Development," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(2), pages 192-207, March.
    3. Jesko G. Lamm & Tim Weilkiens, 2014. "Method for Deriving Functional Architectures from Use Cases," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 225-236, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. V. Krishnan & Karl T. Ulrich, 2001. "Product Development Decisions: A Review of the Literature," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 1-21, January.
    2. Eva Labro, 2004. "The Cost Effects of Component Commonality: A Literature Review Through a Management-Accounting Lens," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 6(4), pages 358-367, June.
    3. Kai-Lung Hui, 2004. "Product Variety Under Brand Influence: An Empirical Investigation of Personal Computer Demand," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(5), pages 686-700, May.
    4. Droge, Cornelia & Vickery, Shawnee K. & Jacobs, Mark A., 2012. "Does supply chain integration mediate the relationships between product/process strategy and service performance? An empirical study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(2), pages 250-262.
    5. Johnson, Michael D. & Kirchain, Randolph E., 2009. "Quantifying the effects of product family decisions on material selection: A process-based costing approach," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(2), pages 653-668, August.
    6. Ceci, Federica & Prencipe, Andrea, 2013. "Does Distance Hinder Coordination? Identifying and Bridging Boundaries of Offshored Work," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 324-332.
    7. Wallace J. Hopp & Xiaowei Xu, 2005. "Product Line Selection and Pricing with Modularity in Design," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 7(3), pages 172-187, August.
    8. Panos Constantinides & Ola Henfridsson & Geoffrey G. Parker, 2018. "Introduction—Platforms and Infrastructures in the Digital Age," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(2), pages 381-400, June.
    9. Sam Ransbotham & Sabyasachi Mitra, 2010. "Target Age and the Acquisition of Innovation in High-Technology Industries," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(11), pages 2076-2093, November.
    10. Haluk Yoeruer, 2020. "The Role of Platform Architecture Characteristics in Flexible Decision-Making," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(08), pages 1-28, January.
    11. Kamalini Ramdas & Mohanbir S. Sawhney, 2001. "A Cross-Functional Approach to Evaluating Multiple Line Extensions for Assembled Products," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 22-36, January.
    12. Kartik Kalaignanam & Tarun Kushwaha & Anand Nair, 2017. "The Product Quality Impact of Aligning Buyer-Supplier Network Structure and Product Architecture: an Empirical Investigation in the Automobile Industry," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 4(1), pages 1-17, September.
    13. Sima Sabahi & Mahour M. Parast, 2023. "An operations and supply chain management perspective to product innovation," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 808-829, June.
    14. Avner Engel & Tyson R. Browning, 2008. "Designing systems for adaptability by means of architecture options," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), pages 125-146, June.
    15. Rajiv D. Banker & Indranil Bardhan & Ozer Asdemir, 2006. "Understanding the Impact of Collaboration Software on Product Design and Development," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 17(4), pages 352-373, December.
    16. Tyson R. Browning, 2009. "The many views of a process: Toward a process architecture framework for product development processes," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(1), pages 69-90, March.
    17. Kamalini Ramdas & Marshall Fisher & Karl Ulrich, 2003. "Managing Variety for Assembled Products: Modeling Component Systems Sharing," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 5(2), pages 142-156, November.
    18. Palsule-Desai, Omkar D. & Tirupati, Devanath & Shah, Janat, 2015. "Product line design and positioning using add-on services," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 16-33.
    19. Kamalini Ramdas & Taylor Randall, 2008. "Does Component Sharing Help or Hurt Reliability? An Empirical Study in the Automotive Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(5), pages 922-938, May.
    20. Israelsen, Poul & Jørgensen, Brian, 2011. "Decentralizing decision making in modularization strategies: Overcoming barriers from dysfunctional accounting systems," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(2), pages 453-462, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:syseng:v:10:y:2007:i:2:p:118-137. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1520-6858 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.