Managing technology for highly complex critical modular systems: The case of automotive by-wire systems

The motor vehicle industry has experienced the adoption of several new complex technologies that affect the approach with which OEMs, suppliers tackle product complexity. Nonetheless, the implications of these complex technologies have the potential to change the way automotive OEMs and suppliers relate to each other. This paper addresses the fact that technological specialization produces a complex electronic/electric vehicle architecture; which creates an interdependency among all members of the automotive innovation networks, a fact that has not been addressed in existing literature. For this in-depth case study, the specific examples of brake-by-wire and steer-by-wire systems were selected as subjects.