Login | Register

Questioning the Innovation of Complex Products and Systems with a Case Study of the Boeing 737 Airplane

Title:

Questioning the Innovation of Complex Products and Systems with a Case Study of the Boeing 737 Airplane

Wong, Daniel T. M. (2011) Questioning the Innovation of Complex Products and Systems with a Case Study of the Boeing 737 Airplane. PhD thesis, Concordia University.

[thumbnail of Wong_PhD_F2011.pdf]
Preview
Text (application/pdf)
Wong_PhD_F2011.pdf - Accepted Version
34MB

Abstract

Complex Products and Systems (CoPS) is an established category of products that are recognized to be underserved in the area of innovation. CoPS tend to be highly costly projects that are characterized by difficult development uncertainties and low rates of production. As a result traditional innovation theories are not seen to be easily applicable particularly as manufacturers of CoPS can tend to struggle with accomplishing dominant designs and enjoying the downstream fruits of product maturity such as commoditization. To further investigate this concern, a case study is performed on the Boeing B737 airplane which is the most successful selling commercial jet airplane series in history. The amazing part of the story is that it has been able to do this and maintain competitive parity in the face of competition from the Airbus A320 airplane which has a design origin close to 20 years ahead of the B737. To perform this study, a review of innovation theory, particularly Disruptive Innovation, is done together with the concept of product platforms and product families. The results show that the challenge of CoPS can in fact be potentially overcome by employing an appropriate strategy of product platforms and continuous upgrading of product architecture.

Divisions:Concordia University > John Molson School of Business > Decision Sciences and Management Information Systems
Item Type:Thesis (PhD)
Authors:Wong, Daniel T. M.
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:Ph. D.
Program:Business Administration (Decision Sciences and Management Information Systems specialization)
Date:August 2011
Thesis Supervisor(s):Kira, Dennis
ID Code:15170
Deposited By: DANIEL TET-MIN WONG
Deposited On:21 Nov 2011 20:23
Last Modified:18 Jan 2018 17:35

References:

References - General

Abernathy, W. J. and K. Clark (1985). "Innovation: Mapping the Winds of Creative Destruction," Research Policy, 14: 3-22.
Adamson, Scott (2010). Interview with Regional Director. The Boeing Company.
Aircraft Commerce (1999). Can the A320 take Airbus to the top? Aircraft Commerce 4: 31-38.
Aircraft Commerce (2001). Happy families: the A320 vs 737/757. Aircraft Commerce 15: 11-19.
Aircraft Commerce (2005a). Aircraft Owner's & Operator's Guide: 737-200. Aircraft Commerce 38: 5-19.
Aircraft Commerce (2005b). Aircraft Owner's & Operator's Guide: 737-300/-400/-500. Aircraft Commerce 40: 5-24.
Aircraft Commerce (2005c). Analysing the options for 757 replacement. Aircraft Commerce 42: 25-31.
Aircraft Commerce (2006). Aircraft Owner's Guide & Operator's Guide: A320 Family. Aircraft Commerce 44: 5-33.
Aircraft Commerce (2010). Aircraft Owner's & Operator's Guide: 737NG Family. Aircraft Commerce 70: 3-30.
Alizon, Fabrice, Steven B. Shooter, and Timothy W. Simpson (2007). Improving an existing product family based on commonality/diversity, modularity, and cost. Design Studies 28: 387-409.
Alizon, Fabrice, Steven B. Shooter, and Timothy W. Simpson (2009). Henry Ford and the Model T: lessons for product platforming and mass customization. Design Studies 30: 588-605.
Anderson, Philip, and Michael L. Tushman (1990). Technological Discontinuities and Dominant Designs: A Cyclical Model of Technological Change. Administrative Science Quarterly 35(4): 604-633.
Aris, Stephen (2002). Close to the Sun - How Airbus Challenged America’s Domination of the Skies. Aurum Press.
Aronstein, David C., and Albert C. Piccirillo (1997). Have Blue and the F-117A - Evolution of the "Stealth Fighter". American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.
Arthur, W. Brian (2009). The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves,. Free Press.
Bailey, John, and Doug Richardson (1990). Revealed: the $6 bn F-117 stealth project. Flight International 11-17 April 1990: 4
Baldwin, Carliss Y., and Kim B. Clark (1997). Managing in an Age of Modularity. Harvard Business Review 75(5): 84-93.
Baldwin, Carliss Y., and Kim B. Clark (2006). Architectural Innovation and Dynamic Competition: The Smaller “Footprint” Strategy. Harvard Business School Working Paper 07-014.
Birkholz, Keith (2001). Impact of Commonality on the H-1 Acquisition. 2001 Plenary Conference, Lean Advancement Initiative (LAI) Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Boeing Commercial Airplane Company (1982). Product Description & Aircraft Familiarization. Boeing Commercial Airplane Company ACC 3095.
Boeing Commercial Airplane Company (1984). Boeing Advanced 737-200 Systems. Boeing Commercial Airplane Company D6-24014A-R2.
Boeing Commercial Airplane Company (1985). 737-300 Systems. Boeing Commercial Airplane Company D6-80508.
Bonaccorsi, Andrea, and Paola Giuri (2000). When shakeout doesn’t occur - The evolution of the turboprop engine industry. Research Policy 29: 847-870.
Bower, Joseph L., and Clayton M. Christensen (1995). Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave. Harvard Business Review, January-February 1995.
Bower, Joseph L., and Clayton M. Christensen (1996). Customer Power, Strategic Investment, and the Failure of Leading Firms. Strategic Management Journal 17(3): 197-218.
Buckler, Sheldon A (1997). The spiritual nature of innovation. Research Technology Management 40(2): 43-47.
Carlsson, B., and R. Stankiewicz (1991). On the nature, function and Composition of technological systems. Journal of Evolutionary Economics 1:93-118.
Charitou, Constantinos D., and Constantinos C. Markides (2003). Responses to Disruptive Strategic Innovation. MIT Sloan Management Review 44(2): 55-63.
Christensen, Clayton M. (1997). The Innovator’s Dilemma. Harvard Business School Press.
Christensen, Clayton M. (2002). The Rules of Innovation. Technology Review 105(5): 32-38.
Christensen, Clayton M. (2006). The Ongoing Process of Building a Theory of Disruption. Journal of Product Innovation Management 23: 39-55.
Christensen, Clayton M., Fernando F. Suarez, and James M. Utterback (1998). Strategies for Survival in Fast-Changing Industries. Management Science 44(12) Part 2 of 2: S207-S220.
Christensen, Clayton M., Mark W. Johnson, and Darrell K. Rigby (2002). Foundations for Growth - How To Identify and Build Disruptive New Businesses. MIT Sloan Management Review 43(3): 22-31.
Christensen, Clayton M., and Michael E. Raynor (2003). The Innovator’s Solution - Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth. Harvard Business School Press.
Christensen, Clayton M., Scott D. Anthony and Erik A. Roth (2004). Seeing What’s Next - Using The Theories of Innovation To Predict Industry Change. Harvard Business School Press.
Clark, Kim B. (1985). The interaction of design hierarchies and market concepts in technological evolution. Research Policy 14: 235-251.
Clark, Kim B. (1989). Project Scope and Project Performance: The Effect of Parts Strategy and Supplier Involvement on Product Development. Management Science 35(10): 1247-1263.
Clark, Paul (2001). Buying the Big Jets - Fleet Planning for Airlines. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Clark, Paul (2002). Dynamic Fleet Management. Handbook of Airline Economics Second Edition, Aviation Week, McGraw Hill.
Cooper, Arnold C., and Dan Schendel (1976). Strategic Responses to Technological Threats. Business Horizons 19(1): 61-69.
Crickmore, Paul F., and Alison J. Crickmore (2003). Nighthawk F-117 Stealth Fighter. Motorbooks International.
Croft, John (2010). CUTAWAY: P-8A Poseidon - A Boeing with boost of bravado. Flight International 26th April 2010.
Damanpour, Fariborz (1991). Organizational Innovation: A Meta-Analysis of Effects of Determinants and Moderators. The Academy of Management Journal 34(3): 555-590.
Danneels, Erwin (2004). Disruptive Technology Reconsidered: A Critique and Research Agenda. Journal of Product Innovation Management 21: 246-258.
Dewar, Robert D., and Jane E. Dutton (1986). The Adoption of Radical and Incremental Innovations: An Empirical Analysis. Management Science 32(11): 1422-1433.
DiMaggio, Paul J. (1995). Comments on "What Theory is Not". Administrative Science Quarterly 40(3): 391-397.
Doganis, Rigas (2001). The Airline Business in the 21st Century. Routledge.
Dyer, W. Gibb, an Alan L. Wilkins (1991). Better Stories, not better constructs. To generate better theory: A rejoinder to Eisenhardt. Academy of Management Review 16(3): 613-619.
Ehrnberg, E. (1995). On the definition and measurements of technological discontinuities. Technovation 15(7): 437–452.
Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. The Academy of Management Review 14(4): 532-550.
Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. (1991). Better Stories and Better Constructs: The Case for Rigor and Comparative Logic. The Academy of Management Review 16(3): 620-627.
Flight International (1999). The CFM56 Story. Flight International 19 - 25 May 1999: 4-36.
Freeman, Chris (2004). The Economics of Industrial Innovation. Routledge.
Freiberg, Kevin and Jackie Freiberg (1996). NUTS! - Southwest Airlines’ Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success. Bard Press.
Fujita, Kikuo (2002). Product variety optimization under modular architecture. Computer-Aided Design (34): 953-965.
Gardiner. P., and R. Rothwell (1985). Tough Customers: Good Designs. Design Studies. Vol. 6. No. I . January: 7- 17.
George, Michael, James Works, and Kimberly Watson-Hemphill (2005). Fast Innovation - Achieving Superior Differentiation, Speed to Market, and Increased Profitability. McGraw-Hill.
Geels, F. W. (2006). Co-evolutionary and multi-level dynamics in transitions: The transformation of aviation systems and the shift from propeller to turbojet (1930–1970). Technovation 26: 999–1016.
Gilbert, Clark (2003). The Disruption Opportunity. MIT Sloan Management Review 44(4): 27-32.
Golley, John (1996). Genesis of the Jet - Frank Whittle and the Invention of the Jet Engine. Airlife Publishing Ltd.
Gonzalez-Zugasti, Javier P., Kevin N. Otto, and John D. Baker (2000). A Method for Architecting Product Platforms. Research in Engineering Design 12(2): 61-72.
Goodall, Jim (1991). F-117 Stealth in Action. Squadrom/Signal Productions, Inc.
Grescoe, Paul (2004). Flightpath - How Westjet is Flying High in Canada’s Most Turbulent Industry. John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.
Halman, Johannes I. M., Adrian P. Hofer, and Wim van Vuuren (2003). Platform-Driven Development of Product Families: Linking Theory with Practice. Journal of Product Innovation Management 20(2): 149–162.
Hansen, Karen Lee, and Howard Rush (1998). Hotspots in complex product systems: emerging issues in innovation management. Technovation 18(8/9): 555-561.
Hardstone, G. A. P. (2004). Capabilities, Structures and Strategies Re-Examined: Incumbent Firms and the Emergence of Complex Product Systems (CoPS)in Mature Industries. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management 16(2): 173–196.
Henderson, Rebecca (2006). The Innovator’s Dilemma as a Problem of Organizational Competence. Journal of Product Innovation Management 23: 5-11.
Henderson, Rebecca M. and Kim B. Clark (1990). Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 1: 9-30.
Higgins, James M (1995). Innovation: The core competence. Strategy & Leadership 23(6): 32-35.
Hill, Malcolm L. (2002). Boeing 737. The Crowood Press.
Hillaker, Harry J. (2004). Technology and the F-16 Fighting Falcon jet Fighter. The Bridge, National Acdemy of Engineering 34(1): 24-28.
Hobday, Mike (1998). Product complexity, innovation and industrial organization. Research Policy 26: 689-710.
Hobday, Mike, Howard Rush, and Joe Tidd (2000). Innovation in Complex Products and Systems Research Policy, 29: 793-804.
Hofer, Adrian P., and Johannes I. M. Halman (2004). Complex products and systems: Potential from using layout platforms. Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing 18: 55–69.
Hofer, Adrian P., and Johannes I. M. Halman (2005). The potential of layout platforms for modular complex products and systems. Journal of Engineering Design 16(2): 237–258.
Holloway, Stephen (1998a). Changing Planes - A Strategic Management Perspective on an Industry in Transition - Volume 1: Situation Analysis. Ashgate Publishing Company.
Holloway, Stephen (1998b). Changing Planes - A Strategic Management Perspective on an Industry in Transition - Volume 2: Strategic Choice, Implementation, and Outcome. Ashgate Publishing Company.
Holloway, Stephen (2002). Airlines: Managing to Make Money. Ashgate Publishing Company.
Howells, Jeremy (2000). Innovation & Services: New Conceptual Frameworks. The University of Manchester & UMIST, CRIC Discussion Paper No 38.
HŸnecke, Klaus (1997). Jet Engines - Fundamentals of Theory and Operation. Motorbooks International Publishers & Wholesalers.
Lansiti, Marco, F. Warren McFarlan and George Westerman (2003). Leveraging the Incumbent's Advantage. MIT Sloan Management Review 44(4): 58-64.
Johne, Axel (1999). Successful market innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management 2(1): 6–11.
Johnson, Mark W., Clayton M. Christensen, and Henning Kagermann (2008). Reinventing Your Business Model. Harvard Business Review, December 2008.
Jones, Neil (2003). Competing after Radical Technological Change: The Significance of Product Line Management Strategy. Strategic Management Journal 24(13): 1265-1287.
Kármán, Theodore von, with Lee Edson (1967). The Wind and Beyond - Theodore von Kármán - Pioneer in Aviation and Pathfinder in Space. Little, Brown and Company.
Kemp, Kenny (2006). Flight of the Titans - Boeing, Airbus and the Battle for the Future of air Travel - Airbus A380 vs Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Virgin Books Ltd.
Kennedy, Mary M. (1979), Generalizing From Single Case Studies, Evaluation Quarterly 3(4): 661-678.
Kogut, Bruce, and Udo Zander (1992). Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology. Organization Science 3(3): 383-397
Krishnan, V., and Karl T. Ulrich (2001). Product Development Decisions: A Review of the Literature. Management Science, Design and Development 47(1): 1-21
Krishnan, V. and Saurabh Gupta (2001). Appropriateness and Impact of Platform-Based Product Development. Management Science, Design and Development 47(1): 52-68.
Lambert, Mark (1967). Bell AH-1G HueyCobra. Flight International, 27 July 1967: 154-156.
Laming, Tim, and Robert Hewson (2000). Airbus A320. MBI Publishing Company.
Larsen, Tulinda, and Andrew Silverman (2002). Regional Jets: The Next Generation. Handbook of Airline Economics Second Edition, Aviation Week, McGraw Hill.
Levinthal, D. (1998). The slow pace of rapid technological change: gradualism and punctuation in technological change. Industrial and Corporate Change 7(2): 217–248.
Lipkowitz (2009). The Lego Book. DK Publishing.
Lynn, Matthew (1997). Birds of Prey - Boeing vs. Airbus: A battle for the Skies. Four Walls Eight Windows.
Lynn, G.S., Morone, J.G., and Paulson, A.S. (1996). Marketing and discontinuous innovation: the probe and learn process. California Management Review 38 (3): 8–37.
Majumdar, Dev (2010. AH-1Z Viper enters production as substantially new aircraft. Flight International 20 December 2010.
Mansfield, Harold (1966). Vision The Story of Boeing - A Saga of the Sky and the New Horizons of Space. Duell, Sloan and Pierce.
March, James G., Lee S. Sproull, and Michal Tamuz (1991). Learning from Samples of One or Fewer. Organization Science 2(1): 1-13.
Markides, Constantinos (2006). Disruptive Innovation: In Need of Better Theory. The Journal of Product Innovation Management 23:19–25.
Martell, Nevin (2009). Standing Small - A Celebration of 30 Years of the Lego Miniature. DK Publishing.
McCutcheon, David M., and Jack R. Meredith (1993). Conducting case study research in operations management. Journal of Operations Management 11(3): 239-256.
McGuire, Steven (1997). Airbus Industrie - Conflict and Cooperation in US-EC Trade Relations. MacMillan Press Ltd.
McIntyre, Ian (1992). Dogfight - The Transatlantic Battle over Airbus. Praeger Publishers.
Meredith, Jack. (1998), Building operations management theory through case and field research, Journal of Operations Management 16(4): 441-454.
Meyer, M., and A. Lehnerd (1997). The Power of Product Platforms. The Free Press, New York.
Meyer, Marc H. (1997). Revitalize your product lines through continuous platform renewal. Research Technology Management 40(2): 17-28.
Meyer, Marc H., and James M. Utterback (1993). The Product Family and the Dynamics of Core Capability. MIT Sloan Management Review 34(3): 29-47.
Meyer, Marc H. (2008). PERSPECTIVE: How Honda Innovates. The Journal of Product Innovation Management 25:261-271.
Miles, Matthew B. (1979). Qualitative Data as an Attractive Nuisance: The Problem of Analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly 24(4): 590-601.
Miller, Roger, Mike Hobday, Thierry Leroux-Demers, and Xavier Olleros (1995). Innovation in Complex Systems Industries: The Case of Flight Simulation. Industrial and Corporate Change, 4(2): 362-400.
Mintzberg, Henry (1978). Patterns in Strategy Formation. Management Science 24(9): 934-948.
Mintzberg, Henry (1979). An Emerging Strategy of "Direct" Research. Administrative Science Quarterly 24(4): 582-589.
Mintzberg, Henry, and James A. Waters (1985). Of Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent. Strategic Management Journal 6(3): 257-272.
Mintzberg, Henry (1987). The Strategy Concept I: Five Ps for Strategy. California Management Review 30(1): 11-24.
Mintzberg, Henry, Richard T. Pascale, Michael Goold, and Richard P. Rumelt (1996). The “Honda Effect” Revisited. California Management Review 38(4): 78-117.
Murmann, Johann Peter, and Koen Frenken (2006). Toward a systematic framework for research on dominant designs, technological innovations, and industrial change. Research Policy 35: 925–952. Integrated Manufacturing Systems 12(2): 114-124.
Neely, Andy, Roberto Filippini, Cipriano Forza, Andrea Vinelli, and Jasper Hii (2001). A framework for analyzing business performance, firm innovation and related contextual factors: perceptions of managers and policy makes in two European regions.
Nelson, Richard R., and Sidney G. Winter (1
All items in Spectrum are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved. The use of items is governed by Spectrum's terms of access.

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Downloads per month over past year

Research related to the current document (at the CORE website)
- Research related to the current document (at the CORE website)
Back to top Back to top