Product and Process Modularity's Effects on Manufacturing Agility and Firm Growth Performance

摘要: Modularity in product design has been hailed as a way to speed new development (NPD), reduce NPD cost, and enhance customization possibilities for consumers. process may manufacturing setup times, costs, the profitability of lower volumes that often entails. However, empirical evidence is scarce either or modularity—individually, jointly, sequentially—actually produce these other proposed benefits (e.g., performance growth). This study builds on general modular systems theory (GMST) by examining theoretical relationship between modularity effects each firm growth performance. Using structural equation modeling, partial versus complete mediation agility also scrutinized. In one pair models, are separate direct antecedents agility, which modeled affect performance; second related with preceding modularity. Results from best-fitting model show directly positively affects modularity, Process was unrelated neither nor predicted Consistent GMST, provides power element system orchestrate fit firm’s strategies drive Thus, revealed key understanding GMST concerning how changes generate systems.