You Get What You Measure: Grounding Product Modularity Metrics on Real Data Analysis

Anna Cabigiosu, Arnaldo Camuffo and Melissa A. Schilling

Anna Cabigiosu (Università di Padova), Arnaldo Camuffo (Department of Management and Technology and CROMA) and Melissa A. Schilling (New York University) published You Get What You Measure: Grounding Product Modularity Metrics on Real Data Analysis (CROMA Working Paper 11/014).

Asbtract: Scholars in a range of disciplines have argued that product modularity eases the coordination of complex interdependent tasks with positive performance effects on their organization. The organizational and performance implications of product modularity have been tested with a variety of measures. This empirical study on the air conditioning industry demonstrates that the application of different modularity measures to the same real data leads to different outcomes as regards the degree of modularity. Starting from this empirical evidence, the study reviews and compares the main technical definitions of modularity and shows that multidimensional measures provide a better understanding of the degree of product modularity. Then, replicating two published tests on the inter-organizational and performance implications of modularity, the study argues that a) the use of different multidimensional measures of modularity may lead to equivocal conclusions; b) multidimensional measures that analyze open interfaces have a stronger relationship with the organizational implications of product modularity and that c) only one measure captures both the organizational and performance properties ascribed to product modularity.