Handbook of Research in Mass Customization and Personalization

The following sections are included:

• Foreword & Acknowledgments

• Contents

Mass customization regards heterogeneities of demand among different customers not as a threat, but as a new opportunity for profits. To capture this value, however, a firm has to obtain a specific set of capabilities to address the challenges of such a business. In this chapter, we first define the core concepts of mass customization and personalization and briefly discuss their background and state of implementation in industry. We also present a set of challenges that many companies are facing when entering a mass customization business. We argue that companies have to obtain competences along three sets of distinctive capabilities to address these challenges. The term ‘mass customization thinking’ is introduced to denote practices in companies that follow these capabilities in order to profit from customer heterogeneities. In the second part of this chapter, we provide a comprehensive overview of the research presented in this handbook.

Research on Mass Customization has largely overlooked the issue of organizational change associated with the Mass Production-to-Mass Customization (MP-to-MC) transition. To address this gap in the literature, we conduct a quasi-longitudinal case study of a manufacturing facility belonging to a division of a Fortune 1000 discrete manufacturing firm as it seeks to transition from MP to MC. We empirically derive five factors hindering the MP-to-MC transition within the research site. We propose five corresponding analytical generalizations explaining how and why these hindrance factors relate to the MP-to-MC transition hazard (i.e., how and why they threaten the likelihood of a successful MP-to-MC transition). To lend credibility to these theoretical insights, we then juxtapose the five factors and analytical generalizations against the more general constructs and prescriptions of Structural Inertia Theory. We conclude with a discussion of the scientific and pragmatic significance of the findings and opportunities for future research. This paper is reprinted with permission from the editor of the Production and Operations Management Journal, where it was originally published in 2008, Vol. 17, Issue. 3.

The attention on Mass Customization as a viable manufacturing strategy is increasing in academia. Also, more and more companies report from successful implementations. However, the transformation process necessary to become a mass customizer (from the company's outset as a mass producer or a handcraft type industry) is still not fully developed, and research on practical implementations is needed to gain experience on how to proceed. The research presented in this paper is based on two case studies in the Norwegian furniture industry. Efforts towards the new strategy in both companies are analyzed related to central decision areas when implementing mass customization. The decision areas are extracted from literature. Three performance objectives; low cost, short delivery time and degree of customization are considered to be the order winning criteria's, and it is argued that enterprises need to balance these performance objectives in their effort to realize mass customization. The lessons learned from the cases are structured in a set of guidelines for mass customization, which propose the necessary changes to undergo for a mass-producer as well as for a craft manufacturer.

Several empirical studies examine the consumer acceptance of mass-customized (MC) media. Although these findings overall suggest promising prospects for mass-customized media, entrepreneurial experience still contrasts these prospects with missing market take off. This paper sheds light on this antagonism. In the first part of this paper, we will discuss insights from studies examining consumers' acceptance of mass-customized products (particularly individualized printed newspapers). Based on entrepreneurial experience by the authors in setting up an individualized printed newspaper, the rich prospects of mass customization in content-related industries are contrasted with the lack of market take off. One of the authors holds the patent for an individualized, printed newspaper (WO03052648) and developed a prototype of an individualized printed daily newspaper that is ready for market launch. However, several factors impede market introduction. We tell the inside story and give some preliminary explanations. Conclusions will highlight scenarios of mass customization blended with Web 2.0 in content related industries.

The notion that mass customization (MC) can improve the competitiveness of the US furniture industry has implications for fundamental changes in the business models of furniture manufacturers. The industry has traditionally pursued a concept of competitiveness based on price rather than on value-delivery, which is more compatible with a MC strategy. Thus, a shift toward a MC strategy without a clear application roadmap is likely to have undesirable business consequences. In this study, we synthesize insights from previous research to conceptualize a value-delivery framework for making MC operational in the US furniture industry. We propose the “3P Operational Model” as a baseline for researchers and manufacturers exploring a link between MC and competitiveness. Pending empirical validation, we expect our model to have application for comparable manufacturing systems.

Technological and organizational developments are stretching the capabilities of industrial systems, which are now able to address the needs of smaller and more diversified target groups. Mass customization is the expression of such effort to adapt large production systems to customized solutions. At the same time though, substantial transformations in the social and economic conditions of our societies are challenging the basic assumption of the existing production systems. This is creating extreme differentiations in demand patterns and changing the role of customers in the production process. Mass customization may not be sufficient to address such changes. The authors of this chapter propose a new perspective in which customers have an active role in the value creation process via highly individualized and localized solutions. Such a perspective would change the role of industrial companies and the nature of their offering. This paper outlines the characteristics of the new perspective framework and explores some methodological directions for addressing new strategies.

Mass Customization has been portrayed as the ultimate form of marketing and the “business opportunity of the next millennium”. This paper presents the results of a case study undertaken with the online t-shirt manufacturer Threadless and its Virtual Community. The literary assumption that consumers want unique products, following recent renewed interest in Mass Customization has prompted this research. The aim of this study was to look at an industry where it is technically possible to deliver a “pure” Mass Customization experience and then to look at businesses adopting different approaches to see what they offer the consumer. Threadless' business model aggregates opinions of user submitted designs and manufacturers the most popular into limited t-shirts. This studies looks at why this model is an attractive proposition for customers, community members and for Threadless.

The results challenge a number of assumptions which can be found in the wider MC literature. Respondents at Threadless are willing to accept a product which they did not create and is not unique. This is providing that the product is at least limited, and that they have had involvement in its creation. The other key finding is that whilst Internet may offer enabling technologies which reduce the cost of individualization, these same technologies may also reduce the cost of aggregation. This allows businesses to group and manufacture for ever smaller markets of customers sharing the same needs. The author rejects the notion that a unique product created by its purchaser is the definitive product, calling for businesses to look for ways to combine both involvement and exclusivity in product creation utilizing these aggregation opportunities.

Long before B. Joseph Pine II established a viable economic strategy around the concept of Mass Customization, and Dell Computer's execution of a custom build-to-order strategy, combinatorial theory (configuring of modular components) and generative systems have been employed in biological systems, grammatical sentence structure in linguistics, and also in architectural and urban design. This paper will trace the conceptual roots of Mass Customization through the examination of historical precedents: (1) Design of cities via biological analogy (Aristotle); (2) Architectural form via grammatical analogy (Mitchell); (3) Precis des Lecons d'architecture (Durand); (4) Combinatorial Optimization (Newell, Simon); and (5) Culinary Arts. We will then discuss the limitations of such combinatorial methods and then lay out a conceptual framework for achieving high levels of customization using combinatorial methods. The work on the MIT Concept Car by the Smart Cities group of the MIT Media Lab will illustrate these principles.

In order to utilize the full potential of mass customization (MC), the first objective of this study is to develop a differentiated typology of potential benefits which different MC offerings can generate for consumers. Therefore, a theoretical-conceptual approach is complemented by 20 in-depth interviews. The results suggest that style customization especially is capable of generating symbolic, emotional, hedonic and epistemic benefits, and seems to be attractive with regard to presents. Fit and functionality customization mainly offer possibilities for the generation of functional benefits, such as quality and comfort, but also have positive effects on the physical health. Furthermore, personal and economical benefits are of importance. The second objective is to analyze the central factors influencing the evaluation of the attractiveness of MC offerings and the demand of different age groups. For this purpose focus group surveys with pupils, students, middleaged employees and over 50s were conducted. Type, extent and place of customization, service support and type of purchasing decision could be identified as central factors of MC offerings. Budget and time shortage, use of attractive alternatives to mc, certain individual characteristics and dissatisfaction with standardized products represent important consumer-related factors. Finally, differences between the regarded age groups are laid open.

As mass customization develops, there is increasing understanding of how this practice can be implemented in terms of manufacturing capability and expertise, data transfer and management, and product architectures and business processes; however these critical elements fulfill only part of the story. The notion of designing for co-design is still relatively under-researched; co-design can be seen to consist not only of the specific codesign activities during product creation, but of the entire purchasing experience for the customer co-designer. This chapter presents a conceptual model and a design tool to support design for co-design, encompassing issues of increased emotional connection and positive customer experience.

The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we propose to conceptualize the perceived value of mass customization into two components: 1) mass-customized product value and 2) mass customization experience. Second, we test an integrative framework bringing together value components and willingness to pay for mass-customized products. As opposed to previous research, the findings show an indirect effect of mass customization experience on consumer willingness to pay. Furthermore, no direct effect is found.

This chapter presents an exploratory study involving a group of athletic shoe enthusiasts and their feelings towards customized footwear. These ‘sneakerheads’ demonstrate their infatuation with sneakers via activities ranging from creating catalogs of custom shoes to buying and selling rare athletic footwear online. The key characteristic these individuals share is that, for them, athletic shoes are a fundamental fashion accessory steeped in symbolism and meaning. A series of in-depth interviews utilizing the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) provide a better understanding of how issues such as art, self-expression, exclusivity, peer recognition, and counterfeit goods interact with the mass customization of symbolic products by category experts.

This work reviews and synthesizes cognitive learning theory literature with potential applications to e-customization, highlights parallel work in online and offline marketing as well as information technology, develops a framework for cognitive learning theory, and provides general propositions for future verification. Whereas consumers are heterogeneous with regard to cognitive learning styles and strategies, cognitive learning theory proposes several high levels categories that can be used to segment consumers online and for several e-customization applications. Findings reveal that major theories in cognitive learning has not yet been investigated nor applied in marketing and suggest a positive effect for the congruency between consumer learning styles (strategies) and online message format (content) on communication efficiency, recall, attitude, and decision making. A synthesis review with potential applications to e-customization, including online consumer segmentation, information content and format customization, website and recommendation agent auto-adaptation and optimization is furnished.

In this paper the life event cycle is introduced, which can be seen as a customer oriented refinement of existing life cycle concepts. Based on the theory of traditional life cycle systems the life event cycle incorporates concepts of mass customization (i.e. modularity) in order to enable a long term relationship between companies and their customers. After depicting the basic structure of life cycles the function of the life event cycle as well as the application of mass customization principles will be illustrated, at which several practical examples will be given.

Mass customization is redefining firm strategies as well as consumer expectations and consumption. This paper analyzes and compares the profitability of two distinct business strategies: bundling vs mass customization within a duopoly with differentiated goods and consumer uncertainty. The number and categories of highly customized and customizable products is wide. On the other hand, bundling is ever more pervasive in today's markets, such as entertainment, consumer goods, Internet services, multimedia personal computers, catering, and education.The attention is focused on information goods, i.e. products with large amount of digital content, which facilitates the customizability of the products. In conclusion, mass customization is seen as an alternative strategy to differentiate firms in a highly competitive and segmented market, since it helps to provide customers with personalized products and services at a reasonably low costs through flexible mass production, thus reaching both a vast number of customers while responding to individual needs.

This chapter describes research toward creating a knowledge support system (KSS) that consists of knowledge representation, knowledge discovery, and recommendation for product family design. For the proposed KSS, we use an ontology to represent products as functional-based hierarchical structures and describe cost information related to product design. Fuzzy clustering is employed to partition product functions into subsets for identifying a platform and modules in a given product family. Rules related to design knowledge among products are developed using association rule mining. A reasoning tool is used to inference knowledge represented by an ontology and obtain design solutions. We present a prototype system to demonstrate the KSS using a case study involving a family of power tools.

Application of product configuration in manufacturing-to-order (MTO) companies and engineer-to-order (ETO) companies is significantly different compared to mass-producing companies. Furthermore, the situation is often made extra difficult by market conditions, which imply long order horizons and many changes of the orders both before and after order acceptance. With focus on these challenges, a special approach is presented for modeling of product families on multiple abstraction levels. With this approach, customer driven product configuration is concentrated on decisions, which are relatively invariant throughout order processing. Higher abstraction levels are typically related to identification of basic functionalities of the product and considerations about the ability to perform functions, which are required by the customer. They are very primary and should clearly be addressed in sales and tendering. By the proposed modeling approach, it is shown how the focus of product configuration can be shifted to identification and definition of attributes instead of modules and components. It is also shown that classification is a means for identification of multiple abstraction levels.

The objective of this chapter is to propose a methodology for strategic platform design in a product family using concepts from game theory to model the situations of uncertain market environments. We identify module-based platform design for a product family and consider a module selection problem as a strategic game with incomplete information. In particular, a Bayesian game is employed to model uncertainty situations regarding market environments. The proposed Bayesian game is used to decide strategic equilibrium solutions for selecting modules in the product family being designed. To demonstrate implementation of the proposed Bayesian game, we use a case study involving a family of power tools.

Product platform development faces problems with inefficient knowledge management and reuse, as well as configuration strategies leading to intolerable part number growth. In order to address these problems a system oriented and abstract knowledge based approach is proposed to define and to describe configurable product platforms. A modeling procedure and a new fully configurable platform model concept, consisting of linked fully configurable generic and autonomous sub-systems, have been developed. The model has been implemented as a separate platform configuration (PFC) system being the base for system configuration. The proposed platform model has been partly verified and validated in cooperation with the industrial partners participating in the referred research project.

In the automotive industry, engine companies produce a highly complex product, with a need to satisfy stringent legislation emission targets while at the same time they are faced with a highly fragmented market of different customers demanding highly customized products. A main driver to be competitive in such a situation is to manage changes effectively. Change requests from new customer requirements even late in the process must be analyzed for potential costly knock-on effects to other, not necessarily connected components. This paper describes how the Change Prediction Method (CPM) can be applied for the assessment of knock-on change risks which supports companies in planning for changes before being implemented and allows for an improved planning towards mass customization.

There is an extensive amount of research literature about the concept of agility, describing its drivers and capabilities, and even suggesting methodologies to develop agility. However, most of these efforts remain vague with respect to the characteristics and the expected contributions of the technologies involved or required. This paper proposes an agility reference model; a unifying conceptual representation of agility in terms of the necessary capabilities needed by every process involved in the enterprise seeking for agility. Agility is described using three capabilities which are believed to be the sources of competitive advantages; flexibility, responsiveness, and autonomy. It is shown that each capability addresses some specific issues and can only be thoroughly developed if the technologies used are characterized with some specific attributes or properties. The idea behind the proposed agility reference model was to derive a typology framework that emphasizes the taxonomy of the market interaction strategies for furniture products, and the competitive priorities that should be targeted by furniture enterprises aiming to be agile. Accordingly, the issues related to the different agility capabilities were discussed in the context of the furniture enterprise of the future. Then, the suitability of the proposed model for the derivation of the typology was explored based on case studies on two furniture manufacturing enterprises. The case studies analyze the context in terms of competitive priorities and customization strategies and investigate the agility properties of the technologies in use.

The benefits of product configuration systems are twofold. On the one hand side, they support the creation and management of configuration knowledge. On the other hand side, configurators are tools that enable a company to use its expertise for best possible fulfillment of the customers. A basic requirement for using a product configuration system is the existence of a complete product model. In the area of material customization of standard components, this condition can often not be fulfilled. For this reason, it is impossible to use conventional configuration systems to support the information elicitation process. This paper presents a novel idea for product configuration that can be applied to overcome complexity in the area of material customization. In the centre of interest is a flexible configuration model that supports the generation of free definable descriptions and configuration dialogues, which can be used to identify individual components instead of using unique item numbers. The paper will also consider the fact that in many situations there is also an additional demand for standard parts, needed for the final assembling of an individual component. In order to support the procurement processes of such parts, it is necessary to transfer the contents of the configuration model directly into a bill of materials. Therefore this paper presents the basic requirements as well as an appropriate algorithm to accomplish the transformation process.

The automotive industry is distinguished by regionalization and mass customization of products. This necessitates increased product diversity and decreased lot sizes. Thus more product types have to be handled along the process chain and common production paradigms will fail. Hence, Rapid Manufacturing (RM) will be used for manufacturing small individual lot sizes. Nevertheless, new solutions for joining and assembling these components are needed. The state-of-the-art production control solutions at the robot cell level as well as the plant level have certain disadvantages, such as manufacturer dependent programming of industrial robots and difficulty in implementation of synchronized robot simulation and complicated robot program execution. Additionally, common human machine interfaces do not provide necessary functions to interact with the devices in the robot cell. The data trafficking between devices within a robot cell is very high because of the need to process raw data.

A comprehensive and real time intelligent production control and monitoring system can overcome these limitations. It is a cluster of intelligent soft computing algorithms and smart intelligent peripheral devices. The concept proposed in this chapter is based on three interlinked main modules: a technology data catalogue (TDC), a Product Process Resource Module (PPR) and a central programmable automation controller (PAC) for real-time sensor/actor communication. The Technology Data Catalogue (TDC) retrieves, shares, processes and structures relevant engineering data. The automated scheduling processor creates an optimized and/or adaptable work plan based on feature technology. It has access to the TDC to extract information about the applicable technologies needed for manufacturing process and its operations such as material characteristics, measuring and monitoring conditions and their attributes. The processes are controlled by a Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) and Human Machine Interface Modules (HMI) for human interaction. The PAC and its supported software have widespread functionality especially for real time applications such as data logging and high frequency measurements and optimized control. Moreover, it provides homogeneous and standard interfaces to access heterogeneous devices in the system. Its compatibility and flexibility with the conventional programming languages has enabled in developing customized palette of functions and tools for scalable level of control solutions. Besides widespread accessibility, it can also influence the execution of robot program after pre-processing the data coming from various peripheral devices and calculating new robot paths by segmentation of detected curves and paths corresponding to the process planning information via one interface. The Human Machine Interface is developed using a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) in which different levels of user profiles with customized functionalities. The application software for the HMI portable devices will be based on graphical programming platform LabView and Microsoft.Net. The Human Machine Communication is based on the ontological based approach as a natural language interaction system for filtering and translating into machine command. This translated command is executed finally. The concept is in the process of demonstration in a laboratory set-up with distinct assembly and joining processes for experimental validation in European research and development projects.

Mass customization (MC) as a business strategy seeks to deliver highly customized product to customers at affordable prices that are consistent with mass production efficiencies. Despite a significant volume of research in mass customization, a severe paucity of work in quantitative areas related to operations management, such as scheduling, inventory control, distribution systems, statistical process control, etc. has been well documented. In this chapter, we begin to fill this gap by proposing a methodology for scheduling the production of an arbitrary number of configurations of a product when the production budget and time are limited. A specific contribution of this chapter relates to the development of three measures of the value associated with each configuration of the product. These measures are more general than the profit motive usually employed in scheduling configurations. These measures depend on cost proportion, profit proportion, and a hybrid of these two measures. Using these value measures, we formulate a mixed integer linear programming model that would yield an optimal sequence of configurations to maximize the total value of the production over a given period. Dual constraints on budget and production time make the problem NP Hard in strong sense. These are reducible to 2-dimensional Bin packing or Knapsack problem after elimination of certain constraints. Given the dynamic nature of configuration demands and constantly evolving system state, an efficient heuristic solution with tight bounds that can be developed quickly is considered preferable over an optimal solution that takes long time and substantial computer resources to develop. Accordingly, two heuristic solutions are constructed that are quick as well as efficient.

Customization is essentially a “pull” system and customers' demand for customized products is the ultimate force that drives a customization business. This chapter views customization from the demand side and looks into customers' procurement decisions for customized products. A conceptual framework based on contract theory and axiomatic design theory is constructed to characterize the essential decisions involved in procuring customized products. Based on the framework, this chapter identifies the key barriers that prevent customers from effectively tapping into the value of customization and explores alternative procurement mechanisms to overcome these barriers.

Body-fitting customized products are becoming an increasingly important area of research in terms of increasing a product's marketability and performance. Through the capture of simple scan data using Reverse Engineering techniques and the application of Rapid Manufacturing the production of bespoke components and products is possible, both technically and economically, due to the removal of labor and tooling from the manufacturing process. This paper provides a holistic view of the concept of personalized manufacturing, incorporating results from a global survey on the propensity for bodyfitting customization, specifically, on the customization of motorcycle seating. It outlines that the important geometry capture stage must capture the deformed geometry rather than simple body scan data for the customization to be effective. In addition the methods and issues associated with manufacturing personalized seating are explored and the service requirements for motorcycle seat consumers are identified, as well as providing a route to manufacture using wholly digital techniques.

e-Manufacturing means the fast, flexible, and cost-effective production directly from electronic data. Laser-sintering is a key technology for e-Manufacturing. With these systems, a complex design idea can be turned into reality directly by solidifying plastic or metal powders or foundry sand. This allows for manufacturing almost any shape, at any stage of the product life cycle in any industry. With e-Manufacturing shall provide competitive advantage in a business environment that is dominated by ever-decreasing product life-cycles and increasing numbers of product variants. By adding freedom of design and flexibility, laser-sintering helps making products convincingly attractive, both from the manufacturers' and the customers' points of view. The technology allows for designs that are sheer impossible with other technologies – including living hinges. This value-add stems from increased functionality, vivid design, and reduced delivery times. At the same time, laser-sintering allows for manufacturing customized products at fewer costs than with conventional manufacturing methods. Saving on molds reduces time and costs. Economies of scale are fading thus liberating manufacturing decisions from lot size optimization, forecast accuracy and break even points. The article provides an introduction into the technologies behind laser-sintering and shares results from a number of use cases in various industries.

This paper describes progress on RepRap, the replicating rapid prototyper. RepRap is a filament-deposition rapid prototyping machine that has been designed to manufacture the majority of its own parts. All other parts of the machine are standard materials and components available everywhere in the world. RepRap is intended to maximize the customizability of both the products that it makes and also itself. It achieves this by several complementary mechanisms: it is intended for individual (as well as industrial) use, so its users may employ it to manufacture whatever they want; it can make copies of itself, and those copies can be customized; it is extremely low cost, and so ownership can be widespread; and finally it is open-source, so all its designs and software are available for modification. Prototype RepRap machines have been built and are described. These have made parts for themselves and each other, and this is depicted. The design principles and specifications of the machine are given. The paper concludes with a discussion of the possible impacts that the machine may have on personal manufacturing and product customization.

The production of fashionable footwear has basically been the same for almost a century. It consists of combining elements of various materials together formed around a physical shape – the last – thereby making a product that fits around the foot – the shoe. This process requires different stages in production, transport of semi-finished products, intermediate components etc. In the European Community funded project “CEC-madeshoe” (www.cec-made-shoe.com) one of the innovation goals has been defined as the development of a product concept and underlying production method with which this traditional manufacturing process is radically transformed, the so-called Direct Manufactured Shoe. Production aspects such as transport, complex logistics, long lead times, and components such as lasts, stiffeners etc. are avoided and the possibility to personalize the shoe is included. This goal was met in a research project in which the production of footwear was approached from the Rapid Manufacturing (RM) point of view. Such a new approach to footwear requires a lot of background knowledge of footwear requirements, production processes, material properties and design opportunities and a lot of creative input from a design point of view.

Continuing the introduction and overview provided in Volume 1 of this handbook, this chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the research presented in this volume of the handbook.

Whereas efficient and effective practical implementation of mass customization in goods industries is a well-researched topic, a deeper understanding of service mass customization is still missing. Particularly service specific challenges have been hitherto unaddressed. These characteristics affect the requirements towards the service design as well as the appropriate education of service employees. One key challenge for service mass customization is to translate information about consumer preferences gained through market research into a format that can be easily used for service modularization decisions and customer-contact personnel training. As solution to this “translation problem” we propose “personas” as a tool for transferring complex market research data into narrative descriptions of archetype customers. Such archetypes convey customization needs in a way that makes it easy for decision makers and employees to understand and to communicate effectively with each other. Along with the concept we introduce a structured approach for developing and using personas in service mass customization projects and provide managerial implications as well as an outlook for further research.

This chapter presents results on mass customization of wireless communications services and tariffs. It advocates for a user-centric view of wireless service configuration and pricing as opposed to present-day service catalogue options. The focus is on design methodology and tools for such individual services and tariffs, using altogether information compression, negotiation algorithms, and risk portfolio analysis. We first analyze the user and supplier needs and aspirations. We then introduce the systematic design-oriented approach which can be applied. The implications of this approach for users and suppliers are discussed based on an end-user survey and on model-based calculations. It is shown that users can achieve desired service bundle cost reduction, while suppliers can improve significantly their risk-profit equilibrium points, reduce churn as well as marketing costs, and simplify provisioning.

Service innovation, unlike product innovation, is not easily scalable in the production process. In general, as firms attempt to grow, one potential direction for growth is through a firm's ability in applying the same processes and resources used for a single unit of production to larger volumes, thus saving costs through economies of scale. Whereas product-oriented companies can easily achieve cost reduction through scientifically tested and validated operational processes for product innovation, the peculiar nature of services do not permit such formal processes to be applied to service offerings. In this chapter, we identify network approaches through which firms engage the “service innovation dilemma” — the problem of diseconomies of scale in a world of increasing demand for services. We argue that firms can develop sustainable competitive advantage in services through “real” and “virtual” embedded inter-firm and customer co-creation (market) mechanisms. We conclude with some implications for theory and practice in services and related innovations.

The EMOCIONA initiative has demonstrated that the application of Emotional Design Techniques can serve to improve the design of surrounding settings used in the point of sale of habitat-related products, and to measure to which extent a retail store's background has influence in the willingness to purchase a product.

Around eighty people had participated of this experience through a pilot emotions measurement laboratory in which the emotional profile of the users was determined and its purchase attitude was registered, in order to extract concepts associated not only with the piece being evaluated, but also to establish the influence that different scenarios had in their perception of it. The results showed an increase of the purchase intention of a piece of furniture when it was settled in users favorite environment, and also the emotional component the “desired environment” concept responds to in terms of style, global preferences, et cetera. Furthermore, the results had permitted the corroboration of the possibilities that the utilisation of Emotional Engineering techniques, as part of User Oriented Development methodologies, have in the area of personalization of a retail store environment; allowing its adaptation for a determined population and the effective communication of a brand image.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can be described as aiming at creating shared interests as a means for building loyalty between organizations and their customers. An important issue is hence whether mass customization strengthens or weakens such relations. On one hand, the element of customer co-design in mass customization tends to strengthen the relations. On the other hand, mass customization builds upon a fixed or restricted design space and limited personal interaction and may thus result in weaker relations than individually customized services. Unionen, a major white-collar trade union in Sweden, provides a broad and attractive service portfolio consisting of standardized, mass customized, and individually customized services. Each individual member creates an individual service portfolio through: (i) Personal choice of information, activities and services. (ii) Mass-customized/customized services. Linkages between standardized, mass customized, and individually customized services will be discussed and the issue of building relations with members/customers will also be treated. The chapter concludes with a description of the results of the chosen strategy and a discussion concerning the possibilities to generalize from the experiences gained.

We have reached Globalization 3.0. According to Tom Friedman's book “The World is Flat”, globalization has become a reality not only for countries and international corporations, but also for individuals. How can one single individual compete with millions of other people worldwide? How can one person cope with the exponentially growing resources of knowledge? The answer lies in learning and education – individualized, life-long, efficient, and effective. Our proposal is to replace the paradigm of traditional education with its idea of an “economy of scarcity” with an idea of an “economy of self-generation”. Mass Customization (MC), understood as the roof for mass customization, customer co-creation, and open innovation provides the conceptual and operational framework for analy-zing needs and the status of individualized education. Consistent with MC a system for individualized lifelong learning from kindergarten and school to university and corporate level has been designed and implemented. Consequently, case studies, i.e. the outputs of education are used both for customization and individualization of curricula. Latest findings from neuroscience and systems theory are utilized as a basis for the argumentation. First results are reported and discussed.

While mass customization is usually associated with tangible goods, it is also relevant to less tangible goods, such as software and services. This chapter focuses on WordPress, which is both software and service. To be specific, the chapter presents WordPress as: blogging software; widely distributed and deeply customizable; a family of products built on a common platform; the focus of a vibrant community; the keystone of a thriving ecosystem; a for-profit business for Automattic, the company founded by its lead developer. It concludes with implications for WordPress itself, and for mass-customized software more generally.

The growth of online retailing of apparel is limited by lack of information on clothing fit. The development of fit visualization and size selection technologies can help provide this information, and can contribute to making the online shopping experience an easy and fun experience for the consumer. Three technologies were studied in this pilot test; 1) My Virtual Model avatar creation and virtual try-on was studied for ease of use, appeal of the technology, and satisfaction with the avatar and style image, 2) H&M size selection technology was tested for effectiveness of the technology and consumer acceptance, and 3) three-dimensional body scan technology was studied as a source of a more realistic and dimensionally accurate avatar and the acceptance of this avatar by the consumer. Twenty women aged 20-23 with a self-identified pant size of 0-12 were recruited to be participants in the study. Participants used the My Virtual Model (MVM) website to create their avatar and view a virtual try-on of a style of H&M jeans. They also completed the size selection process for the jeans, and physically tried on the recommended size of the jeans. Finally participants were scanned and they viewed their body scan along with the MVM avatar to judge which format they preferred. Most participants enjoyed the MVM avatar creation process and the H&M size selection process, and about 2/3 of them said that it was a useful tool for estimating and visualizing garment fit. However, only four of the 20 participants actually liked the fit of the jeans selected with the size selection technology, though manufacturing issues resulting in unreliable garment specifications may have contributed to fit problems. Most participants felt the garment in the suggested size had an error in at least one area with regard to fit. Participants were divided on their preference for the MVM avatar or the body scan, but most said that they would prefer a more realistic avatar. Overall these technologies can improve consumer confidence in purchasing, and ultimately boost sales and reduce returns.

This section will begin with a general state of mass customization approaches using body scanning and RFID technologies. Then, consumer interaction with these technologies will be explored by discussing selected research studies. Finally, the methods and results from the empirical study we conducted about consumer perceptions of body scanning and RFID technologies and applications will be presented and discussed.

This research presented in this paper focused on choice, complexity and simplicity of customized size label. It attempts to answer questions such as: What is the meaning of customization in the apparel industry and how can size labelling be put to use? Do people expect more information from a size label? How can a new size labelling system better support order givers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers? In this paper the authors discussed the application and configuration system and rules sets, i.e.: How to substitute the one size fits all label without going into a pure customization (i.e. cut and sew to fit one individual) by building an integrated sales system. The proposed size labelling system should be an efficient tool for mass customization in the apparel industry.

This paper addresses The Fashion Paradox – the economic importance of the fashion industry set against its inherent obsolescence and waste through constant change. A new methodology is being developed for designers to approach these complex problems, and to evaluate the impact of design decisions through the development of personalized fashion products. A new “Considerate Design” process model is being created through analysis of practical design processes by transferring tools and methods from engineering design within a framework of sustainability. This project responds to the rapidly changing context of fashion and positions the user at the centre of the design process. It will produce personalized fashion products using 3D body scanning and rapid prototyping techniques integrated with different production processes: the direct 3D manufacturing of seamfree knitwear; the making of bespoke hand-crafted bags, and the direct digital creation of body conformable seamless textile structures. The sub-projects each represent different levels of the industry, to test economic viability of products which are individually tailored to requirements, contributing to the development of mass customization. Considerate Design will reduce environmental impact of fashion products and consider both the end user and the entire product life cycle.

In this paper, an application of computer-aided techniques to customize garment creation is proposed. Different from traditional CAD tools on planar pattern design, the authors, according to an individual body scan, present a parameterized procedure with minimum least-squared approximation to construct a basic bodice generated by trimmed NURBS surfaces. Then, some tools based on trimmed NURBS techniques are available to reshape and slice the bodices. Finally, the authors propose an innovative tailoring method to generate a flare sagging style.

The project presented in this paper focuses on the digitisation of the clothing product development process incorporating 3D body scanning, automatic pattern generation, visualization, digital printing and embroidery. The aim was to introduce custom print and embroidery to the existing Bodymetrics Digital Couture offer in two London retail stores. The first objective of this project was to extend the couture jeans offer in Selfridge's, and the second objective to introduce customizable suit linings for Nutters in Harrods. The current virtual data flow with the inherent processes is described and a detailed account of the research is given in two stages and illustrated with examples of the use of digital print and embroidery in each case. A description is given of the steps constituting the first stage, which involved the consumer in print and embroidery selection and the automatic extraction of his or her measurements from which a prepared pattern was produced. An engineered print was visualized on a 3D virtual image of the customer, before being cut and manufactured. For stage two of the work an account is given of the methods used for re-proportioning imagery to automatically fit different pattern sizes. The problems of CAD workflow, fabric stability during the printing process, and print registration during single ply cutting for each case are outlined, together with a summary of progress and outstanding issues.

Despite the relatively long history of inadvertent using of mass customization in the building industry, very little and scattered systematic attempts have been made to apply it within the field knowingly. Almost none of them have successfully avoided the predicament imposed by the dominance of its pure manufacture interpretation or have been able to obliterate the failure of its predecessor, mass-production. This chapter attempts to set the scene for customization in the building industry with special reference to building envelopes. It investigates a series of projects in which the approach can serve the purpose of a customization approach to the design, fabrication and implementation (DFI) processes of building envelopes. Some existing examples have been chosen and investigated to show how the notion should and could get adopted by the industry. Whenever applicable, comparisons to the strategies in the manufacture industry have been given to help keep the track and support the main idea of knowledge transfer. In the end the chapter sums up the findings and comes up with some general suggestions that would improve the notion within the building industry.

The societal pressure on sustainable housing development is on the rise. Homes need to be socially, economically and environmentally sustainable in response to the wants and needs of individual homebuyers/users as well as society. However, existing housing design approaches being applied by today's homebuilders barely lead to the accomplishment of the sustainability agenda. Mass customization was seen as one of the potential means to tackle issues arising in achieving the housing sustainability. Based on the notion, a systems approach to sustainable homes and the interactive design communication tool were introduced. This study led to a suggestion that along the line with the research on mass customization, the way to mass-personalize a house after occupancy, which may need to involve inclusive design approaches, should be examined for the delivery of truly sustainable homes that satisfy the dynamic and diverse market demands and requirements for housing over the lifetime.

Customization is well established in manufacture and service industries. By contrast, it is still relatively new in the building industry. The concept is even less known when it is to be investigated with regard to some controversial issues such as sustainability. With a special emphasis on sustainability within the context of the built environment, this chapter focuses on the areas which have been less studied or researched so far i.e. the noneconomic impact of customization on its context. Giving brief accounts of sustainability and customization, the chapter addresses a modern method of construction (MMC), in which the notion of customization can potentially be embedded, and how it can improve the sustainability agenda. Findings of the comparative study of two built projects, which have used different methods of construction, have been used to show how the benefits of a customizable MMC could contribute to sustainability in the built environment. The cases have been analyzed using Ecotect and Envest to establish their environmental performance and the results have been discussed to indicate the potential contribution of customized approaches to a more sustainable built environment. Finally, some routes are suggested to conduct further research in this field.

The mass customization literature has increased a great deal in recent years and today covers a wide range of topics from customer interaction strategies to product development principles. However, the extant literature is biased; it seems to concentrate more on business-to-consumer commerce and theoretical research approaches. This paper seeks to tackle this research gap by presenting the results of a business-to-business multiple-case study conducted in 37 Finnish companies. According to the results, the concept of mass customization was not always identified by companies, but mass customization strategies and practices are widely used in Finnish technology industries. In the current state, the product qualities and production processes are in general managed well, but there are numerous challenges, especially in cross-functional cooperation, sales configurator deployment and the integration of different information systems. Derived from case interviews and insights gained, a comprehensive model of mass customization (McMountain) is suggested to assist companies to better succeed in their mass customization development projects.

Globalization and other inherent factors have created challenges to the North American furniture industry. Imports from low production cost countries did increase greatly over the last five years. At the same time, the U.S. and Canadian furniture manufacturers lost market shares. Mass customization (MC) of furniture products is considered to be a potential strategy to regain competitiveness for North American manufacturers. This study sheds light on North American furniture manufacturers' perception of MC, its potential and challenges to implement it. A survey of furniture manufacturers in Canada, the USA and Germany showed that developing modularity and agility, integrating the supply chain and pursuing a competitive cost structure are critical elements of a furniture customization system. Manufacturer perceived that having end users designing products the true limit of MC. Assisting end users through the personalization process and suggesting a limited number of pre-packaged options should be the favored approach.

The paper describes the Progressive Addition Lenses (PAL) personalization system obtained as a result of a joint R&D project conducted by Indústrias de Óptica, S.A. (INDO) and Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia (IBV). Traditionally, users have been asked to adapt to progressive lenses that are designed to fit an average wearer. INDO proposal is that a customized progressive lens that mimics the natural vision can be obtained by measuring the visual strategy of each individual user, defined as the coordination of eyes and head movements. The result is EyeMADE “made by your own eyes” and represents a major scientific advance and has positioned INDO at the head of the progressive lens field. The advantages of EyeMADE over conventional lenses are clear since it optimizes the visual comfort and allows for an easier adaptation process. A simple, robust and reliable system known as VisualMap DEVELOPER was developed in laboratory conditions to measure the visual strategy. Research showed that this simplified technique of measuring the visual strategy was equivalent to the more complex laboratory measurements. The individual visual strategy obtained with the VisualMap is then used by INDO to manufacture the personalized EyeMADE PAL using the latest ophthalmic lens technology using computer numerically controlled systems.

Music played on a theater stage provides listeners with a sense of auditory spatial presence as well as a clear perceivable incident angle of where the music is coming from (Ando, 1985). In other words, listeners inside a theater can close their eyes and feel that they are inside a spacious building as well as being able to hear where the stage is. On the contrary, listening to music presented through a pair of earphones lacks both the auditory spacious feeling and, very often, listeners would perceive that the music is coming from the center of their heads (Blauert, 1997). Using personalized head-related transfer function (HRTF) filtering technology, it is possible to simulate the acoustics effects of a concert-theater for music presented on a pair of earphones. However, such a personalized solution can cost over US$2000.0 and may not be feasible for consumer products. Non-personalized solutions, on the other hands, do not work well. This paper discusses the problems associated with the non-personalized solutions and challenges and opportunities of masscustomized solutions. Progress in tackling various challenges is also reported. Potential industrial applications include high-end surround sound solutions for iPods and MP3 players.

Mass customization of products and services has been on the rise over the past several years across different industries. The increased interest in mass customization and personalization is evidenced by the growth in research in the area, in scholarly publications as well as the emergence of new courses on the subject. Introducing courses on mass customization and advancing knowledge on the subject are essential to continue research to make mass customization a sustainable strategy. The effectiveness of such courses can be enhanced to a great extent by incorporating practical demonstrations to provide students an opportunity for active/experiential learning. With this form of learning students take a participatory role rather than merely sitting to listen to lectures and often work together in teams to reflect upon the material taught in the classroom. It has been found that people often learn better through this approach. Therefore, innovative teaching aids that involve experiential learning, such as physical models and hands-on simulations can promote learning of and interest in mass customization. This paper presents a simple but versatile simulation that can be used in classroom environments, or even in technical fairs/exhibitions to help students (and visitors) understand the concept of mass customization and challenges to implementing the strategy.

Recently the emergence of more open innovation models which draw on a greater diversity of distributed knowledge sources often including users and customers has received growing attention not only in academia and industry but also in policy circles. Many governments have launched initiatives to explore how to benefit from these developments and how to support companies in their adoption (e.g. the EU lead market initiative, Danish User Innovation Lab duci.dk/). The rationales for these activities are manifold. First of all, policy makers are recognising the growing relevance of open innovation models which is being driven by changing socio-economic framework conditions on the one hand and availability of enabling technologies such as innovation interfaces, connecting platforms and rapid manufacturing technologies on the other (v. Hippel 2005). Accordingly, policy makers strive to enable companies to unlock the potential benefits by adopting concepts of user involvement such as the lead user strategy (Lüthje and Herstatt 2004). At the same time it has been shown that the adoption of democratized innovation models is likely to yield substantial benefits for welfare (Henkel and v. Hippel 2005). Additionally, the empowerment of innovating users is responding to a recognised societal demand with a high potential to increase quality of life in many domains where the uptake of user centered innovation models will better match the high diversity of user needs and the growing demand for creative experience. Finally, for industrial policy there is a very concrete motivation behind the interest in such innovation models. In the face of increasing relocation of manufacturing activities to low wage production sites, concepts of production and consumption patterns that place large part of the value chain close to the customer such as distributed production in mini factories are becoming increasingly attractive to keep jobs and access to high quality products within the country. In many high wage locations where whole sectors have been disappearing, policy initiatives towards personalized production and customer integration are motivated by this goal (e.g. for US and Canadian furniture industry cf. Lihra et al. MCPC 2007). To sum up, there are many good reasons for policy makers to support the transition towards democratized innovation models within economy and society. However, to achieve this goal tailored and efficient policy actions aligning research and innovation policy with measures from other realms such as IPR and regulation are needed (Chesbrough 2006, v. Hippel 2006).

This paper presents an integrative model for innovation diffusion using a market orientation approach to radical innovation creation and market adoption intention. It is argued that lead-users possessing high opinion leadership qualities (i.e. social influence, community active, innovation/ modification sharing) will adopt radical innovations at a faster rate than lead-users with low opinion leadership propensities. This integrative model is expected to help managers in utilizing the opinion leadership qualities of select leadusers while developing and introducing new innovations. This integrated research approach is not only appropriate for the “mainstream” product development, but calls for the marketers to identify a new adopter category personified by the lead-users with high opinion leadership qualities and to consider them as a particular group of interest for future marketing research and practice. Finally, research propositions are offered based on modelling these relationships in order to drive future empirical research.

Managers aiming to utilize the potential of involving ordinary users in ideation for innovation currently receive very little guidance from the existing literature as regards how to do this in a satisfactory way. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap by contributing towards better understanding of how users contribute towards the ideation process of technology-based services, as well as how they may satisfactorily be managed within it. This is accomplished by identifying and investigating different ideation patterns, as well as their effects on the created ideas' characteristics, in the context of mobile telephony services. The paper is based on a quasi-experimental study conducted over a period of twelve days and involving 56 ordinary users and 12 professionals as idea creators. Three different groups of users were used, as well as one reference group of professionals. The paper inductively identifies four different ideation patterns leading to different types of ideas as regards innovativeness (incremental/radical). These are further related to the existing literature. The paper concludes with managerial implications concerning how to manage this type of user involvement in order to obtain ideas that are either more incremental or more radical.

We address the management of open innovation in the agile context. The open innovation management principles are approached from the perspectives of process and communication. The goal is a multidisciplinary theoretical framework of open innovation, agile development, communication, motivation and incentives. Practical frameworks, models, and principles are presented for managers and consultants, who build up open innovation communities. The main research questions are: 1. Which features transform business context towards management of open innovation? 2. Which dimensions of communicative influence could benefit management of open innovation? 3. How to model open innovation in an agile context? 4. How to analyze communicative influence in practical cases of innovation? We propose a facilitated innovation process model which links together agile development, product management and company internal as well as external innovation processes. The model emphasizes the innovation broker's viewpoint. External and internal stakeholders are involved through subsequent phases of the product or service innovation process. We also propose a tentative framework for determinants of communicative influence which is used to analyze empirical cases involving three start-up SMEs in an early idea generation phase. Innovator motivation is enhanced through exchange of incentives. Finally future research is shortly described.