IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ids/ijatma/v5y2005i2p166-183.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modularisation and outsourcing: who drives whom? A study of generational sequences in the US automotive cockpit industry

Author

Listed:
  • Sebastian K. Fixson
  • Young Ro
  • Jeffrey K. Liker

Abstract

In this paper, we study the interactions between modularity and outsourcing in the auto industry. Focusing on vehicle cockpit projects in North America, we collect data over three product architecture generations and the associated shifts in firm boundaries for multiple processes covering product development and production. We find that the direction of influence between product architecture and firm boundary varies across individual processes and over time, resulting in a zig-zag path towards higher levels of modularity and outsourcing over the observed timeframe. The relative strength of the factors that drive these changes appears to be dependent on (a) idiosyncrasies of the logic of individual processes, i.e., their cost structure, their perceived strategic value, and the capabilities available in the supply chain for their completion, and on (b) the relevance and relative weight of external factors such as labour costs, capital cost, and external development of technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastian K. Fixson & Young Ro & Jeffrey K. Liker, 2005. "Modularisation and outsourcing: who drives whom? A study of generational sequences in the US automotive cockpit industry," International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(2), pages 166-183.
    • Handle: RePEc:ids:ijatma:v:5:y:2005:i:2:p:166-183
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=7181
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Fixson, Sebastian K. & Park, Jin-Kyu, 2007. "The Power of Integrality: Linkages between Product Architecture, Innovation, and Industry Structure," Working papers 37154, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    2. Anna Cabigiosu, 2018. "When do modular dominant designs emerge? A theoretical framework," Working Papers 05, Venice School of Management - Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.
    3. Hua Wang, 2008. "Innovation in product architecture—A study of the Chinese automobile industry," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 509-535, September.
    4. Seyoum, Belay & Lian, Yunshan, 2018. "Market performance implications of modularization: Evidence from global auto firms operating in China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 852-866.
    5. Han, Chaodong & Porterfield, Tobin & Li, Xiaolin, 2012. "Impact of industry competition on contract manufacturing: An empirical study of U.S. manufacturers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(1), pages 159-169.
    6. Fixson, Sebastian K. & Park, Jin-Kyu, 2008. "The power of integrality: Linkages between product architecture, innovation, and industry structure," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1296-1316, September.

    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:ids:ijatma:v:5:y:2005:i:2:p:166-183. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sarah Parker (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=2 .

    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.