Abstract
This chapter presents both quantitative and clinical data from the comparative studies of automobile product development, which I have participated in during the 1980s, early 1990s, and mid-1990s mainly at Harvard University (Clark, Chew and Fujimoto, 1987; Clark and Fujimoto, 1991; Ellison, et al., 1995, etc.) to analyze the dynamic process of capability-building competition in this industry. It focuses on the Japanese advantages in the 1980s, the Western “reverse catch-up” in the 1990s (American in particular), as well as recent efforts by some Japanese auto makers to further reduce lead times. Since systematic data collection on the last case has not started yet, I will present analytical framework and some preliminary anecdotal evidence at this point.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Aoshima, Y. (1996): Knowledge Transfer Across Generations: The Impact on Product Development Performance in the Automobile Industry. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Clark, K. B., Chew, W. B., Fujimoto, T. (1987): Product Development in the World Auto Industry, in: Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 3, pp. 729–771.
Clark, K. B., Fujimoto, T. (1989a): Lead Time in Automobile Product Development: Explaining the Japanese Advantage, in: Journal of Technology and Engineering Management, 6, pp. 25–58.
Clark, K. B., Fujimoto, T. (1989b): Overlapping in Product Development, Harvard Business School Working Paper, 1987. Also in: Ferdows Kasra (ed.), Managing International Manufacturing, North-Holland, Amsterdam 1989.
Clark, K. B., Fujimoto, T. (1990): The Power of Product Integrity, in: Harvard Business Review, November/December, pp. 107–118.
Clark, K. B., Fujimoto, T. (1991): Product Development Performance, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
Clark, K. B., Fujimoto, T. (1994): The Product Development Imperative: Competing in the New Industrial Marathon, in: Duffy, P. B. (ed.), The Relevance of a Decade, Harvard Business School Press.
Ellison, D. J., Clark, K. B., Fujimoto, T., Hyun, Y. (1995): Product Development Performance in the Auto Industry: 1990s Update, Harvard Business School Working Paper, 95–066.
Fujimoto, T. (1989): Organizations for Effective Product Development — The Case of the Global Automobile Industry, unpublished D.B.A. dissertation, Harvard Business School.
Fujimoto, T. (1993): Information Asset Map and Cumulative Concept Translation in Product Development, in: Design Management Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 34–42.
Fujimoto, T. (1994a): The Dynamic Aspect of Product Development Capabilities: An International Comparison in the Automobile Industry, Tokyo University Faculty of Economics Discussion Paper 94-F-29. Also in: Goto, A. and Odagiri, H. (eds.) (1997), Innovation in Japan, Oxford University Press, pp. 57–99.
Fujimoto, T. (1994b): Reinterpreting the Resource-Capability View of the Firm: A Case of the Development-Production Systems of the Japanese Auto Makers, paper presented to Prince Bertil Symposium, Stockholm, June. Also in: Chandler, A. D., Sölvell, Ö. (eds.) (1998), The Dynamic Firm. The Role of Technology, Strategy, Organization, and Regions, Oxford University Press.
Fujimoto, T. (1996a): An Evolutionary Process of Toyota’s Final Assembly Operations -The Role of Ex-post Dynamic Capabilities, Tokyo University Faculty of Economics Discussion Paper 96-F-2. (Presented at Third International Workshop on Assembly Automation, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, October 1995).
Fujimoto, T. (1996b): Capability Building and Over-Adaptation — A Case of ‘Fat Design’ in the Japanese Auto Industry, INSEAD Euro-Asia Centre Working Paper.
Fujimoto, T., Clark, K. B., Aoshima, Y. (1992): Managing the Product Line: A case of the Automobile Industry, Harvard Business School Working Paper 92–067.
Fujimoto, T., Iansiti, M., Clark, K. B. (1996): External Integration in Product Development, in: Nishiguchi, T. (ed.), Managing Product Development, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 121–189.
Fujimoto, T., Nobeoka, K. (1996): New Challenges for Product Development, presented at International Motor Vehicle Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996 Sponsors Meeting, Sao Paulo, Brazil, June
Hippel, E. von (1990): Task Partitioning: An Innovation Process Variable, in: Research Policy, No. 19, pp. 407–418.
Nobeoka, K. (1993): Multi-Project Management: Strategy and Organization in Automobile Product Development, unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Nobeoka, K., Cusumano, M. A. (1995): Multi-Project Strategy, Design Transfer, and Project Performance: A Survey of Automobile Development Projects in the US and Japan, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol. 42, pp. 397–409.
Thomke, S. (1995): The Economics of Experimentation in the Design of New Products and Processes, unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ulrich, K., Eppinger, S. (1994): Product Design and Development, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Watkins, M., Clark, K. B. (1992): Strategies for Managing Multiple Projects, Harvard Business School Working Paper.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2000 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fujimoto, T. (2000). Shortening Lead Time through Early Problem-solving — A New Round of Capability-building Competition in the Auto Industry. In: Jürgens, U. (eds) New Product Development and Production Networks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04255-7_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04255-7_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08387-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-04255-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive