Peter Galvin

MODULARITY ON INDUSTRY STRUCTURE: THE CASE OF THE WORLD THE EFFECT OF PRODUCT BICYCLE INDUSTRY

The adoption of a modular product architecture for the bicycle allowed manufacturers to meet the simultaneous needs of product innovation and cost reduction. Such an approach however, has fragmented the industry into a series of largely independent segments that are primarily linked through the operation of market-based contracts. Active coordination between firms has been replaced by the embedded coordination that comes through modularity. The fragmentation of the industry on the basis of specialized capabilities has led to economic efficiencies and low barriers to entry for most segments of the industry. However, the lack of coordination has limited the industrys capability to make changes in the product architecture beyond the component level.

Product modularity, information structures and the diffusion of innovation

This paper explores how the product design information structure affects innovation types and levels of innovation diffusion. By taking a narrower definition of information structures than previous usages, the author seeks to clarify how specific dimensions of this type of knowledge link with a range of innovation variables in a modular product setting. It is proposed that the type of product innovation that occurs is determined by the rate of change in the information structure, and that the level of control exerted over the information structure determines the potential for the diffusion of the innovation.

Accounting for performance variation: how important are intangible resources?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the degree to which intangible resources explain performance variation among firms.Design/methodology/approach – The method includes a purpose‐designed survey to measure the impact of tangible resources, intangible resources and industry structure on firm performance.Findings – The results suggest that, in the main, intangible resources do explain performance variation, even when measured against other potential performance impacting factors. Research limitations/implications – The results suggest that capabilities, conceptualized as an intangible resource, might not be the firms most important, contrary to theory. Further, this study suggests that future research might best be served by exploring relationships between resources and the degree to which resource combinations are important to firm performance.Practical implications – Resource allocation is a constant struggle for management. The results of this study suggest that investment in intangible re...

The Changing Technological Profile of the Leading ICT Firms: Evidence from US Patent Data, 1981-2000

Drawing upon the patent data for 63 of the largest firms in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector for the period 1981-2000, this paper investigates how the technological profile of these firms has altered in relation to technological advantage, technological diversity and path dependency. Using a previously established measure of revealed technological advantage, the firms in the sample almost universally exhibited a decline over time in this measure. While this result is contrary to other multi-industry research, it may be unique to the ICT industry as many non-ICT oriented firms patent in the area as ICT technology underpins developments in more and more industries. In relation to technological diversity, there were high levels of intra-sector diversification, but little diversity beyond the ICT sector, supporting the notion that the emergence of technology markets will support specialization. In addition, strong evidence of path dependency was found indicating that firms adopt long-term strategies for developing their technology portfolios. Given the rapid growth of technology markets, these findings have considerable implications as to the nature and operation of these markets.

A case study of knowledge protection and diffusion for innovation: managing knowledge in the mobile telephone industry

The standardisation of interfaces in product architectures helps complementary products develop when network externalities are present. However, standardisation may also weaken a technology developers competitive position when the product knowledge embedded in standardised interfaces becomes accessible, thereby reducing the barriers to entry. Hence, there is a need to simultaneously protect the knowledge that underpins a firms competitiveness, but also to define the standards that are open to encourage the development of complementary products. In this paper, we analyse different types and levels of knowledge that underpin a product. We apply this analysis to understanding how Nokia and Ericsson maintained their competitive positions during the Global System for Mobile (GSM)-dominated phase of the industry, even though they were instrumental in developing GSM as an entirely open standard.

When do product architectures mirror organisational architectures? The combined role of product complexity and the rate of technological change

ABSTRACT In the modularity literature, an architectural decomposition and ‘mirroring’ between task boundaries, knowledge boundaries, and firm boundaries has been suggested as a way to enhance managerial efficiency and as a source of potential strategic advantage. Despite its intuitive appeal, empirical support for ‘mirroring’ is significant but mixed. In this paper, we utilise an industrial economics and knowledge-based perspective to hypothesise how the combined effects of product architecture type, product complexity and the rate of product component change may influence task, knowledge and firm boundaries and hence be associated with either phases of mirroring or non-mirroring (‘misting’). We suggest that whether mirroring or misting is an efficient strategic choice is influenced by the characteristics of both the product architecture and the rate of technological change at the product component level, and changes across time as products evolve. Our framework helps to reconcile existing mixed evidence and provides the foundation for further empirical research.