dc.contributor.author | Fixson, Sebastian K. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2007-04-20T19:16:13Z | |
dc.date.available | 2007-04-20T19:16:13Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2007-04-20T19:16:13Z | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37285 | |
dc.description.abstract | 'Product modularity' has recently experienced a significant increase in interest in the academic literature. While the concept of product modularity is used across a wide range of academic research areas, substantial variations exist in the ways in which the concept is described and interpreted. In this paper, I develop a framework to represent the similarities and differences that appear across these variations of the concept of product modularity. Next, through an extensive literature search I construct a set of 85 references representing the use of product modularity in the engineering and management literature over the past 30 years (1975–2006). With help of the framework I then analyze the use and interpretation of product modularity in every reference in the set. The analysis demonstrates that the product modularity concepts taken together really encompass a bundle of product characteristics rather than a single condition, and individual research areas exhibit certain preferences in which they define and operationalize product modularity. I conclude with some recommendations for future research. Overall, this paper strives to provide a vocabulary to improve cross-disciplinary understanding of product modularity. | en |
dc.language.iso | en_US | en |
dc.relation.ispartofseries | MIT Sloan School of Management Working Paper | en |
dc.relation.ispartofseries | 4631-06 | en |
dc.subject | Product Modularity | en |
dc.subject | Concept Ambiguity | en |
dc.subject | Product Architecture | en |
dc.subject | Interfaces | en |
dc.subject | Multidisciplinary research | en |
dc.subject | Review | en |
dc.title | What exactly is Product Modularity? The answer depends on who you ask | en |
dc.type | Working Paper | en |