Sebastian Fixson Assistant Professor Phone:
734.615.7259 |
- Academic Degrees
- Research Interests
- Publications / Presentations / Working Papers
- Teaching Interest
- Students
- Professional Service
- Contact
- Ph.D. (Technology,
Management, and Policy)
Engineering Systems Division
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002
- Diplom-Ingenieur
(Mechanical Engineering)
University of Karlsruhe,
My research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of technology and organization. Focusing on product development (PD), I study factors, decisions, and mechanisms that lead to high-performance PD. To address the multiple demands on PD for higher degrees of variety, for shorter development times, and for higher levels of organizational (and geographical) distribution I am pursuing a research approach that investigates jointly the consequences of engineering design decisions and organizational design decisions – and their interactions – on product development performance.
Engineering design addresses the quest for more product variety by using product architecture as a tool to consider product platforms, commonality, and modularity. Organizational design views the product development as a network of interlinked and overlapping processes, with performance dependent on process structure characteristics such as its granularity, sequence, simultaneity, degree of overlapping, autonomy, and incentive alignment. Product architecture and process structure interact, foster and constrain each other and thereby affect PD performance. For example, the effects of a particular product architecture on development cost and time may only become evident through part of the process structure: the activities actually performed by the engineers. And, a product architecture having strong interactions between its components makes using independent and parallel processes very difficult.
The methodological tools I use in this research challenge include empirical studies (on both micro and macro levels) and modeling. I use in-depth case studies to obtain detailed understandings of the intricate relationships between process and product characteristics and PD performance. Studies with a larger sample size (large-n) are intended to improve the generalizability of the findings of the case studies. The descriptive insights obtained from these studies will inform analytical models to improve process performance and robustness. I conduct my current research in two research thrusts, one is concerned with the factors, effects, and mechanisms determining PD effectiveness, the other directs its attention towards the factors, effects, and mechanisms determining PD efficiency. In both thrusts I conduct the projects in close collaboration with industry.
Some of the research projects are conducted in association with the International Motor Vehicle Program (IMVP) at MIT.
Publications / Presentations / Working Papers
Articles in refereed journals:
- Ro, Y., Liker, J. K., and S.
K. Fixson (forthcoming). Modularity
as a Strategy for Supply Chain Coordination: The Case of
- Fixson, S. K., Ro, Y., &
Liker, J. K. (2005). Modularization and Outsourcing: Who drives whom? A Study of Generational Sequences in the
- Fixson, S. K. (2005). Product
architecture assessment: a tool to link product, process, and supply chain
design decisions. Journal of
Operations Management, 23(3/4) (Special Issue: Coordinating
product design, process design and supply chain design decisions):
345-369.
- Veloso, F. & Fixson, S. K. 2001. Make-Buy Decisions in the Auto Industry: New Perspectives on the Role of the Supplier as an Innovator. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 67(2/3): 239-257.
Articles in refereed conference proceedings:
- Fixson, S. K. and J.-K. Park
(2006). A Test of Schilling’s
Interfirm Product Modularity Model: The Bicycle Drivetrain Industry 1980-1990. Academy of Management Annual Meeting,
- Lee, W.H. and S. K. Fixson
(2006). The Dynamic Role of
Knowledge Relatedness at Industry Birth: The Evolution of the Automotive
Airbag Industry. 6th Annual
Wharton Technology Mini-Conference,
- Gouel, P. E. and S. K. Fixson
(2006). What slows Rework down:
Causes for low problem-solving efficiency in complex product
development. 13th International
Product Development Management Conference,
- Fixson, S. K. (2004).
Assessing Product Architecture Costing: Product Life Cycles, Allocation
Rules, and Cost Models. Proceedings
of the 2004 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences,
Salt Lake City, UT, Sept. 28 - Oct. 2, 2004, DETC 2004-57458, Volume 1:
30th Design Automation Conference, p. 857-868.
- Fixson, S. K., Ro, Y., &
Liker, J. K. (2004). Modularity and Outsourcing: A Study of Generational
Sequences in the
- Fixson, S. K. & Clark, J. P. (2002). On the Link between Modularity and Cost - A Methodology to assess Cost Implications of Product Architecture Differences. Proceedings of the 2002 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference, Cambridge, UK, August 18-22, 2002, v 1, p. 131-136.
- Fixson, S. K. &
Blanchard, P. (2001). Economic Analysis of Two Different Door
Architectures. International Body Engineering
Conference and Exhibition (IBEC),
Book chapters:
- Fixson, S. K. (2006). A
Roadmap for Product Architecture Costing. In T. W. Simpson, T.W.,
Siddique, Z. & R. J. Jiao (Eds.) Product Platform and Product Family
Design: Methods and Applications: 305-333.
- Fixson, S. K. (1999). Handhabungstechnik. In J. Weber & H. Baumgarten (Eds.), Handbuch Logistik: 665-681. Stuttgart: Schäffer-Poeschel Verlag. (in German).
Presentations:
- Park, J.-K. & Fixson, S.
K. (2005). Innovation for Industry Dominance: How an Integral Product
Architecture changed the Structure of the Bicycle Component Industry. INFORMS
Annual Meeting,
- Gouel, P. & Fixson, S. K. (2005). Problem
Solving Efficiency in Complex product Development. INFORMS Annual
Meeting,
- Roemer, T. & Fixson, S.
K. (2005). The Impact of Parts Commonality on Development Lead Times and
Costs. INFORMS Annual Meeting,
- Fixson, S. K. (2005).
Discussant for the TIM Paper Session “Modular Product Design.”
- Fixson, S. K. & Park, J.-K.
(2005). Sometimes Integral Product Architectures win: The Case of the U.S.
Bicycle Component Industry.
- Gouel, P. & Fixson, S. K. (2004). Problem
Management in Complex Product Development Projects. INFORMS Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, October 24-27, 2004.
- Fixson, S. K. (2004).
Assessing Product Architecture Costing: Product Life Cycles, Allocation
Rules, and Cost Models. ASME Design Engineering Technical
Conferences,
- Ro, Y., Liker, J., &
Fixson, S. K. (2004). Perspectives On Modularity : Manufacturing, Product
Development, & Supplier Management In
- Fixson, S., Ro, Y., &
Liker, J. K. (2004). Modularity and Outsourcing: A Study of Generational
Sequences in the
- Roemer, T. & Fixson, S.
K. (2004). Commonality and Communication Delays. European Operations
Management Association (EUROMA) Conference,
- Fixson, S. K. & Ro, Y.
(2003). Product Architecture Changes and Firm Boundary Shifts: Causes and
Consequences. INFORMS Annual Meeting,
- Fixson, S. K. (2003).
Measuring product modularity's individual dimensions – and examples
of their cost impact. Presentation
at the Professional Development Workshop 'Initiating Research Cross-Overs: One Topic (Modularity) – Multiple
Research Perspectives,'
- Fixson, S. K. (2003). Better
than ‘Modularity’: ‘Product Architecture’ - A
Concept to Analyze Cost Implications of Early Design Decisions. Invited Presentation,
- Ro, Y., Liker, J., Couturier,
J.-F., & Fixson, S. K. (2002). Assessing Modularity and Supplier
Integration in Automotive Product Development. INFORMS Annual Meeting,
- Fixson, S. K. & Clark, J.
P. (2002). On the Link between Modularity and Cost - A Methodology to
assess Cost Implications of Product Architecture Differences. IEEE International Engineering Management Conference,
- Fixson, S. K. & Field, F.
(2001). Unbundling Modularity: Assessing Cost Implications of Product
Architecture Differences. INFORMS Annual Meeting,
- Fixson, S. K. & Sako, M. (2001). Modularity in Product Architecture:
Will the Auto Industry Follow the Computer Industry? An Analysis of
Product Architecture, Market Conditions, and Institutional Forces). Paper presented at the Annual
Meeting of the International Motor Vehicle Program (IMVP),
September 10&11, 2001,
- Fixson, S. K. (2001).
Methodology Development: Analyzing Product Architecture Implications on
Supply Chain Cost Dynamics.” 5th International Conference on Technology Policy and Innovation,
- Veloso, F. & Fixson, S. K. (1999). Make-Buy
Decisions in the Auto Industry: New perspectives on the role of the
supplier as an innovator. Proceedings
of the 3rd International Conference on Technology Policy and Innovation,
Current Courses:
- Engineering Economics (IOE
201)
- Integrative Technology
Management (IOE 524)
- Integrated Product
Development IPD (IOE/OMS 548)
- Special Topics in Engineering Management (IOE 691)
Current Students:
- Phil Gouel (Ph.D. Candidate), Co-Chair
- Joy Oguntebi (Ph.D. Pre-candidate), Chair
- Wonhee Lee (Ph.D. Candidate), Chair
Alumni:
- Young Ro (Ph.D., 2003), Co-Chair
- Jason Clark (M.Sc., 2005)
- Jin-Pyo Lee (M.Sc., 2004)
- Qian Chen (M.Sc., 2003)
- Chintan Meher (M.Sc., 2003)
- Vinita Babna (Undergraduate - Parker Scholar, 2003)
- Stefanie Fiedler (Undergraduate - Parker Scholar, 2003)
- Elise Metzger (Undergraduate - Parker Scholar, 2003)
Reviewing (most recent):
for Journals
- IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
- Journal of Operations Management
- Production and Operations Management
- Research in Engineering Design
for Conferences
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Organizing:
Professional Society
- Chair-elect, INFORMS Technology Management Section, 2005-2006.
- Vice Chair Program, INFORMS Technology Management Section, 2004-2005.
- Vice Chair Membership &
Communication, INFORMS Technology Management Section, 2003-2004.
Conferences
- Session Chair,
"Management of Technology: A Matter of Degree?", INFORMS Annual
Meeting, Technology Management Section, Denver, CO, October 24-27, 2004.
- Session Chair:
"Interactions: Technological and Organizational Change", INFORMS
Annual Meeting, Technology Management Section,
- Organizer and Chair of
Professional Development Workshop: "Initiating Research Cross-Overs: One Topic (Modularity) – Multiple
Research Perspectives",
Sebastian K. Fixson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Michigan
Industrial & Operations Engineering
phone: 734.615.7259
fax: 734.764.3451
e-mail: fixson@umich.edu
