Customer Interface Process and the Locus of Interfirm Overlapping The Case of Japanese Handset Manufacturers in US

This study attempts to explore how a firm successfully exploits its accumulated technologies and product development capabilities in multiple relationships with more than a few customer firms within and beyond borders. “Closed” relationships with a few customer firms enhance the “exploration” of distinguished/novel product technologies and capabilities. Yet, growing customer/market diversity in the era of globalization requires many of firms to cope with more customer firms. A firm needs to develop products effectively assimilating knowledge specific to each of customer firms in both local and offshore markets. Drawing on the anecdotal case of Japanese mobile handset manufacturers in US, the study argues that the customer interface process confined to upstream product development stages helps a firm manage more open close relationships with more than a few customer firms even across borders. In product development, the contrived customer interface process contributes to the effective selection and combination of specifications/technologies according to the requirements from each of domestic and oversea customer firms. These findings are explicated by knowledge/problem-solving perspectives.