From The Author

Architectural Innovation is “innovation that changes a product’s architecture but leaves the components, and core design concepts that they embody, unchanged. The essence of an architectural innovation is the reconfiguration of an established system to link together existing components is a new way” (Henderson and Clark 1).

The Invention

• Element Change – 0
• The elements’ core design functions (and associated scientific and engineering knowledge) remain unchanged. A core design function would be the primary function of a particular element. For example in a fan, the electric motor would be an element within the fan’s system and the primary function would be to deliver power. If there is a change in an element, it will be some subsidiary design parameter – such as size – this creates new interactions and new linkages within the invention’s system.
• Systems Change - 5
• The linkages and/or interactions between elements are changed. This is often triggered by a change in an element within the system. There is a significant impact on the relationship between elements within a system, not on the technologies of the elements.
• Performance - 3
• The authors [Clark & Henderson] do not address this dimension directly; however they imply that architectural innovations can bring about significant performance improvements. While describing the impact the new entrants had in the Photolithographic Aligners industry the authors wrote “their performance has improved dramatically over the last twenty-five years . . . although the core technologies have changed only marginally since the technique was first invented.”
• Benefit - 0
• No mention is made about an architectural innovation offering a significant benefit.

Commercialization

• Target Customers - 0
• The authors do not write about this dimension.
• Need Creation - 0
• The authors do not write about this dimension.
• Value Network/Industry Shakeup - 5
• Architectural innovations tend to significantly impact the industry, as it often creates problems for established firms. Firms not only fail to recognize an invention as a possible architectural innovation, they also need to build and apply new knowledge. According to the authors, “architectural innovation, in contrast, places a premium on exploration in design and the assimilation of new knowledge. . . New entrants, with smaller commitments to older ways of learning about the environment and organizing their knowledge, often find it easier to build the organizational flexibility that abandoning old architectural knowledge and building new requires” (Henderson and Clark 1)
• The authors do not specifically reference value networks, however they do write about firms developing expertise and knowledge about the activities needed to produce a certain product. The activities can be thought of as activities within the value chain. Since Architectural Innovations require that new activities be developed, it can be concluded that Architectural Innovations can significantly impact an industry’s value network.
• Market Size & Growth - 0
• The authors do not write about this dimension.

1 Henderson and Clark. Architectural Innovation: The reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and The failure of Established Firms. ASQ. 1990

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