RON SANCHEZ Graduate School of Management, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia JOSEPH T. MAHONEY College of Commerce and Business Administration, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA

1. RON SANCHEZ
Graduate School of Management, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
JOSEPH T. MAHONEY
College of Commerce and Business Administration, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois,
USA
MODULARITY, FLEXIBILITY, AND
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN
PRODUCT AND ORGANIZATION
DESIGN
Flexibility and Strategic Change
Desirée Suárez Santana

2. Introduction
 Modularity  premise
 Managing knowledge  Strategic flexibility
 Technological knowledge  Modular product architecture
& Standardized component interfaces
 Nearly decomposable systems
 Information structures in product development processes
 3 models
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3. Nearly decomposable
systems: HIERARCHY
 “Decomposition of a complex system into a
structured ordering of successive sets of
subsystems” (Simon, 1962)
 Little or no managerial authority
 Most important advantage: localization of
effects from the outside within subsystems
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4. Modular product designs
 Strong independence between sets of
interrelated components
 Modular product architecture 
STANDARDIZED INTERFACES
 Examples: personal computers,
automobiles
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5. Modular organization
designs
 Modular product architecture provides
an information structure
 Information structure: integration of
loosely coupled processes of the
product component development
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6. Models for managing
knowledge and learning in
product creation
 „Traditional‟ sequential development
processes
 Overlapping problem solving
 Modular product design  advanced
architectural knowledge
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7. Conclusions
 Decomposability helps us to understand a complex system
(architecture).
 Modular product architecture creates flexible product
designs.
 Knowledge management can be the reason for dynamic
efficiencies in production.
 Flexibility as a result of standardized connections/interfaces
in modular system architectures  survival and adaptability
to the environment.
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8. Ideas for future research
 Tools/mechanisms that could control and guarantee
modularity and flexibility (chaos avoidance)
 Impact of modularity depending on the organizational
form of the company
 Could be the concept of modular architecture
applicable to service organizations?
 Integration with other fields: Modularity &
Environmental Sustainability
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9. Thank you for your attention!
Desirée Suárez Santana