Modularization vs. Innovation

This paper argues the relationship between modularity and product innovation. The work is based on the assumption that in order to become an innovation, a novel product has to be successfully diffused into the marketplace. Modularity can give rise to a series of parameters related to commercial success; however, there is not a well-defined relationship between modularity and product innovativeness. The aim of the paper is to analyse the logic of the most acknowledged modularization methods in-order to understand how they can really influence product success, and then, part of product innovativeness.

[1]  Fabrizio Salvador,et al.  Modularity, product variety, production volume and component sourcing: Theorizing beyond generic prescriptions , 2002 .

[2]  Geoffrey Boothroyd,et al.  Product design for manufacture and assembly , 1994, Comput. Aided Des..

[3]  Yoji Akao,et al.  Quality Function Deployment : Integrating Customer Requirements into Product Design , 1990 .

[4]  Robert P. Smith,et al.  A model-based method for organizing tasks in product development , 1994 .

[5]  Gunnar Erixon,et al.  Controlling Design Variants: Modular Product Platforms , 1999 .

[6]  Eun Suk Suh,et al.  Tradeoff between Modularity and Performance for Engineered Systems and Products , 2005 .

[7]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  A Network Approach to Define Modularity of Components in Complex Products , 2007 .

[8]  John K. Gershenson,et al.  Product modularity: measures and design methods , 2004 .

[9]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  Identifying Modular and Integrative Systems and Their Impact on Design Team Interactions , 2003 .

[10]  Karl T. Ulrich,et al.  The role of product architecture in the manufacturing firm , 2011 .

[11]  Y. Borgianni,et al.  Innovation Trajectories within the Support of Decisions: Insights about S-Curve and Dominant Design Models , 2012 .

[12]  Richard C.M. Yam,et al.  The Impact of Product Modularity on New Product Performance: Mediation by Product Innovativeness , 2011 .

[13]  Sebastian K. Fixson,et al.  Product architecture assessment: a tool to link product, process, and supply chain design decisions , 2005 .

[14]  Eun Suk Suh,et al.  Level of modularity and different levels of system granularity , 2011 .

[15]  P. Gu,et al.  Product modularization for life cycle engineering , 1999 .

[16]  D. V. Steward,et al.  The design structure system: A method for managing the design of complex systems , 1981, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

[17]  Andrew Kusiak,et al.  Modularity in design of products and systems , 1998, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part A.

[18]  Tyson R. Browning,et al.  Design Structure Matrix Methods and Applications , 2012 .

[19]  Dieter Krause,et al.  A METHODICAL APPROACH FOR DEVELOPING MODULAR PRODUCT FAMILIES , 2011 .

[20]  Carolyn Conner Seepersad,et al.  Analysis of Product Flexibility for Future Evolution Based on Design Guidelines and a High-Definition Design Structure Matrix , 2009, DAC 2009.

[21]  Kristin L. Wood,et al.  A heuristic method for identifying modules for product architectures , 2000 .

[22]  Fredrik Börjesson.  A SYSTEMATIC QUALITATIVE COMPARISON OF FIVE APPROACHES TO MODULARITY , 2010 .

[23]  John K. Gershenson,et al.  Product modularity: Definitions and benefits , 2003 .

[24]  Hsi-Peng Lu,et al.  A Teaching Case Study: Innovation, Product Development, and Organizational Transformation at the Sunnic Group , 2013 .

[25]  Jeffrey K. Liker,et al.  Modularity as a Strategy for Supply Chain Coordination: The Case of U.S. Auto , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

[26]  Udo Lindemann,et al.  A CLASSIFICATION FRAMEWORK FOR PRODUCT MODULARIZATION METHODS , 2011 .

[27]  Katja Hölttä-Otto,et al.  Modular product platform design , 2005 .

[28]  Alex H. B. Duffy,et al.  Design co-ordination for concurrent engineering , 1993 .

[29]  John S. Gero,et al.  The Situated Function — Behaviour — Structure Framework , 2004 .

[30]  Stuart Pugh,et al.  Total Design: Integrated Methods for Successful Product Engineering , 1991 .

[31]  Carolyn Conner Seepersad,et al.  A high-definition design structure matrix (HDDSM) for the quantitative assessment of product architecture , 2012 .

[32]  David W. Rosen,et al.  Implications of Modularity on Product Design for the Life Cycle , 1998 .

[33]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  Integration analysis of product decompositions , 1994 .

[34]  Diyar Akay,et al.  Conceptual design evaluation using interval type-2 fuzzy information axiom , 2011, Comput. Ind..

[35]  Fabrizio Salvador,et al.  Toward a Product System Modularity Construct: Literature Review and Reconceptualization , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

[36]  Tyson R. Browning,et al.  Applying the design structure matrix to system decomposition and integration problems: a review and new directions , 2001, IEEE Trans. Engineering Management.

[37]  Javier P. Gonzalez-Zugasti,et al.  Modular product architecture , 2001 .

[38]  Rosanna Garcia,et al.  A critical look at technological innovation typology and innovativeness terminology: a literature review , 2002 .