Analysis of decentralization of new product development: an investigation in a company from the commercial vehicles sector

Abstract

The current literature identifies a trend of decentralization on new product development (NPD) at global level. In this context, this paper aims at analyzing the decentralization of global product development (GPD) in an assembler from the commercial vehicles industrial sector. The factors that contribute to decentralization of GPD are considered as variables in this investigation, as well as their causes. Given the nature of data (qualitative), context relevance (automotive sector), and research purpose, base-based research was adopted as the methodological approach. The study was conducted in an assembler in Brazil and in its headquarter in Germany. The results indicate that the organization reacts similarly to other economic industrial sectors (e.g. telecommunications) when facing the decision of decentralizing GPD. The interest of the local market and historical aspects of the evolution of the subsidiary were found to be relevant. It was also identified that modular design influences the process of decentralizing, contradictory to other studies. From these results, a proposal associated to the type of structure for GPD and adoption of modular design is made.

Automotive industry; Decentralization of product development; Modularity