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"mass customization"
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Absorptive capacity and mass customization capability
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of a manufacturer’s absorptive capacity (AC) on its mass customization capability (MCC).
Design/methodology/approach
– The authors conceptualize AC within the supply chain context as four processes: knowledge acquisition from customers, knowledge acquisition from suppliers, knowledge assimilation, and knowledge application. The authors then propose and empirically test a model on the relationships among AC processes and MCC using structural equation modeling and data collected from 276 manufacturing firms in China.
Findings
– The results show that AC significantly improves MCC. In particular, knowledge sourced from customers and suppliers enhances MCC in three ways: directly, indirectly through knowledge application, and indirectly through knowledge assimilation and application. The study also finds that knowledge acquisition significantly enhances knowledge assimilation and knowledge application, and that knowledge assimilation leads to knowledge application.
Originality/value
– This study provides empirical evidence of the effects of AC processes on MCC. It also indicates the relationships among AC processes. Moreover, it reveals the mechanisms through which knowledge sourced from customers and suppliers contributes to MCC development, and demonstrates the importance of internal knowledge management practices in exploiting knowledge from supply chain partners. Furthermore, it provides guidelines for executives to decide how to manage supply chain knowledge and devote their efforts and resources in absorbing new knowledge for MCC development.
Journal Article
Mass customization : opportunities, methods, and challenges for manufacturers
Mass Customization examines the business opportunities, considerations, and challenges manufacturers in various industries must weigh before committing to the significant investment in machinery and software needed to go to mass customization. For manufacturers who decide that it's time to take the plunge, the author describes the proven methods and latest technologies for making mass customization work seamlessly and profitably on the factory floor. Mass customization -- the automated manufacturing of bespoke products, profitably combining the low unit costs of mass production with the flexibility of building custom products to order -- has been touted as the next big thing for more than a quarter of a century. Until recently, however, mass customization made only modest inroads in a few industries. Now, the convergence of new ICT and manufacturing technologies with traditional CNC technologies means that mass customization's moment has arrived for breaking out into a wide range of industries. Hans Kull is an engineer and mathematician who applies his expertise in combinatorial optimization, programming, and engineering to devising end-to-end automated solutions for mass customization, automating and optimizing all processes from bespoke parts supply, order processing, production, and waste minimization to packing and delivery. He shares with his readers practical lessons for making mass customization succeed, case studies from various industries, and an insiders vision of the business implications of mass customization's coming of age.
Book
Business model design and mass customization capability: is supply chain integration a missing link?
PurposeThis study aims to examine the impacts of the novelty-centered business model design (NBMD) and efficiency-centered business model design (EBMD) on mass customization capability (MCC), as well as the mediating role of supply chain integration.Design/methodology/approachUsing survey data from 277 Chinese manufacturing firms, we test the hypothesized relationships by conducting structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results indicate that both NBMD and EBMD have significantly positive impacts on product-oriented MCC and service-oriented MCC. In addition, three dimensions of supply chain integration play different mediating roles in the relationship between BMD and MCC. Specifically, relational integration partially mediates the impacts of NBMD and EBMD on service-oriented MCC, information integration partially mediates the impact of NBMD on product-oriented MCC and service-oriented MCC and operational integration partially mediates the impact of NBMD and EBMD on product-oriented MCC.Originality/valueThis study opens the “black box” in the relationship between business model design and MCC, which offers insights on the complex process of supply chain integration and considers business ecosystem for operational performance.
Journal Article
Social capital impact on mass customization capability and innovation capabilities: the mediating role of absorptive capacity
Purpose
The main purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the influence of social capital (SC) on mass customization capability (MCC) and innovation capabilities (ICs) (products, processes, services and organizational) through absorptive capacity (ACAP) (acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 201 managers of 67 Jordanian manufacture organizations. Statistical techniques used included confirmatory factor analysis to examine validity of the measurement model, and structural equation modeling using partial least squares to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results of the analysis show that ACAP mediates the relationships between SC and MCC and between SC and ICs. Furthermore, the results show that SC has a positive, significant influence on ACAP and ACAP has a positive, significant impact on both MCC and ICs.
Research limitations/implications
Insights from this study can help manufacture managers to better understand the relationships among SC, ACAP, MCC and ICs in the context of Jordan’s economic development, as well as providing some useful guidance for the manufacturing sector’s customization and innovation activities.
Originality/value
This study develops and empirically tests a conceptual framework that relates ACAP, the development of MCC and ICs with the presence of SC as an antecedent of ACAP; hence, to the best of the author’s knowledge, it is the first study to test the mediating role of ACAP between SC and MCC and between SC and ICs.
Journal Article
Mass customization: the role of consumer preference measurement, manufacturing flexibility and customer participation
PurposeExisting empirical studies emphasize the role of customer preference measurement accuracy (CPMA) on customized product quality while neglecting the role of manufacturing flexibility. However, the rise of web-based technology has highlighted consumer-manufacturer interaction in mass customization (MC). This paper explores the relationships between CPMA, manufacturing flexibility, customer participation and customized product quality, inspired by module decomposition and integration theory.Design/methodology/approachThe study carried out a questionnaire survey of 241 directors who are specifically responsible for MC in the apparel industry in China and tested hypotheses with structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsCPMA has a direct positive influence on customized product quality and an indirect positive effect through manufacturing flexibility. Also, customer participation after placing an order (CPAPO) has a negative moderating effect on the linkage between CPMA and manufacturing flexibility.Research limitations/implicationsA more dynamic relationship between CPMA and MF can be explored in the future, and the findings can be tested in other industries with more abundant data.Practical implicationsManufacturing flexibility should be improved along with CPMA in MC. Also, disruptions caused by customer participation in the post-design stage should be noticed. In this context, better consumer service in the early design stage may be one possible solution.Originality/valueFirst, the essential but unexplored mediating role of manufacturing flexibility is identified, adding knowledge to the consumer–manufacturer interaction literature in MC production. Second, module decomposition and integration are applied to unify consumers and manufacturers into one empirical model, enriched theoretical research on modular theory. Third, this study opens new discussions on the moderating role of customer participation.
Journal Article
Operational coordination and mass customization capability: the double-edged sword effect of customer need diversity
PurposeThis study aims to explore how operational coordination affects mass customization capability (MCC) via organizational agility, the double-edged sword effect of customer need diversity and the moderating effect of competitive intensity based on dynamic capabilities perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines the research hypotheses using hierarchical regression analysis by collecting data from 277 Chinese firms.FindingsThe results reveal that organizational agility partially mediates the impacts of operational coordination on product-oriented and service-oriented MCC. Customer need diversity is positively related to operational coordination, whereas negatively moderates the relationship between operational coordination and organizational agility. Moreover, competitive intensity negatively moderates the relationship between organizational agility and service-oriented MCC.Research limitations/implicationsThis study mainly used perceptual scales to measure organizational agility. There is a need to measure agility through Agility Index which consists of features' combination that enables agility.Practical implicationsManagers would thus do well to integrate business activities with supply chain partners and strive to foster an agile organization. Additionally, managers should take the leadership to assess the customer need and invest time and resources to respond to it when needed even though the response may be difficult.Originality/valueAlthough the importance of MCC in meeting personalized customer needs has been recognized, whether and how customer need diversity affects MCC remains unclear. This study provides a framework to study the relationships between customer need diversity and MCC, which deepens our understanding of how to enhance MCC to respond to diverse customer needs.
Journal Article
When Social Media Can Be Bad for You: Community Feedback Stifles Consumer Creativity and Reduces Satisfaction with Self-Designed Products
Enabling consumers to self-design unique products that match their idiosyncratic preferences is the key value driver of modern mass customization systems. These systems are increasingly becoming \"social,\" allowing for consumer-to-consumer interactions such as commenting on each other's self-designed products. The present research examines how receiving others' feedback on initial product configurations affects consumers' ultimate product designs and their satisfaction with these self-designed products. Evidence from a field study in a European car manufacturer's brand community and from two follow-up experiments reveals that receiving feedback from other community members on initial self-designs leads to less unique final self-designs, lower satisfaction with self-designed products, lower product usage frequency, and lower monetary product valuations. We provide evidence that the negative influence of feedback on consumers' satisfaction with self-designed products is mediated by an increase in decision uncertainty and perceived process complexity. The implications of socially enriched mass customization systems for both consumer welfare and seller profitability are discussed.
Journal Article
Motives and performance outcomes of mass customization capability: evidence from Chinese manufacturers
PurposeThe purpose of this study aims to develop and test a motives-mass customization (MC) capability-performance model by dividing MC capability into product-oriented MC capability and service-oriented MC capability.Design/methodology/approachThis research tests the hypothesized relationships using survey data from 277 Chinese manufacturing firms.FindingsThe results indicate that instrumental, relational and moral motives all have significantly positive impacts on product-oriented and service-oriented MC capability. The authors also find that product-oriented MC capability partially mediates the impacts of relational and moral motives on operational, environmental and economic performance, while service-oriented MC capability partially mediates the impacts of instrumental, relational and moral motives on operational, market, environmental and economic performance.Originality/valueThis study complements the existing MC literature by describing MC capability into two dimensions: product-oriented MC capability and service-oriented MC capability.
Journal Article