Strategic selection of product architecture: A case study of the disk drive suspension product development

By analyzing the case study of disk drive suspensions, this study demonstrates that a company can establish a competitive advantage by strategically selecting product architecture during product development. In many previous studies, product architecture has been considered an exogenous condition that companies can adapt organizationally. However, I argue that the product architecture is, in fact, an effective strategic measure that a company may actively and proactively select to establish a competitive advantage.