Product and organizational modularity: A contingent view of the mirroring hypothesis

Studies on the relationship between product modularity and organizational modularity, i.e. the mirroring hypothesis, can be clustered into three groups, i.e. supporters, opponents, and contingents. Our review compares these groups to explore any systematic reason that causes different views on the mirroring hypothesis. We also carried out a micro-citation network analysis on the group of contingents to cluster contingencies thematically. Results show that the selection of the measures and levels of analysis significantly differ among the groups. The micro-citation analysis shows that contingent factors are related to the component technologic change and diversity, logistics costs, innovative product architectures, dispersion of capabilities, complex product architectures, and market rivalry. We advance a contingent view of the mirroring hypothesis that helps us to better characterize its theoretical relevance and practical implications.