According to the late Professor Masahiko Aoki, Japan is a midst of "moving 30 years," instead of ending "lost 20 years," since Japan is far ahead in the world in terms of the convenience and quality in urban life, and of equal opportunity. In the same token, I am suggesting that the Japanese technology is also in transition. The substantial technological progresses have been introduced in constructing the social infrastructure in Japan. The wide-spread utilization of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and of GPS (Global Positioning System) both in existing and newly built infrastructure are such examples. Therefore, we should make scientific investigation into what is going on in this context. By doing so, we can contribute on guiding the final phase of this 30 years-transition in a right trajectory.

抄録全体を表示

This paper argues that existing theory on dynamism of product architecture predict architecture shift toward modularity even in the automotive industry that was regarded as integral architecture under some conditions. First, this paper review existing literature on product architecture, and then discusses several reasons why automotive companies are trying to transform the architecture from integral to modular. Finally, this paper raises three main research agenda that have not yet been resolved and clarified in modularity research.

抄録全体を表示

The potential benefits of architectural approaches to developing new products and of using modular architectures as the basis for new kinds of product strategies have been recognized since the 1990s and elaborated at some length in management research. Relatively little attention has been paid, however, to the fundamental changes in management and organizational processes a firm must undergo in order to implement architectural management and modular strategies ("AMMS") successfully. A common misperception among some senior managers is that implementing AMMS involves primarily some technical changes in product designs and some changes in the product development process at the working level. As this paper will argue, however, effective implementation and use of AMMS requires extensive transformations of an organization's processes, structures, and culture. These transformations in turn call for major changes in senior management concerns and activities- i.e., in the way senior managers manage. This paper identifies the essential understanding of AMMS that senior managers must have and the essential leadership roles that senior managers must be willing to fulfill in order to lead their firms through the critical organizational and managerial changes required to implement and use AMMS effectively. This paper also suggests that there are two fundamentally different management approaches to leading the organizational change process needed to implement AMMS. We characterize these as the "programmatic" approach and the "incentives" approach. We evaluate both approaches by identifying the characteristics of a firm's business environment that are likely to determine the potential effectiveness of each approach. We illustrate the issues identified and the recommendations made here with examples drawn from various efforts by European automotive firms to implement AMMS.

抄録全体を表示

This paper illustrates Renault-Nissan's Common Module Family (CMF) and Mazda's Common Architecture (CA), and discusses their differences and implications for modular product development. Renault-Nissan's CMF is an approach that creates various models by changing combinations of four physical modules and a set of electric/electronic units. Each module has two to three variations. Majority of engineering works will complete by selecting modules from the matrix of the 4+1 big modules. Mazda takes a different approach. Retaining traditional platform structure, CA creates various models flexibly by copying the common design rules, i.e., engineering principles and standard structures, to successive models in the same shape but in different size. With larger product variety and sales volume Renault-Nissan can justify heavier investments in its advanced development to build finer matrix of the technological platform, i.e. CMF, while Mazda, with annual sales of only 1.3 million units, prefers a less modularized approach.

抄録全体を表示

In this article, the author describes the modularization approaches of European automotive OEMs and analyzes the preconditions of this change. A number of European OEMs have introduced vehicles with new product architectures, such as MQB by VW, EMP2 by PSA, and SPA by VOLVO. All of these new architectures are more modularized than previous one. This architectural shift was enabled by the "Down-sizing" of engines and the shift from RWD to FWD in the C and D segment. These Change can trigger the diversification of product architecture in automotive industry and the change of effective patterns of product development organization and its processes.

抄録全体を表示

Focusing on the modular production strategy in Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), which was late in entering into the automobile industry, this study investigates the characteristics and the technological catch-up process of the modular production strategy. In particular, from the structural aspects and tactical aspects in the production strategy, this study analyzes the modularization process and strategic efficiency. The characteristics of HMC's modular production strategy can be summarized the modular strategy that is a structure-integrated module design, outsourcing, JIT, a skilled alternative automation and standardization. The standardized modular production strategy based on the digital technology and process automation results in the rapid expansion of global production network, the stabilization of quality, and the improvement of market responsiveness. This technological catch-up pattern has become the power source of HMC's growth.

抄録全体を表示

本研究は,NEDOプロジェクトに対する詳細追跡調査から得た301件のデータを分析し,公的支援を受けた民間企業のR&Dプロジェクトの波及効果を左右する要因を明らかにした。具体的には,プロジェクトの社内・社外への波及を「技術的波及」,「認知的波及」,「社会関係的波及」に分類した上で,それぞれの波及に影響を与えるマネジメント要因を分析した。分析からは,民間企業のR&Dに対する公的支援が直面する2つの重要なジレンマが浮き彫りになった。分析結果は,第一に,基礎的な研究開発を行うプロジェクトほど技術的波及が大きくなる一方,企業にとって戦略的重要性が高いプロジェクトほど社外への技術的波及が抑制されていることを示していた。公的支援の経済性が問われる中,事業化成果を求めるのであれば,戦略的重要性が高いプロジェクトを支援すべきであるが,それは成果の波及を抑制するという矛盾を孕むことになる。第二に,社内の他部門との情報交換が社内外への波及を促進していることも明らかとなった。公的支援への依存が高くなると社内他部門とのやり取りが減少するという既存研究の結果を踏まえると,公的支援自体が波及効果の低下を招く可能性があることを示唆している。これらの結果は,公的支援にあたっては,目的に合わせて適切なプロジェクトを選択すること,支援対象のプロジェクトが社内で孤立しないように配慮することが必要であることを示している。

抄録全体を表示