ABSTRACT
It has been pointed out that Japanese auto assemblers have a distinctive new product development (NPD) capability as compared to Western auto assemblers.
Fujimoto and Nobeoka (2006) explained that the NPD competitiveness of Japanese auto assemblers relates to the relationship between product architecture and organization capability characteristics. According to Fujimoto (2001), product architecture refers to the design conception regarding how to decompose the product (as a system) into subsystems and how to define the relationships among these subsystems. The product architecture of automobiles is categorized as a type of integral architecture, which is characterized by its inter-subsystems, such as components, having a high interdependency – their interfaces need to be coordinated at the time of assembly. The integral architecture products have a complex interdependence between their product functions and structures (Fujimoto and Oshika 2006). In addition, the automobile product architecture is characterized by an interface of subsystems (components) that are not standardized in the industry. In other words, each firm has its own proprietary interface of subsystems or components.
