Strategic Selection of Product Architecture: A Case Study of the Disk Drive
Suspension Product Development
H. Kono1
1
Faculty of Business Administration, Tokyo Fuji University, Tokyo, Japan
(kouno@fuji.ac.jp)
Abstract - 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.
Keywords - Case study analysis, competitive advantage,
disk drive suspension, product architecture, product
development, strategic decision
I. INTRODUCTION
This study addresses the issues of whether a company
can strategically select product architecture and establish a
competitive advantage based on this strategy.
Although many previous studies have relegated product
architecture to the external environment to be adapted by
companies, few studies have directly addressed the issue
of strategically selecting the product architecture [1].
From this understanding of the issue, on the basis of the
case study of product development for disk drive
suspensions, this study demonstrates that companies can
strategically select product architectures by building
advanced organizational capability, and this selection can
contribute to a company’s competitive advantage.
This paper is composed of five sections. Section II
reviews the relevant literature on product architecture.
Section III describes the research methods. Section IV
provides details of the target company’s selection of the
product architecture within its product development
process. Section V discusses the theoretical and practical
implications of this study, and the paper concludes in
Section VI.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Product architecture refers to the basic design concept
of the relationship between functions and components.
There are two types of product architecture, depending on
the interactive relationship among the components. In
modular architecture, the relationship between the
functions and components is one to one, with a
standardized interface across the components, whereas in
integral architecture, many functions are spread across
components that do not share interfaces [2–3].
978-1-4673-0110-7/12/$31.00 ©2012 IEEE
Product architecture is a technical concept that has a
compatible relationship with the product development
organization. In integral architecture, a close interaction
must exist between companies and organizations that
develop components. The product development
organization must be compatible with the integrated
model. However, in modular architecture, with its low
need for mutual coordination between organizations and
companies for component development, modular
development organizations are compatible [2, 4–5].
Because of this compatibility relationship, changes to
product architecture have a large impact on existing
companies. Further, because it is difficult to make
transitions to compatible organizations after changes have
been made to product architectures, this can lead to a
competitive disadvantage for existing companies [6]. Thus,
previous studies have suggested that for companies to
maintain their competitive advantage, organizational
structures must change flexibly in accordance with
changes to product architecture [6–7].
Recently, the traditional theory of needing “a
compatible relationship between the product architecture
and organizations” has been developed further to argue
that product architectures have a more limited impact on
organizations [8], that organizational compatibility can
allow responses through partial changes and not
necessarily affect the entire organization [9], that the
product architecture selection process for multifunction
peripherals requires a certain degree of compatibility
among organizations [1], and that companies taking the
lead in determining the product architecture do not
necessarily obtain profits [10].
However, the present study found no instance of a
previous direct examination of the relationship between
the strategic selection process of product architecture and
a company’s competitive position.
III. METHODOLOGY
The analysis method uses a single case study [11] of the
hard disk drive suspension business of NHK Spring Co.
Ltd. (NHK), a leading manufacturer of automotive springs.
To diversify its business, the company entered the disk
drive business in 1986, and it is now a leading
manufacturer of disk drive suspensions [12].
The disk drive industry is challenging for market leaders
because of the difficulty that organizations encounter in
responding to changes in technology as leaders are often
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 Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE ICMIT
being replaced. For this reason, it has drawn attention in
recent management studies [6, 13–14]. The disk drive
industry does not have the same type of established
horizontal structure with fixed trading as does the
automotive industry. Patterns of specialization have
changed flexibly with innovations. Flexible trading
structures create an environment in which information can
be easily accessed, and companies’ effective use of
information supports the formation of independent
capacity and strategic behavior. Several companies have
survived by responding to technological innovations [6, 9,
15–16].
Although the head that reads the data recorded on the
disk is a key component of a disk drive, the disk drive
suspension supports this head, making it an increasingly
important component. The market leader in disk drive
suspensions was Hutchinson Technology, a long-time
specialized manufacturer in the US. However, in 2009,
NHK rose to the top position, despite entering the market
10 years after Hutchinson Technology.
My primary method of research is interviews. Half-
structured interviews with company stakeholders in
different positions were conducted seven times between
2007 and 2011.
IV. RESULTS
A. Background of Case Study
NHK has established a competitive advantage while
developing three new products. I analyzed the specifics of
this product’s development and interpret it from the
product architecture selection perspective.
The background of the development of these new products
is as follows. NHK, along with other Japanese companies,
began diversifying in the late 1960s to mitigate risk.
Approximately 10 years after the inception of NHK’s
business, industry leader Hutchinson Technology’s
products became the industry standard, and NHK
positioned itself as a manufacturer of copy products, not
adopting proposed improvement measures. However, its
later product development achieved success, and as the
products became more highly valued, NHK’s operations
expanded.
B. Changes in Product Architecture Associated with New
Product Development
a. Development of Circuit Suspension-Integral
Architecture
This was the first full-scale product development that
NHK performed. Previously, head makers (primary
suppliers) or hard disk drive makers simply fitted circuits
into suspensions during post-processing to manufacture
complete products.
Development began in 1994, when the primary head
maker B Co. introduced NHK to manufacturer C Co., a
manufacturer of flexors, one of the necessary components.
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Design was developed during discussions with B Co.
regarding its requirements, and after conducting many
evaluations of shape, load, and vibration characteristics,
NHK expanded its role and processes.
The change from circuits was a major shift in technology,
thereby, making disk drive suspensions a critical
component while increasing the difficulty of design and
development. Previously, to move and support the head in
reading and writing recorded information were the only
roles of the disk drive suspension. However, the demand
grew for greater sophistication in the miniaturization of
suspensions and the refinement of controls as the need
grew for higher record density and smaller size disk drives.
Disk drive suspensions gained an even greater role as
circuit suspension enhanced in response to this demand.
This shift in technology required design and development
of disk drive models with increasingly optimized
suspension specifications. The internal architecture of
suspensions became integrated by incorporating circuits.
In addition, this was a period of changes to the external
architecture.
Hutchinson Technology was already successful in
developing integrated circuit suspensions. Therefore,
despite NHK being the industry follower, its products had
excellent functional characteristics. This quality did not
immediately lead to client growth; however, as NHK
gained a reputation within the industry, its disk drive
suspension business increased.
b. Development of New Integrated Circuit
Suspension “Fuma”—Modular Architecture
The new product development that established NHK’s
technological advantage and led to better business results
was its launching of the new integrated circuit suspension,
Fuma, in 2001, an industry leading development.
The innovation of the Fuma suspension resulted in
increased performance in the two conflicting requirements
of shock resistance and vibration properties, which was
simultaneously achieved through the clear separation of
the corresponding functions and components. The solution
lay in separating the load beam into component pieces
consisting of the base plate and the flexor. The load beam
component functions like a spring-type hinge upon which
a load is applied, and the beam that must remain rigid can
be separated from it. Although thickening the beam is
effective in improving vibration properties, the beam
becomes heavier; thereby, reducing shock resistance. To
avoid these problems, the functional axis was separated
into two parts, in which the beam was thickened but the
hinge was thin, thus achieving a breakthrough in
satisfying the two corresponding but conflicting
requirements.
The Fuma suspension increased functionality without
necessitating major changes to the interface, and the
improved convenience was appreciated. These internal
and external modular changes thus enhanced Fuma’s
functionality.
 Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE ICMIT
NHK’s design and development capabilities further
improved its reputation and significantly changed its
position in the industry. This occurred because Fuma
turned the company that had once been only a secondary
supplier into the de facto primary supplier, directly
involved in design and development with a hard disk drive
maker. As its clients and market share increased, so did
NHK’s capabilities.
c. Development of Next Generation “DSA”
Suspension-Integral Architecture
In 2009, with its advanced organizational capabilities,
NHK began developing the innovative new suspension
“dual stage actuator” (DSA). Although tests had been
conducted 10 years previously, implementation was
delayed because of cost.
DSA has a structure in which the movement of the tip
can be adjusted by incorporating piezoelectric elements
that, when voltage is applied, transform the previously
passive suspension component into an actively
functioning component. Thus, it is possible to control the
head at not one but two places at the base making the
control functionality more precise. Demand is high and all
NHK customers inquire about DSA.
Because DSA uses components not found in traditional
suspensions, such as glues that are difficult to manage
thermally and piezoelectric elements (which are fragile
and brittle), it is difficult to manufacture such an
integrated product and optimize the manufacturing
process. Therefore, the process requires greater
coordination between design and manufacturing. With the
introduction of new products that have surpassed
Hutchinson Technology’s products, NHK’s superiority
has become clear, and it has strengthened its position as
the industry leader.
IV. DISCUSSION
This study’s analytical results generated the following
four considerations.
First, the choice of product architecture may contribute to
competitive advantage. By developing a new product with
different product architecture, NHK rose from the position
of industry follower to industry leader, confirming its
competitive advantage. This implies a relationship
between the strategic choice of product architecture and
competitive advantage.
Second, the strategic selection of product architecture
leads to the gradual advancement and development of
organizational capability. NHK could switch to a modular
architecture for Fuma because they had developed a
highly integrated organizational capability that allowed
them to consider it from the viewpoint of overall
optimization. Integral organizations indicate that
integrated knowledge is useful when converting from
integral to modular architecture, even though the modular
organization is more efficient [5,7,17]. A more
785
sophisticated organizational capability also enabled NHK
to switch back to an integral architecture for the DSA. We
can interpret this as suggesting that a dynamic interaction
exists between product architecture and organizational
capability.
Third, in the advancement of organizational capability, it
is useful to interact with both suppliers and hard disk drive
makers. This facilitates the strategic selection of product
architecture beyond the scope of previous products
expanding the level of expertise [17]. Previous studies
have noted the usefulness of having a range of knowledge
beyond the scope of individual tasks [9, 18], which relates
to this issue. This expanded level of expertise, in close
cooperation with other companies, supports product
development activities. This dynamic interaction with
other companies is suggested as a factor in the
advancement of expertise.
Fourth, the results of the analysis suggest that the nature
of the industry can be affected. In the disk drive industry,
the transaction structure is flexible, and it is easy to
change the division of labor to the form of design
architecture. NHK’s strategy has undeniably affected
these aspects of the industry. Further examination of the
industry’s trade with a fixed structure will define how this
change is manifested.
V. CONCLUSION
This study suggests the following two major
interpretations of the case study results.
First, this study found that companies can
strategically select product architecture by building
advanced organizational capability, and this selection can
contribute to a company’s competitive advantage. NHK’s
product architecture strategy and subsequent industry
leadership implies a direct relationship between the
strategic choice of product architecture and competitive
advantage.
Second, to strategically select product architecture, it is
useful to expand expertise through close partnerships with
other companies. The more rapidly the technological
innovation increases and the more difficult the
competitive environment becomes, the more difficult it is
to develop all the necessary expertise and capabilities in-
house. This study suggests that strategically building close
partnerships with other companies underpins a
competitive advantage.
However, this study has demonstrated only that the
above relationship may exist between strategically
selected product architecture and competitive advantage,
not that it absolutely does exist. Thus, further analysis is
necessary, including a broad range of case studies.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
 Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE ICMIT

H. K sincerely thanks all the members of NHK Spring global competition between Japanese and US businesses],
Co. Ltd. for their cooperation in this study. in Monozukuri no Kokusai Keiei Senryaku: Ajia no
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