RESEARCH ARTICLE Organization and product design pairings: A review of product innovation capabilities, conceptualization, and future directions Oluwasoye P. Mafimisebi | Demola Obembe | Oluwakayode Aluko Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom Correspondence Demola Obembe, Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK Email: dobembe@dmu.ac.uk Abstract Product innovation capabilities significantly shape and determine the success of architectural pairings between organization design and product designs, and act as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. This article draws on the resource- based view of firms and market orientation theory to present a complementary view of the influence of product innovation capabilities on organization and product design pairings. Three complementary factors; market orientation, organizational form, and managerial strategic decisions, act as essential determinants for emergence of architectural pairings, by accounting for pairing selection processes, customer ben- efits, cost reduction and product development, and consequently superior organiza- tional performance. We identify scope for future research to evaluate measures and validity of product innovation capability dimensions, and the extent of influence of the identified factors on architectural pairings. 1 | INTRODUCTION Organizations face particularly increased difficulties in gaining sustained competitive advantage when adopting a mirroring approach to organization and product design pairings (Brusoni, Prencipe, & Pav- itt, 2001; Cabigiosu & Camuffo, 2012; Campagnolo & Camuffo, 2010; Colfer & Baldwin, 2016; Furlan, Cabigiosu, & Camuffo, 2014; MacCormack, Baldwin, & Rusnak, 2012; Querbes & Frenken, 2018). While research suggests that simultaneous mirroring and misting occur dependent on contextual product characteristics (Burton & Galvin, 2018) and partial mirroring yields the most effective perfor- mance outcomes (Park & Ro, 2013; Pil & Cohen, 2006), we know little about how PICs influence architectural pairings between organization and product designs. The similarity between product architecture and organization design has become known as the “mirroring hypothesis” (Querbes & Frenken, 2018). Product architecture is generally described as the scheme by which product functions are allocated to its constituent components (Ulrich, 1995). Studies further emphasize the vital role of architecture in the successful development of a firm's new products, the competitiveness of its product portfolio and the evolution of its organizational capabilities (e.g., Baldwin & Clark, 2000; Sanchez & Mahoney, 1996; Schilling, 2000; Ulrich, 1995). More so, extant litera- ture has studied the link between product architecture and organiza- tion characteristics which develop the product (Cataldo, Wagstrom, Herbsleb, & Carley, 2006; Sosa, Eppinger, & Rowles, 2004). The centrality of the mirroring hypothesis to “products design organizations” perspective is further challenged by increased turbu- lence in the business world (Burton & Galvin, 2018; Colfer & Baldwin, 2016; Mafimisebi & Nkwunonwo, 2015). For instance, perpetual mar- ket shifts raise the question of how organizations can determine which architectural pairings will succeed. Moreover, managers may find it difficult to establish appropriate strategic goals for firms where they cannot distinguish which activities their firm should commit to and which to avoid (Pil & Cohen, 2006). We propose that product innovation capability is an essential factor in distinguishing which organization and product design pairings will succeed, and influence such architectural pairings. Further, firms engaged in product innova- tion can simultaneously or separately commercialize new products, elaborate new architectural pairings, and sustain advantage (cf., Atuahene-Gima & Ko, 2001; Cohen & Klepper, 1996; Fritsch & Mes- chede, 2001; Park & Ro, 2013). Here, product innovation is defined as commercialization of new goods or services to meet external user need (Damanpour, 2010). JEL classification codes: L1, L2. DOI: 10.1002/jsc.2306 Strategic Change. 2020;29:13–24. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jsc © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 13