Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The impact of global operations on product architecture : an exploratory study

Pashaei Hidarlouei, Sebastian LU and Olhager, Jan LU orcid (2017) In International Journal of Operations and Production Management 37(10). p.1304-1326
Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how global operations of manufacturing companies influence the choice of product architecture decisions, ranging from integral to modular product designs. Design/methodology/approach: The authors perform a multiple-case study of three global manufacturing companies with integral and modular product architectures. Findings: The authors find that the internal network capabilities, the number of capable plants, the focus of component plants, the focus of assembly plants, the distances from key suppliers to internal plants, and the number of market segments significantly influence the choice of integral vs modular architecture. Research limitations/implications: This study is limited to three... (More)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how global operations of manufacturing companies influence the choice of product architecture decisions, ranging from integral to modular product designs. Design/methodology/approach: The authors perform a multiple-case study of three global manufacturing companies with integral and modular product architectures. Findings: The authors find that the internal network capabilities, the number of capable plants, the focus of component plants, the focus of assembly plants, the distances from key suppliers to internal plants, and the number of market segments significantly influence the choice of integral vs modular architecture. Research limitations/implications: This study is limited to three large manufacturing companies with global operations. However, the authors investigate both integral and modular products. The authors develop propositions that can be tested in further survey research. Practical implications: The findings show that the type of global operations network influences the decision on product architecture, such that certain global operations characteristics support integral product designs, while other characteristics support modular designs. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge this paper is the first study on the explicit impact of global operations on product architecture, rather than the other way around.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Case study, Global operations management, Integral, Manufacturing network, Modular, Product design
in
International Journal of Operations and Production Management
volume
37
issue
10
pages
23 pages
publisher
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
external identifiers
  • wos:000416374900002
  • scopus:85031782592
ISSN
0144-3577
DOI
10.1108/IJOPM-06-2015-0367
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
39e19cb0-8a9d-4b16-bc9a-7051ee986e53
date added to LUP
2017-10-31 08:42:53
date last changed
2024-01-29 05:56:24
@article{39e19cb0-8a9d-4b16-bc9a-7051ee986e53,
  abstract     = {{<p>Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how global operations of manufacturing companies influence the choice of product architecture decisions, ranging from integral to modular product designs. Design/methodology/approach: The authors perform a multiple-case study of three global manufacturing companies with integral and modular product architectures. Findings: The authors find that the internal network capabilities, the number of capable plants, the focus of component plants, the focus of assembly plants, the distances from key suppliers to internal plants, and the number of market segments significantly influence the choice of integral vs modular architecture. Research limitations/implications: This study is limited to three large manufacturing companies with global operations. However, the authors investigate both integral and modular products. The authors develop propositions that can be tested in further survey research. Practical implications: The findings show that the type of global operations network influences the decision on product architecture, such that certain global operations characteristics support integral product designs, while other characteristics support modular designs. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge this paper is the first study on the explicit impact of global operations on product architecture, rather than the other way around.</p>}},
  author       = {{Pashaei Hidarlouei, Sebastian and Olhager, Jan}},
  issn         = {{0144-3577}},
  keywords     = {{Case study; Global operations management; Integral; Manufacturing network; Modular; Product design}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{10}},
  pages        = {{1304--1326}},
  publisher    = {{Emerald Group Publishing Limited}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Operations and Production Management}},
  title        = {{The impact of global operations on product architecture : an exploratory study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-06-2015-0367}},
  doi          = {{10.1108/IJOPM-06-2015-0367}},
  volume       = {{37}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}