The adoption of a modular product architecture for the bicycle allowed manufacturers to meet the simultaneous needs of product innovation and cost reduction. Such an approach however, has fragmented the industry into a series of largely independent segments that are primarily linked through the operation of market-based contracts. Active coordination between firms has been replaced by the embedded coordination that comes through modularity. The fragmentation of the industry on the basis of specialized capabilities has led to economic efficiencies and low barriers to entry for most segments of the industry. However, the lack of coordination has limited the industry's capability to make changes in the product architecture beyond the component level.
The electronicsmanufacturing industry of Western Australia consistsofa group of innovative technology-based firms in a regional middle economy. Four basic strategies were identified where local manufacture and local technological entrepreneurs are able to develop viable businesses with little or no protection and only modest (if any) government support. The circumstances of the firm's establishment, whether market driven, technology driven, capital driven or oriented towards local businessonly, persisted in shaping the strategicorientation of the company, at least in the present stages of the industry. The companies do not compete directly with multinationals in consumer markets, but rather are oriented towards specialised industrial markets using niche strategies.
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