Standardization and modularization in automotive electronics – a comparison of German and Japanese activities

In the automotive industry the largest part of innovation and hence value added takes place in the field of automotive electronics. In recent years the increasing variety of new functions and technological possibilities lead to the necessity to increase the use of so-called
embedded systems in automobiles. In embedded systems, electronical functions, hard- and software are integrated to guarantee a technically faultless functioning of central features. Due to reasons of efficiency
and cost saving, standardization alliances have been established in Germany (AUTOSAR) and Japan (JASPAR) respectively. This research focuses on the organization of the two alliances and the implementation of standards. Although these organizations work together to a
specifically defined extent and share some member firms like Toyota and Bosch, marked differences in requirements and the implementation of standards are evident. This study is an attempt to gain more insights
into how these differences influence the management of the
modularization process in automotive electronics and how this could influence the competitiveness of Japanese and German firms in comparison.

Raina König is research associate at the Center for
International Management and Innovation at the University of Hohenheim.
Currently, she is visiting research fellow at the Graduate School of
Economics of Tokyo’s Hitotsubashi University and holding a
scholarship of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).