Reorganizing for product development: Honda's case Online publication date: Wed, 28-May-2014
by M. Muffatto
International Journal of Vehicle Design (IJVD), Vol. 17, No. 2, 1996
Abstract: The evolution of the internal market and the coordination of R&D activity at an international level have induced Honda to make organizational changes in product development. These changes have particularly affected the 1993 Accord project. The earlier Accord project culminated in the development of two rather different models, one for the American market and one for the Japanese. An organizational differentiation was also created which made coordination of activities difficult. Hence, organizational innovation by Honda is looked at from the point of view of the problems of globalizing product development in the automobile industry. New structures for coordination have been set up in order to meet these problems. Other innovations have also been introduced regarding relationships with suppliers and the exchange of information between project teams working on the same product in different parts of the world. These changes could indicate some of the current evolutionary trends in the organization of product development at the world level.
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