This paper introduces the aim, scope and content of this special issue on mass customization. It begins by providing a background review of mass customization, which revolves around two questions: what is mass customization, and why mass customize? By focusing on these, the paper presents definitions and explanations of the different approaches to mass customization, and describes the potential reasons for and benefits of mass customization. In addition to setting the scene for the special issue, this introductory review asserts that there is a relative dearth of research on how to design and operate a manufacturing system capable of mass customizing. This is a system design or configuration issue, which involves determining the most appropriate or viable design for the available range of multiple and interdependent design variables. However, despite the strong interest in configurational research in the business and operations strategy area, there are few works that develop and propose models for understanding how to mass customize.
Mass customization aims to deliver customized products and services to customers at near mass production efficiency. It represents a collaborative effort between customers and manufacturers with different priorities. While research has focused on mass customization's strategic viability and operational feasibility, engineering collaboration promises to address challenges limiting many mass customization programs. Collaborative engineering views mass customization as customers and manufacturers engaging in joint conflict resolution to co-create customized products.
Mass customization aims to deliver customized products and services to individual customers at a cost near that of mass production. It uses information technology, flexible processes and organizational structures. There are four types of mass customization: collaborative, adaptive, transparent and cosmetic. Mass customization provides advantages like maximized customer satisfaction, reduced costs and inventory, increased cash flow and responsiveness to customer needs.
This document discusses how information systems have enabled the transition from bespoke to mass customization production. It first provides a historic perspective on mass customization and defines key terms. It then describes different types of information systems used to support mass customization, including modular systems. The document outlines several real-world examples of companies using information systems for mass customization in industries like wine, clothing, and candy. It also discusses socioeconomic factors and future perspectives related to mass customization and information systems.
This document summarizes key aspects of mass customization compared to traditional mass production. It discusses Joseph Pine's concept of mass customization as producing goods and services to meet customer needs. The document outlines customization strategies like collaborative, adaptive, cosmetic and transparent customization. It also discusses the advantages of mass customization in reducing waste and increasing customer loyalty but notes the higher costs. Lastly, it recommends achieving success through capabilities like modular design, flexible processes, order management and information systems.
Mass customization is a new business strategy that allows for a large variety of individually customized goods and services to be produced at mass production efficiency and costs. It involves customizing products for individual customers or niche markets using flexible production processes and postponing differentiation until late in the supply chain. Dell pioneered this approach in computers by assembling them according to each customer's exact specifications using a collaborative process, becoming a top maker of file servers globally.
This document discusses mass customization and its key features. It defines mass customization as producing goods and services to meet individual customer needs with near mass production efficiency. The key features are identified as customer co-design, meeting individual customer needs, a stable solution space, and an adequate price and cost level. The document also outlines the four faces of customization: collaborative, adaptive, cosmetic, and transparent.
Creating competitive advantages through supply chain finalKurnia Rosyada
This document provides a case study on Samsung Electronics and how their supply chain management practices have helped create competitive advantages and resilience. It discusses trends in supply chain management like resilience, value chain networks, and demand-driven excellence. It also analyzes Samsung's practices like extended supplier partnerships, customer collaboration, and how these have contributed to strategic positioning, product innovation, and differentiation. The document concludes Samsung has implemented best practices that view supply chain management holistically and have created competitiveness and market resilience.
This document discusses how the lean manufacturing and agile manufacturing paradigms can be integrated within a total supply chain strategy. It defines lean manufacturing as developing a value stream to eliminate waste and ensure a level schedule, while defining agile manufacturing as using market knowledge and a virtual corporation to exploit profitable opportunities in a volatile market. The document argues that viewing the paradigms in isolation is too simplistic, and that elements of both are needed depending on the supply chain strategy and positioning of the decoupling point, which separates customer order-driven operations from planning-driven operations. It presents characteristics of lean and agile manufacturing and discusses how elements of each were successfully combined within one supply chain case study.
Mass customization aims to deliver customized products and services to customers at near mass production efficiency. It represents a collaborative effort between customers and manufacturers with different priorities. While research has focused on mass customization's strategic viability and operational feasibility, engineering collaboration promises to address challenges limiting many mass customization programs. Collaborative engineering views mass customization as customers and manufacturers engaging in joint conflict resolution to co-create customized products.
Mass customization aims to deliver customized products and services to individual customers at a cost near that of mass production. It uses information technology, flexible processes and organizational structures. There are four types of mass customization: collaborative, adaptive, transparent and cosmetic. Mass customization provides advantages like maximized customer satisfaction, reduced costs and inventory, increased cash flow and responsiveness to customer needs.
This document discusses how information systems have enabled the transition from bespoke to mass customization production. It first provides a historic perspective on mass customization and defines key terms. It then describes different types of information systems used to support mass customization, including modular systems. The document outlines several real-world examples of companies using information systems for mass customization in industries like wine, clothing, and candy. It also discusses socioeconomic factors and future perspectives related to mass customization and information systems.
This document summarizes key aspects of mass customization compared to traditional mass production. It discusses Joseph Pine's concept of mass customization as producing goods and services to meet customer needs. The document outlines customization strategies like collaborative, adaptive, cosmetic and transparent customization. It also discusses the advantages of mass customization in reducing waste and increasing customer loyalty but notes the higher costs. Lastly, it recommends achieving success through capabilities like modular design, flexible processes, order management and information systems.
Mass customization is a new business strategy that allows for a large variety of individually customized goods and services to be produced at mass production efficiency and costs. It involves customizing products for individual customers or niche markets using flexible production processes and postponing differentiation until late in the supply chain. Dell pioneered this approach in computers by assembling them according to each customer's exact specifications using a collaborative process, becoming a top maker of file servers globally.
This document discusses mass customization and its key features. It defines mass customization as producing goods and services to meet individual customer needs with near mass production efficiency. The key features are identified as customer co-design, meeting individual customer needs, a stable solution space, and an adequate price and cost level. The document also outlines the four faces of customization: collaborative, adaptive, cosmetic, and transparent.
Creating competitive advantages through supply chain finalKurnia Rosyada
This document provides a case study on Samsung Electronics and how their supply chain management practices have helped create competitive advantages and resilience. It discusses trends in supply chain management like resilience, value chain networks, and demand-driven excellence. It also analyzes Samsung's practices like extended supplier partnerships, customer collaboration, and how these have contributed to strategic positioning, product innovation, and differentiation. The document concludes Samsung has implemented best practices that view supply chain management holistically and have created competitiveness and market resilience.
This document discusses how the lean manufacturing and agile manufacturing paradigms can be integrated within a total supply chain strategy. It defines lean manufacturing as developing a value stream to eliminate waste and ensure a level schedule, while defining agile manufacturing as using market knowledge and a virtual corporation to exploit profitable opportunities in a volatile market. The document argues that viewing the paradigms in isolation is too simplistic, and that elements of both are needed depending on the supply chain strategy and positioning of the decoupling point, which separates customer order-driven operations from planning-driven operations. It presents characteristics of lean and agile manufacturing and discusses how elements of each were successfully combined within one supply chain case study.
Why do some patents get licensed while others do not?Ian McCarthy
To understand why some patents get licensed and others do not, we estimate a portfolio of firm- and patent-level determinants for why a particular licensor’s patent was licensed over all technologically similar patents held by other licensors. Using data for licensed biopharmaceutical patents, we build a set of alternate patents that could have been licensed-in using topic modeling techniques. This provides a more sophisticated way of controlling for patent characteristics and analyzing the attractiveness of a licensor and the characteristics of the patent itself. We find that patents owned by licensors with technological prestige, experience at licensing, and combined technological depth and breadth have a greater chance at being chosen by licensees. This suggests that a licensor’s standing and organizational learning rather than the quality of its patent alone influence the success of outward licensing.
When customers get clever: Managerial approaches to dealing with creative con...Ian McCarthy
Creative consumers (defined as customers who adapt, modify, or transform a proprietary offering) represent an intriguing paradox for business. On
one hand, they can signify a black hole for future revenue, with breach of copyright and intellectual property. On the other hand, they represent a gold mine of ideas and business opportunities. Central to business is the need to create and capture value, and creative consumers demand a shift in the mindsets and business models of how firms accomplish both. Based upon their attitude and action toward customer innovation, we develop a typology of firms’ stances toward creative consumers. We then consider the implications of the stances model for corporate strategy and
examine a three-step approach to dealing with creative consumers: awareness, analysis, and response.
Innovation in manufacturing as an evolutionary complex systemIan McCarthy
This document discusses innovation as an evolutionary complex system. It makes three key points:
1. Innovation can involve either continuous (smooth) evolution or discontinuous (qualitative) changes when new ideas branch off. Innovations introduce new customer experiences and needs but also carry high risks.
2. There is a tension between standardized control approaches used for mass production, which can inhibit creativity, and allowing emergent freedom which enables innovation. Decentralized and collaborative approaches are important for innovation.
3. Innovations evolve through ideas more than rational decision-making. Collective and expansive learning between groups and expanding knowledge boundaries supports innovation more than top-down control of ideas.
Toward a Phylogenetic Reconstruction of Organizational LifeIan McCarthy
Classification is an important activity that facilitates theory development in many academic disciplines. Scholars in fields such as organizational science, management science and economics and have long recognized that classification offers an approach for ordering and understanding the diversity of organizational taxa (groups of one or more similar organizational entities). However, even the most prominent organizational classifications have limited utility, as they tend to be shaped by a specific research bias, inadequate units of analysis and a standard neoclassical economic view that does not naturally accommodate the disequilibrium dynamics of modern competition. The result is a relatively large number of individual and unconnected organizational classifications, which tend to ignore the processes of change responsible for organizational diversity. Collectively they fail to provide any sort of universal system for ordering, compiling and presenting knowledge on organizational diversity. This paper has two purposes. First, it reviews the general status of the major theoretical approaches to biological and organizational classification and compares the methods and resulting classifications derived from each approach. Definitions of key terms and a discussion on the three principal schools of biological classification (evolutionary systematics, phenetics and cladistics) are included in this review. Second, this paper aims to encourage critical thinking and debate about the use of the cladistic classification approach for inferring and representing the historical relationships underpinning organizational diversity. This involves examining the feasibility of applying the logic of common ancestry to populations of organizations. Consequently, this paper is exploratory and preparatory in style, with illustrations and assertions concerning the study and classification of organizational diversity.
Remanufacturing is_a_superior_choce.pdfMichael Davis
Remanufactured printer cartridges are a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to new cartridges. Each year, over 300 million used cartridges end up in landfills globally. Remanufacturing cartridges involves cleaning and refilling them, allowing them to be reused while keeping more plastic waste out of landfills. It also saves resources and energy compared to producing new cartridges. Remanufactured cartridges are typically 40-60% cheaper than new ones but provide comparable quality and reliability. Choosing remanufactured cartridges is better for the environment and a consumer's budget.
Complex adaptive system mechanisms, adaptive management practices, and firm p...Ian McCarthy
As a fascinating concept, the mechanisms of complex adaptive system (CAS) attracted many researchers from a variety of disciplines. Nevertheless, how the mechanism-related variables, such as strategic resonance, accreting nodes, pattern forming, and catalytic behavior of organization, impact the firm product innovativeness is rarely addressed empirically in the new product development (NPD) literature. Also, there exist limited studies on the antecedents of the mechanisms of CAS in the NPD literature. In this respect, we identified and operationalized the adaptive management practices, which involve bonding, nonlinear, and attractor behaviors of management, as antecedents of mechanisms and firm product innovativeness. By studying 235 firms, we found that (1) strategic resonance and accreting nodes are positively related to firm product innovativeness, (2) bonding, nonlinear, and attractor behaviors of management positively influence the mechanism variables, and (3) market and technology turbulence impact the adaptive management practices. We also found that mechanisms of CAS partially mediate the relationship between adaptive management practices and firm product innovativeness.
Understanding the effects of outsourcing: unpacking the total factor producti...Ian McCarthy
Research on why firms should outsource and how they should do it has proliferated in the past two decades, but few consistent findings have emerged concerning the benefits of outsourcing. We argue that this is in part due to the lack of an adequate framework for measuring the effects of outsourcing. To address this, we present such a framework based upon the Cobb–Douglas productivity function. We explain how our framework can be used to unpack one component of the Cobb–Douglas productivity function, the ‘total factor productivity’, which represents the other numerous sub-variables that affect outsourcing productivity, beyond the capital and labour expenditures. We also demonstrate the framework using a simple illustrative example.
Technology Management - A Complex Adaptive Systems ApproachIan McCarthy
This document discusses using a complex adaptive systems approach and fitness landscape theory to understand technology management. It presents a model called the strategy configuration chain that illustrates how organizations classify, select, adopt and exploit technologies through four linked tasks to develop capabilities and a technological configuration. The document also introduces an NK model that can represent an organization's technology strategy as a string of bits and calculate a fitness value for different strategic configurations based on their potential for survival and competitiveness. This provides a way to visualize different strategic options and their relationships on a fitness landscape.
Understanding outsourcing contexts through information asymmetry and capabili...Ian McCarthy
Outsourcing is a strategic activity that has long been central to operations management research and practice. Yet, there are still many outsourcing management challenges that remain. In this article, we explore two of the outsourcing challenges that motivated this special issue and are central to the 10 articles included. To do this, we develop a theoretical model that examines how variations in capability fit and information asymmetry combine to present firms with four different outsourcing contexts. We then explain how each of the articles included in this special issue relate to our theoretical model and explore several avenues for future research.
Achieving Agility Using Cladistics: An Evolutionary AnalysisIan McCarthy
To achieve the status of an agile manufacturer, organisations need to clearly understand the concept of agility, relative to their industrial and business circumstances and to then identify and acquire the appropriate characteristics which will result in an agile manufacturing organisation. This paper is not simply another discussion on the definition of agility, or a philosophical debate on the drivers and characteristics of agility. This paper presents an evolutionary modelling technique (cladistics) which could enable organisations to systematically manage and understand the emergence of new manufacturing forms within their business environment. This fundamental, but important insight is valuable for achieving successful organisational design and change. Thus, regardless of the industrial sector, managers could use cladistics as an evolutionary analysis technique for determining ``where they have been and where they are now''. Moving from a non-agile manufacture to an agile manufacture is a process of organisational change and evolutionary development. This evolutionary method will enable organisations to understand the landscape of manufacturing possibilities that exist, to identify appropriate agile forms and to successfully navigate that landscape.
The ability of current statistical classifications to separateservices and ma...Ian McCarthy
This paper explores the performance of current statistical classification systems in classifying firms and, in particular, their ability to distinguish between firms that provide services and firms that provide manufacturing. We find that a large share of firms, almost 20%, are not classified as expected based on a comparison of their statements of activities with the assigned industry codes. This result is robust to analyses on different levels of aggregation and is validated in an additional survey. It is well known from earlier literature that industry classification systems are not perfect. This paper provides a quantification of the flaws in classifications of firms. Moreover, it is explained why the classifications of firms are imprecise. The increasing complexity of production, inertia in changes to statistical systems and the increasing integration of manufacturing products and services are some of the primary and interrelated explanations for this lack of precision. We emphasise, however, that such classification problems are not resolved using a ‘technical fix’. Any statistical classification method involves a number of tradeoffs.
New Product Development as a Complex Adaptive System of DecisionsIan McCarthy
Early research on new product development (NPD) has produced descriptive frameworks and models that view the process as a linear system with sequential and discrete stages. More recently, recursive and chaotic frameworks of NPD have been developed, both of which acknowledge that NPD progresses through a series of stages, but with overlaps, feedback loops, and resulting behaviors that resist reductionism
and linear analysis. This article extends the linear, recursive, and chaotic frameworks by viewing NPD as a complex adaptive system (CAS) governed by three levels of decision making — in-stage, review, and strategic—and the accompanying decision rules. The research develops and presents propositions that predict how the configuration and organization of NPD decision-making agents will influence
the potential for three mutually dependent CAS phenomena: nonlinearity, selforganization, and emergence. Together these phenomena underpin the potential for NPD process adaptability and congruence. To support and to verify the propositions, this study uses comparative case studies, which show that NPD process adaptability occurs and that it is dependent on the number and variety of agents, their corresponding connections and interactions, and the ordering or disordering effect of the decision levels and rules. Thus, the CAS framework developed within this article maintains a fit among descriptive stance, system behavior, and innovation type, as it considers individual NPD processes to be capable of switching or toggling between different behaviors — linear to chaotic — to produce corresponding innovation outputs that range from incremental to radical in accord with market expectations.
Organisational diversity, evolution and cladistic classificationsIan McCarthy
This document discusses constructing a formal cladistic classification of manufacturing systems based on techniques used in biological taxonomy. It presents a seven-stage framework for developing a manufacturing "cladogram" or phylogenetic tree. A cladistic classification could provide a standardized way to study organizational diversity and evolution. It may help clarify different types of emerging manufacturing systems and their relationships. Mapping the evolutionary history and relationships between manufacturing systems could provide insights to help organizations adapt to changes in their operating environment. The document also reviews different approaches to classification in biology and assumptions required to apply cladistics to developing a classification of manufacturing organizations.
Achieving contextual ambidexterity in R&D organizations: a management control...Ian McCarthy
Research on how managers control R&D activities has tended to focus on the performance measurement systems used to exploit existing knowledge and capabilities. This focus has been at the expense of how broader forms of management control could be used to enable R&D contextual ambidexterity, the capacity to attain appropriate levels of exploitation and exploration behaviors in the same R&D organizational unit. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework for understanding how different types of control system, guided by different R&D strategic goals, can be used to induce and balance both exploitation and exploration. We illustrate the elements of this framework and their relations using data from biotechnology firms, and then discuss how the framework provides a basis to empirically examine a number of important control relationships and phenomena.
Executive Digest: managing resources, managing the crowd and disrupting indus...Ian McCarthy
This article discusses the opportunities and challenges around remanufactured and refurbished consumer products. Key points:
- Product returns represent a large opportunity as many are still functional but returned for convenience. Remanufacturing can generate additional profit.
- Consumers have mixed views - some see value in lower prices but others view remanufactured products negatively as "dirty" or lower quality.
- The two biggest drivers of demand are quality perceptions and pricing. Emphasizing quality and discounting remanufactured products up to 40% can boost appeal.
- Branding, green marketing, and managing "disgust" perceptions also impact appeal. Outsourcing remanufacturing
Unpacking the Social Media Phenomenon: Towards a Research AgendaIan McCarthy
In this paper, we highlight some of the challenges and opportunities that social media presents to researchers, and offer relevant theoretical avenues to be explored. To do this, we present a model that unpacks social media by using a honeycomb of seven functional building blocks. We then examine each of the seven building blocks and, through appropriate social and socio-technical theories, raise questions that warrant further in-depth research to advance the conceptualization of social media in public affairs research. Finally, we combine the individual research questions for each building block back into the honeycomb model to illustrate how the theories in combination provide a powerful macro-lens for research on social media dynamics.
Making a face: Graphical illustrations of managerial stances toward customer ...Ian McCarthy
Creative consumers – consumers who adapt, modify or transform a proprietary offering – represent an intriguing paradox for business. On the one hand they can be a black hole for future revenue, with breach of copyright and intellectual property, while on the other hand they represent a gold mine of ideas and business opportunities. This problem is central to business – business needs to both create and capture value; the problem is that creative consumers demand a shift in the mindsets and business models of how firms both create and capture value. We develop a typology of firms’ stances to creative consumers based upon their attitude and action towards customer innovation. We then consider the implications of the stances model for corporate strategy, and examine a three-step approach to dealing with creative consumers, namely, awareness, analysis and response.
Game on: Engaging customers and employees through gamificationIan McCarthy
Managers are frequently tasked with increasing the engagement levels of key stakeholders, such as customers and employees. Gamification - defined as the application of game design principles to change behavior in non-gaming contexts - is a tool that, if crafted and implemented properly, can increase engagement. In this article we discuss how gamification can aid customer and employee engagement, and delineate between four different types of customers and employees who act as ‘players’ in gamified experiences. We include illustrative examples of gamification and conclude by presenting five lessons for managers who wish to utilize gamification.
Two related trends characterize the recent past: value propositions are migrating from the physical to the informational, and value creation is shifting from firms to consumers. These two trends meet in the phenomenon of “consumer-generated intellectual property” (CGIP). This article addresses the question: “How should firms manage the intellectual property that their customers create?” It explores how CGIP presents important dilemmas for managers and argues that consumers’ “intellectual property” should not be leveraged at the expense of their “emotional property.” It integrates these perspectives into a diagnostic framework and discusses eight strategies for firms to manage CGIP. (Keywords: Consumer Behavior, Intellectual Property, Innovation Management, New Product Management, Competitive Advantage, Consumers, Product Design)
Product recovery decisions within the context of Extended Producer Responsibi...Ian McCarthy
Environmental and economic evidence is increasingly supporting the need for better analytical tools for evaluating the recovery of consumer products. In response, we present a novel mathematical model for determining what we call the Optimal Recovery Plan (ORP) for any given product. The ORP is based on an evaluation and optimization of the economics of remanufacturing consumer products versus demanufacturing in the context of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation, a driving force behind the adoption remanufacturing initiatives by firms. We provide an illustrative application of the model and then discuss its implications for scholars and practitioners concerned with sustainable business development.
This document discusses mass customization and how collaborative engineering can help address challenges. It defines mass customization as delivering customized products and services to individual customers at near mass production efficiency. Collaborative engineering involves customers, manufacturers, and other stakeholders negotiating interactively to resolve conflicts and co-create customized solutions. The document presents a generic model of mass customization and discusses how collaborative engineering could support different stages like co-innovation (problem-solving), co-configuration (design), and co-production (manufacturing).
As a Collaborative Engineering Effort
Mass customization aims to deliver customized products and services to meet individual customer needs with near mass production efficiency. It can be viewed as a collaborative effort between customers and manufacturers who have different priorities. Despite advances, mass customization faces challenges such as limited novelty and applicability. Collaborative engineering via negotiation promises to address these challenges and resolve conflicts between mass production and customization.
Why do some patents get licensed while others do not?Ian McCarthy
To understand why some patents get licensed and others do not, we estimate a portfolio of firm- and patent-level determinants for why a particular licensor’s patent was licensed over all technologically similar patents held by other licensors. Using data for licensed biopharmaceutical patents, we build a set of alternate patents that could have been licensed-in using topic modeling techniques. This provides a more sophisticated way of controlling for patent characteristics and analyzing the attractiveness of a licensor and the characteristics of the patent itself. We find that patents owned by licensors with technological prestige, experience at licensing, and combined technological depth and breadth have a greater chance at being chosen by licensees. This suggests that a licensor’s standing and organizational learning rather than the quality of its patent alone influence the success of outward licensing.
When customers get clever: Managerial approaches to dealing with creative con...Ian McCarthy
Creative consumers (defined as customers who adapt, modify, or transform a proprietary offering) represent an intriguing paradox for business. On
one hand, they can signify a black hole for future revenue, with breach of copyright and intellectual property. On the other hand, they represent a gold mine of ideas and business opportunities. Central to business is the need to create and capture value, and creative consumers demand a shift in the mindsets and business models of how firms accomplish both. Based upon their attitude and action toward customer innovation, we develop a typology of firms’ stances toward creative consumers. We then consider the implications of the stances model for corporate strategy and
examine a three-step approach to dealing with creative consumers: awareness, analysis, and response.
Innovation in manufacturing as an evolutionary complex systemIan McCarthy
This document discusses innovation as an evolutionary complex system. It makes three key points:
1. Innovation can involve either continuous (smooth) evolution or discontinuous (qualitative) changes when new ideas branch off. Innovations introduce new customer experiences and needs but also carry high risks.
2. There is a tension between standardized control approaches used for mass production, which can inhibit creativity, and allowing emergent freedom which enables innovation. Decentralized and collaborative approaches are important for innovation.
3. Innovations evolve through ideas more than rational decision-making. Collective and expansive learning between groups and expanding knowledge boundaries supports innovation more than top-down control of ideas.
Toward a Phylogenetic Reconstruction of Organizational LifeIan McCarthy
Classification is an important activity that facilitates theory development in many academic disciplines. Scholars in fields such as organizational science, management science and economics and have long recognized that classification offers an approach for ordering and understanding the diversity of organizational taxa (groups of one or more similar organizational entities). However, even the most prominent organizational classifications have limited utility, as they tend to be shaped by a specific research bias, inadequate units of analysis and a standard neoclassical economic view that does not naturally accommodate the disequilibrium dynamics of modern competition. The result is a relatively large number of individual and unconnected organizational classifications, which tend to ignore the processes of change responsible for organizational diversity. Collectively they fail to provide any sort of universal system for ordering, compiling and presenting knowledge on organizational diversity. This paper has two purposes. First, it reviews the general status of the major theoretical approaches to biological and organizational classification and compares the methods and resulting classifications derived from each approach. Definitions of key terms and a discussion on the three principal schools of biological classification (evolutionary systematics, phenetics and cladistics) are included in this review. Second, this paper aims to encourage critical thinking and debate about the use of the cladistic classification approach for inferring and representing the historical relationships underpinning organizational diversity. This involves examining the feasibility of applying the logic of common ancestry to populations of organizations. Consequently, this paper is exploratory and preparatory in style, with illustrations and assertions concerning the study and classification of organizational diversity.
Remanufacturing is_a_superior_choce.pdfMichael Davis
Remanufactured printer cartridges are a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to new cartridges. Each year, over 300 million used cartridges end up in landfills globally. Remanufacturing cartridges involves cleaning and refilling them, allowing them to be reused while keeping more plastic waste out of landfills. It also saves resources and energy compared to producing new cartridges. Remanufactured cartridges are typically 40-60% cheaper than new ones but provide comparable quality and reliability. Choosing remanufactured cartridges is better for the environment and a consumer's budget.
Complex adaptive system mechanisms, adaptive management practices, and firm p...Ian McCarthy
As a fascinating concept, the mechanisms of complex adaptive system (CAS) attracted many researchers from a variety of disciplines. Nevertheless, how the mechanism-related variables, such as strategic resonance, accreting nodes, pattern forming, and catalytic behavior of organization, impact the firm product innovativeness is rarely addressed empirically in the new product development (NPD) literature. Also, there exist limited studies on the antecedents of the mechanisms of CAS in the NPD literature. In this respect, we identified and operationalized the adaptive management practices, which involve bonding, nonlinear, and attractor behaviors of management, as antecedents of mechanisms and firm product innovativeness. By studying 235 firms, we found that (1) strategic resonance and accreting nodes are positively related to firm product innovativeness, (2) bonding, nonlinear, and attractor behaviors of management positively influence the mechanism variables, and (3) market and technology turbulence impact the adaptive management practices. We also found that mechanisms of CAS partially mediate the relationship between adaptive management practices and firm product innovativeness.
Understanding the effects of outsourcing: unpacking the total factor producti...Ian McCarthy
Research on why firms should outsource and how they should do it has proliferated in the past two decades, but few consistent findings have emerged concerning the benefits of outsourcing. We argue that this is in part due to the lack of an adequate framework for measuring the effects of outsourcing. To address this, we present such a framework based upon the Cobb–Douglas productivity function. We explain how our framework can be used to unpack one component of the Cobb–Douglas productivity function, the ‘total factor productivity’, which represents the other numerous sub-variables that affect outsourcing productivity, beyond the capital and labour expenditures. We also demonstrate the framework using a simple illustrative example.
Technology Management - A Complex Adaptive Systems ApproachIan McCarthy
This document discusses using a complex adaptive systems approach and fitness landscape theory to understand technology management. It presents a model called the strategy configuration chain that illustrates how organizations classify, select, adopt and exploit technologies through four linked tasks to develop capabilities and a technological configuration. The document also introduces an NK model that can represent an organization's technology strategy as a string of bits and calculate a fitness value for different strategic configurations based on their potential for survival and competitiveness. This provides a way to visualize different strategic options and their relationships on a fitness landscape.
Understanding outsourcing contexts through information asymmetry and capabili...Ian McCarthy
Outsourcing is a strategic activity that has long been central to operations management research and practice. Yet, there are still many outsourcing management challenges that remain. In this article, we explore two of the outsourcing challenges that motivated this special issue and are central to the 10 articles included. To do this, we develop a theoretical model that examines how variations in capability fit and information asymmetry combine to present firms with four different outsourcing contexts. We then explain how each of the articles included in this special issue relate to our theoretical model and explore several avenues for future research.
Achieving Agility Using Cladistics: An Evolutionary AnalysisIan McCarthy
To achieve the status of an agile manufacturer, organisations need to clearly understand the concept of agility, relative to their industrial and business circumstances and to then identify and acquire the appropriate characteristics which will result in an agile manufacturing organisation. This paper is not simply another discussion on the definition of agility, or a philosophical debate on the drivers and characteristics of agility. This paper presents an evolutionary modelling technique (cladistics) which could enable organisations to systematically manage and understand the emergence of new manufacturing forms within their business environment. This fundamental, but important insight is valuable for achieving successful organisational design and change. Thus, regardless of the industrial sector, managers could use cladistics as an evolutionary analysis technique for determining ``where they have been and where they are now''. Moving from a non-agile manufacture to an agile manufacture is a process of organisational change and evolutionary development. This evolutionary method will enable organisations to understand the landscape of manufacturing possibilities that exist, to identify appropriate agile forms and to successfully navigate that landscape.
The ability of current statistical classifications to separateservices and ma...Ian McCarthy
This paper explores the performance of current statistical classification systems in classifying firms and, in particular, their ability to distinguish between firms that provide services and firms that provide manufacturing. We find that a large share of firms, almost 20%, are not classified as expected based on a comparison of their statements of activities with the assigned industry codes. This result is robust to analyses on different levels of aggregation and is validated in an additional survey. It is well known from earlier literature that industry classification systems are not perfect. This paper provides a quantification of the flaws in classifications of firms. Moreover, it is explained why the classifications of firms are imprecise. The increasing complexity of production, inertia in changes to statistical systems and the increasing integration of manufacturing products and services are some of the primary and interrelated explanations for this lack of precision. We emphasise, however, that such classification problems are not resolved using a ‘technical fix’. Any statistical classification method involves a number of tradeoffs.
New Product Development as a Complex Adaptive System of DecisionsIan McCarthy
Early research on new product development (NPD) has produced descriptive frameworks and models that view the process as a linear system with sequential and discrete stages. More recently, recursive and chaotic frameworks of NPD have been developed, both of which acknowledge that NPD progresses through a series of stages, but with overlaps, feedback loops, and resulting behaviors that resist reductionism
and linear analysis. This article extends the linear, recursive, and chaotic frameworks by viewing NPD as a complex adaptive system (CAS) governed by three levels of decision making — in-stage, review, and strategic—and the accompanying decision rules. The research develops and presents propositions that predict how the configuration and organization of NPD decision-making agents will influence
the potential for three mutually dependent CAS phenomena: nonlinearity, selforganization, and emergence. Together these phenomena underpin the potential for NPD process adaptability and congruence. To support and to verify the propositions, this study uses comparative case studies, which show that NPD process adaptability occurs and that it is dependent on the number and variety of agents, their corresponding connections and interactions, and the ordering or disordering effect of the decision levels and rules. Thus, the CAS framework developed within this article maintains a fit among descriptive stance, system behavior, and innovation type, as it considers individual NPD processes to be capable of switching or toggling between different behaviors — linear to chaotic — to produce corresponding innovation outputs that range from incremental to radical in accord with market expectations.
Organisational diversity, evolution and cladistic classificationsIan McCarthy
This document discusses constructing a formal cladistic classification of manufacturing systems based on techniques used in biological taxonomy. It presents a seven-stage framework for developing a manufacturing "cladogram" or phylogenetic tree. A cladistic classification could provide a standardized way to study organizational diversity and evolution. It may help clarify different types of emerging manufacturing systems and their relationships. Mapping the evolutionary history and relationships between manufacturing systems could provide insights to help organizations adapt to changes in their operating environment. The document also reviews different approaches to classification in biology and assumptions required to apply cladistics to developing a classification of manufacturing organizations.
Achieving contextual ambidexterity in R&D organizations: a management control...Ian McCarthy
Research on how managers control R&D activities has tended to focus on the performance measurement systems used to exploit existing knowledge and capabilities. This focus has been at the expense of how broader forms of management control could be used to enable R&D contextual ambidexterity, the capacity to attain appropriate levels of exploitation and exploration behaviors in the same R&D organizational unit. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework for understanding how different types of control system, guided by different R&D strategic goals, can be used to induce and balance both exploitation and exploration. We illustrate the elements of this framework and their relations using data from biotechnology firms, and then discuss how the framework provides a basis to empirically examine a number of important control relationships and phenomena.
Executive Digest: managing resources, managing the crowd and disrupting indus...Ian McCarthy
This article discusses the opportunities and challenges around remanufactured and refurbished consumer products. Key points:
- Product returns represent a large opportunity as many are still functional but returned for convenience. Remanufacturing can generate additional profit.
- Consumers have mixed views - some see value in lower prices but others view remanufactured products negatively as "dirty" or lower quality.
- The two biggest drivers of demand are quality perceptions and pricing. Emphasizing quality and discounting remanufactured products up to 40% can boost appeal.
- Branding, green marketing, and managing "disgust" perceptions also impact appeal. Outsourcing remanufacturing
Unpacking the Social Media Phenomenon: Towards a Research AgendaIan McCarthy
In this paper, we highlight some of the challenges and opportunities that social media presents to researchers, and offer relevant theoretical avenues to be explored. To do this, we present a model that unpacks social media by using a honeycomb of seven functional building blocks. We then examine each of the seven building blocks and, through appropriate social and socio-technical theories, raise questions that warrant further in-depth research to advance the conceptualization of social media in public affairs research. Finally, we combine the individual research questions for each building block back into the honeycomb model to illustrate how the theories in combination provide a powerful macro-lens for research on social media dynamics.
Making a face: Graphical illustrations of managerial stances toward customer ...Ian McCarthy
Creative consumers – consumers who adapt, modify or transform a proprietary offering – represent an intriguing paradox for business. On the one hand they can be a black hole for future revenue, with breach of copyright and intellectual property, while on the other hand they represent a gold mine of ideas and business opportunities. This problem is central to business – business needs to both create and capture value; the problem is that creative consumers demand a shift in the mindsets and business models of how firms both create and capture value. We develop a typology of firms’ stances to creative consumers based upon their attitude and action towards customer innovation. We then consider the implications of the stances model for corporate strategy, and examine a three-step approach to dealing with creative consumers, namely, awareness, analysis and response.
Game on: Engaging customers and employees through gamificationIan McCarthy
Managers are frequently tasked with increasing the engagement levels of key stakeholders, such as customers and employees. Gamification - defined as the application of game design principles to change behavior in non-gaming contexts - is a tool that, if crafted and implemented properly, can increase engagement. In this article we discuss how gamification can aid customer and employee engagement, and delineate between four different types of customers and employees who act as ‘players’ in gamified experiences. We include illustrative examples of gamification and conclude by presenting five lessons for managers who wish to utilize gamification.
Two related trends characterize the recent past: value propositions are migrating from the physical to the informational, and value creation is shifting from firms to consumers. These two trends meet in the phenomenon of “consumer-generated intellectual property” (CGIP). This article addresses the question: “How should firms manage the intellectual property that their customers create?” It explores how CGIP presents important dilemmas for managers and argues that consumers’ “intellectual property” should not be leveraged at the expense of their “emotional property.” It integrates these perspectives into a diagnostic framework and discusses eight strategies for firms to manage CGIP. (Keywords: Consumer Behavior, Intellectual Property, Innovation Management, New Product Management, Competitive Advantage, Consumers, Product Design)
Product recovery decisions within the context of Extended Producer Responsibi...Ian McCarthy
Environmental and economic evidence is increasingly supporting the need for better analytical tools for evaluating the recovery of consumer products. In response, we present a novel mathematical model for determining what we call the Optimal Recovery Plan (ORP) for any given product. The ORP is based on an evaluation and optimization of the economics of remanufacturing consumer products versus demanufacturing in the context of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation, a driving force behind the adoption remanufacturing initiatives by firms. We provide an illustrative application of the model and then discuss its implications for scholars and practitioners concerned with sustainable business development.
This document discusses mass customization and how collaborative engineering can help address challenges. It defines mass customization as delivering customized products and services to individual customers at near mass production efficiency. Collaborative engineering involves customers, manufacturers, and other stakeholders negotiating interactively to resolve conflicts and co-create customized solutions. The document presents a generic model of mass customization and discusses how collaborative engineering could support different stages like co-innovation (problem-solving), co-configuration (design), and co-production (manufacturing).
As a Collaborative Engineering Effort
Mass customization aims to deliver customized products and services to meet individual customer needs with near mass production efficiency. It can be viewed as a collaborative effort between customers and manufacturers who have different priorities. Despite advances, mass customization faces challenges such as limited novelty and applicability. Collaborative engineering via negotiation promises to address these challenges and resolve conflicts between mass production and customization.
Mass Customisation for Business SustainabilityBC Chew
Mass customization allows companies to provide customized products and services to meet specific customer needs on a mass scale. Bentley utilizes mass customization through its Mulliner division to offer limitless customization options for vehicles. Customers work closely with Mulliner designers to translate their vision into a unique Bentley specification. The Bentley Inspirator app also helps customers explore customization options and receive a recommended specification. Mass customization allows Bentley to forge strong customer relationships while reducing waste.
Manufacturing strategy – understanding the fitness landscapeIan McCarthy
The document discusses fitness landscape theory and its relevance to understanding manufacturing strategy and competitiveness. It defines manufacturing fitness as a firm's capability to survive by demonstrating adaptability and durability to the changing environment through identifying and realizing appropriate strategies that are then perceived as successful and adopted by competitors. The document also reviews key terms related to fitness from biology and translates them to a manufacturing context.
This document summarizes the evolution of the manufacturing strategy paradigm over the past few decades. It describes how the paradigm originated from Wickham Skinner's work challenging the assumption that there was "one best way" to manage manufacturing. It then discusses how the Japanese manufacturing practices of the 1980s led to new thinking around concepts like tradeoffs, focus, and the possibility of achieving multiple goals simultaneously through lean manufacturing principles. The document questions whether this new lean paradigm leaves any role for strategic choice in manufacturing.
Here are some key reasons I see for VHS dominating the VCR market over Betamax:
- VHS tapes were longer, allowing for more recording time which was important for movies. Betamax tapes were shorter.
- VHS gained a critical mass of adoption more quickly by being more open. They licensed their technology to other manufacturers, increasing compatibility and adoption rates.
- Rental stores predominantly stocked VHS, which helped drive consumers to that format for compatibility with rentals.
- VHS was cheaper to produce, so the format and tapes were more affordable to consumers. Lower costs helped drive more adoption.
- Network effects took over. As more people adopted VHS, it became the de
Strategic Management Technique and Method in Engineering Enterprise Jo Balucanag - Bitonio
The document discusses techniques, methods, business process reengineering (BPR), and quality management. It provides definitions and explanations of these terms. Specifically, it defines techniques as skills or methods used in a particular field. It describes methods as systematic plans or procedures. It then discusses BPR, explaining it as the radical redesign of core business processes to improve productivity, cycle times, and quality. It traces the origins and development of BPR. Finally, it covers quality management, describing different levels and providing explanations of total quality management and the ISO 9000 standard.
Flexible and modular software framework as a solution for operational excelle...Thomas Schulz
This document summarizes a paper by Thomas Schulz on using a flexible and modular software framework to achieve operational excellence in manufacturing. The paper discusses how continuous improvements can reduce costs and increase quality and yield. It also notes that common information systems lack adaptability to manufacturing changes. The author proposes using a service-oriented architecture and modular components to allow incremental development of reusable software that can adapt to changes. This approach aims to establish flexibility and alignment between business and IT objectives for operational excellence.
1) The document describes a method developed for implementing a mass customization framework in small and medium manufacturing companies. It involves developing a strategic vision and training material to educate personnel across key functions like production, product development, and supply chain management.
2) The method was tested through pilot projects with two manufacturing companies. It began by analyzing each company's current "mass customization as-is status" and identifying challenges. A "mass customization mountain" model was used to visualize the framework and guide development.
3) Training materials like a video animation and digital learning content were created to explain how mass customization affects different business functions and the overall process. The goal was to help employees understand the framework and how their
Hi All:
Please go through literature review and some recent research on Reconfigurable Manufacturing Execution System. Your opinion and feedback appreciated..
Thanks,
Kalpesh
The document discusses manufacturing strategy and its role in achieving competitive advantage. It defines manufacturing strategy as a pattern of coordinated decisions that develop manufacturing capabilities to support business objectives and competitive differentiation. The key points are:
1) Manufacturing strategy aims to realize competitive capability through decisions that build manufacturing advantages in areas like cost, quality, flexibility and innovation.
2) These manufacturing objectives support business strategy and competitive positioning. A proactive manufacturing strategy provides strengths to achieve strategic goals.
3) Elements of manufacturing strategy include decisions around physical infrastructure, processes, interfaces with other functions, and continuous improvement.
The document discusses developing a method and tool to assess the reengineering of business networks. It defines key aspects of business networks, such as their flexible and dynamic nature. The authors developed a 14-step research method and decision support system called the Business Network Navigator to assess margin improvements in business networks. They tested this method on the business network of the European Patent Office to analyze the impact of redesigning it and present the results.
Managing innovation within firms-Chapter 4 (Paul Trott).pptxAartiPandey63
1. The document discusses the tension within organizations between the need for stability and efficiency versus the need for creativity and innovation. It notes that companies must balance these competing demands to be successful both today and in the future.
2. It explores the "innovation dilemma" where pursuing innovation too far can lead to failure, but pursuing it too little can also lead to company failure. Finding the right balance is difficult.
3. Several tools and factors that can help facilitate innovation within organizations are discussed, including having a growth orientation, accepting risks, cross-functional cooperation, and providing space for creativity. Formal structures, centralized decision-making, and size can impact innovation as well.
Targeting innovation and implications for capability developme.docxjosies1
Targeting innovation and implications for capability development
Dave Francis
a
, John Bessant
b,*
a
Centre for Research in Innovation Management (CENTRIM), University of Brighton Brighton, UK
b
School of Management, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL, UK
Abstract
Innovation is often described in terms of changes in what a firm offers the world (product/service innovation) and the ways it creates and
delivers those offerings (process innovation). Arguably this definition is insufficient since it does not take into account two other areas where
innovation is possible-market position and business models. Market position relates to the situation where an established product/service
produced by an established process is introduced to a new context; here the innovation management challenge is concerned with issues like
adoption behaviour and technology transfer. Business model innovation relates to the situation in which a reframing of the current
product/service, process and market context results in seeing new challenges and opportunities and letting go of others.
Each of these poses challenges for the ways in which innovation is organised and managed—what we term innovation management
capability. The paper explores some of these challenges and also looks at the additional issues raised by discontinuous innovation, moving
beyond the steady state conditions of ‘doing what we do but better’ to a new set of conditions in which ‘doing different things in different
ways’ becomes the norm.
q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Innovation; Targeting; Innovation capability; Discontinuous innovation
1. Introduction
Since the Palaeolithic period (Curwin, 1954) some, but
not all, human societies formed enterprises that created new
or improved artefacts, devised ’better’ processes, developed
new ways of selling and devised alternative models of
organising (Diamond, 1997). These enterprises were
innovative—they found ways to exploit the latent potential
of ideas. Innovation can be defined simply as “the successful
exploitation of new ideas” (DTI, 1994). Others have defined
innovation more elaborately, but in similar terms; for
example (Baumol, 2002) writes that innovation is:
“the recognition of opportunities for profitable change
and the pursuit of those opportunities all the way through
to their adoption in practice”.
Embedded in these definitions is the notion that
innovation can be managed. For example, Drucker (1994)
argues that innovation is a core process for a firm; he
suggests that: “in…a period of rapid change the best-
perhaps the only-way a business can hope to prosper, if not
survive, is to innovate. This is the only way to convert
change into opportunities. This, however, requires that
innovation itself be organised as a systematic activity”
(Preface 1).
It follows that enterprises that are better able to manage
innovation than others and demonstrate a record of
succes.
DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION OF ONTOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE BASED SYSTEM FO...IJDKP
This document summarizes an article that describes the design and development of an ontological knowledge-based system to support reconfigurable assembly lines in the automotive industry. The system uses an ontology to represent the relationships between products, processes, and resources. It aims to facilitate rapid reconfiguration of assembly lines in response to changing product requirements. The system is intended to help automotive companies address challenges like increasing competition, complex products and processes, and the need to adapt quickly to changes and new customer requirements.
New product development and customer knowledge management in pakistani firmsAlexander Decker
This document summarizes an exploratory study of new product development (NPD) processes and customer knowledge management (CKM) activities in Pakistani firms. The study examines how Pakistani firms approach NPD and utilize customer knowledge. It reviews relevant literature on NPD strategies and processes, the role of idea generation and customer focus. The study aims to understand current NPD practices in Pakistani companies, compare them to established global models, and assess how companies manage customer knowledge and whether CKM could benefit their NPD. Qualitative interviews were conducted with companies to explore their NPD approaches and CKM infrastructure.
This document provides an overview of optimization models for manufacturing planning and control in a discrete-parts production environment. It discusses key considerations in developing these models, such as demand forecasting, production resources, costs, and the planning horizon. Three common types of models are described: linear programming models that can capture important problem features and be solved efficiently; a single product model with quadratic costs; and a multi-item model with setup costs formulated as a mixed integer program. The document provides examples of how these models can be extended, such as allowing for lost sales, backorders, or piecewise linear cost functions.
This document presents research on identifying templates for new product ideas. The authors analyzed changes in product categories over time to identify common patterns or templates underlying new product versions. They identified five major templates from studying soap, bank accounts, sneakers, and other categories. The templates represent systematic changes between the configurations of earlier and later product versions. These changes can be expressed as combinations of six elementary operators. The authors define the operators and templates and provide examples to illustrate them. They propose that templates can provide a structured framework to facilitate new product ideation.
The document discusses cloud manufacturing, including its drivers, current status, and future trends. Some key points include:
- Cloud manufacturing allows for temporary and reconfigurable production lines using distributed manufacturing resources to improve efficiency and respond to variable demand.
- Drivers include reducing costs through outsourcing, improving agility, optimizing resource utilization, and facilitating information and resource sharing.
- Current research relates to automation, service composition, flexibility, business models, collaborator selection, and implementation architectures.
- Future advancements may come from areas like open communication standards, intelligent systems, and social product development.
Similar to The what, why and how of mass customization (20)
The open academic: Why and how business academics should use social media to ...Ian McCarthy
Abstract: The mission of many business schools and their researchers is to produce research that that impacts how business leaders, entrepreneurs, managers, and innovators, think and act. However, this mission remains an elusive ideal for many business school academics because they struggle to design and produce research capable of overcoming the "research-practice gap." To help those scholars address this gap, we explain why and how they should use social media to be more 'open' to connecting with, learning from, and working with academics and other stakeholders outside of their field. We describe how social media can be used as a boundary-spanning technology to help bridge the research-practice gap. To do this, we present a process model of five research activities: networking, framing, investigating, dissemination, and assessment. Using recently published research as an illustrative example, we describe how social media was used to make each activity more open. We conclude with a framework of different social media-enabled open academic approaches (connector, observer, promoter, and influencer) and some dos and don'ts for engaging in each approach. This paper aims to help business academics rethink and change their practices so that our profession is more widely regarded for how its research positively impacts practice and societal well-being more generally.
Big Data for Creating and Capturing Value in the Digitalized Environment: Unp...Ian McCarthy
Despite significant academic and managerial interest in big data, there is a dearth of research on how big data impacts
the long-term firm performance. Reasons for this gap include a lack of objective indices to measure big data
availability and its impact, and the tendency of studies to ignore the costs associated with collecting and analyzing
big data, assuming that big data automatically delivers benefits to firms. Focusing on how firms create and capture
value from big data about customers, we use the resource-based view and three dimensions of big data (i.e., volume,
variety, and veracity) to understand when the benefits outweigh the costs. Relying on the number of downloads of
mobile device applications, we find that volume of big data has a negative effect on firm performance. This result
suggests that the “bigness” of big data alone does not ensure value creation for a firm, and could even constitute a
“dark side” of big data. Because big data variety—measured as the number of types of information taken per each
application—moderates the negative effects of big data volume, simultaneous high values of volume and variety
allow firms to create value that positively affects their performance. In addition, high levels of veracity (i.e., a high
percentage of employees devoted to big data analysis), are linked to firms benefiting from big data via value capture.
These findings shed light on the circumstances in which big data can be beneficial for firms, contributing to a better
theoretical understanding of the opportunities and challenges and providing useful indications to managers.
Standardization in a Digital and Global World: State-of-the-Art and Future Pe...Ian McCarthy
We discuss how the standards emerge from an interaction between three main sources, the standards standard-setting organizations (SSOs), the competitive market forces, and the government. We present a framework (see Table I) that highlights how these sources differ and work together to shape the standardization in a digital and global context. Also, using this framework, we introduce the contribution of each article of this issue and their contribution to some of the major issues that the standardization is facing today in a digital and global world. We conclude with the suggestions of avenues for future research on this topic.
Open branding: Managing the unauthorized use of brand-related intellectual pr...Ian McCarthy
Consumers often innovate with brand-related intellectual property (IP) without permission. Although firms often respond by exercising their legal right to stop such activity, there are a variety of situations in which consumers’ unauthorized use of brand-related IP can be desirable for a brand or in which enforcing IP rights can adversely affect a brand. This article illustrates situations in which managers may benefit from choosing to forgo exercising their IP rights. To assist managers, this article contributes a framework for understanding the managerial approaches to situations in which consumers use IP without permission.
Does getting along matter? Tourist-tourist rapport in guided group activitiesIan McCarthy
Guided group activities, where tourists consume with other tourists, are common and important. Although the
tourism and services literature suggests customer-employee rapport impacts customer satisfaction, the composition
and impact of tourist-tourist rapport in guided group activities have received minimal attention. We use a
three-study mixed method approach to conceptualize and examine tourist-tourist rapport in guided group activities.
Study 1 identifies two recognized dyadic dimensions of tourist-tourist rapport (enjoyable interaction and
personal connection) and two new group-based dimensions (group attentiveness and service congruity). Study 2
(video experiment) and Study 3 (field experiment) find that enjoyable interaction and personal connection
mediate the relationship between group attentiveness and service congruity with satisfaction. Thus, touristtourist
rapport in a group context is more multidimensional and complex than previously conceptualized for
customer-employee rapport and non-group contexts. Further, we find tourist-tourist rapport is a critical service
factor such that high levels satisfy, while low levels dissatisfy.
Confronting indifference toward truth: Dealing with workplace bullshitIan McCarthy
The document discusses workplace bullshit and how to deal with it. It defines bullshit as statements made without regard for truth and explores why people produce and consume bullshit. It presents the C.R.A.P framework for comprehending, recognizing, acting on, and preventing bullshit which includes encouraging critical thinking, expertise over opinions, and prohibiting excessive jargon. Some open questions are identified for further researching the impacts and causes of bullshit.
What Next for Rowing? Exploring the Discontinuous Side of ChangeIan McCarthy
This document discusses continuous and discontinuous change in rowing. Continuous change involves incremental improvements but staying within the same overall direction, while discontinuous change means doing things differently or for different people and changing directions. Discontinuous change can provide great benefits but is difficult because it is disruptive, seen as inferior, and perceived as going against tradition. It requires being open to new ideas from outside rowing and from users.
Social media? It's serious! Understanding the dark side of social mediaIan McCarthy
This document discusses the dark side of social media and its unintended negative consequences. It begins by noting that while research has focused on the benefits of social media, there are also significant risks to individuals, communities, firms, and society. Examples of these risks include cyberbullying, addiction, trolling, witch hunts, fake news, and privacy abuse.
The document then adapts an existing social media framework to explain how each of the seven functional building blocks of social media (conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, groups, identity) can have unintended negative consequences. For each building block, examples are given of how functions meant to connect and engage users can enable harmful behaviors like harassment, inaccurate information
Leveraging social capital in university-industry knowledge transfer strategie...Ian McCarthy
University-industry partnerships emphasise the transformation of knowledge into products and processes which can be commercially exploited. This paper presents a framework for understanding how social capital in university-industry partnerships affect knowledge transfer strategies, which impacts on collaborative innovation developments. University-industry partnerships in three different countries, all from regions at varying stages of development, are compared using the proposed framework. These include a developed region (Canada), a transition region (Malta), and a developing region (South Africa). Structural, relational and cognitive social capital dimensions are mapped against the knowledge transfer strategy that the university-industry partnership employed: leveraging existing knowledge or appropriating new knowledge. Exploring the comparative presence of social capital in knowledge transfer strategies assists in better understanding how university-industry partnerships can position themselves to facilitate innovation. The paper proposes a link between social capital and knowledge transfer strategy by illustrating how it impacts the competitive positioning of the university-industry partners involved.
Do your employees think your slogan is “fake news?” A framework for understan...Ian McCarthy
Purpose – This article explores how employees can perceive and be impacted by the fakeness of their company slogans.
Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual study draws on the established literature on company slogans, employee audiences, and fake news to create a framework through which to understand fake company slogans.
Findings – Employees attend to two important dimensions of slogans: whether they accurately reflect a company’s (1) values and (2) value proposition. These dimensions combine to form a typology of four ways in which employees can perceive their company’s slogans: namely, authentic, narcissistic, foreign, or corrupt.
Research limitations/implications – This paper outlines how the typology provides a theoretical basis for more refined empirical research on how company slogans influence a key stakeholder: their employees. Future research could test the arguments about how certain characteristics of slogans are more or less likely to cause employees to conclude that slogans are fake news. Those conclusions will, in turn, have implications for the
morale and engagement of employees. The ideas herein can also enable a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of slogans.
Practical implications – Employees can view three types of slogans as fake news (narcissistic, foreign, and corrupt slogans). This paper identifies the implications of each type and explains how companies can go about developing authentic slogans.
Originality/value – This paper explores the impact of slogan fakeness on employees: an important audience that has been neglected by studies to
date. Thus, the insights and implications specific to this internal stakeholder are novel.
Making sense of text: artificial intelligence-enabled content analysisIan McCarthy
This document discusses using artificial intelligence (AI) for content analysis and compares it to manual and computer-aided content analysis approaches. Specifically, it examines the text of leadership speeches using IBM Watson to conduct an AI-enabled content analysis. The key findings are that relative to manual and computer-aided content analysis, AI-enabled content analysis provides high reliability, high validity, and moderate efficiency. The document contributes by highlighting the continued importance of content analysis and providing a roadmap for how to use AI-enabled content analysis.
Confronting indifference toward truth: Dealing with workplace bullshitIan McCarthy
Abstract Many organizations are drowning in a flood of corporate bullshit, and this is particularly true of organizations in trouble, whose managers tend to make up stuff on the fly and with little regard for future consequences. Bullshitting and lying are not synonymous. While the liar knows the truth and wittingly bends it to suit their purpose, the bullshitter simply does not care about the truth. Managers can actually do something about organizational bullshit, and this Executive Digest provides a sequential framework that enables them to do so. They can comprehend it, they can recognize it for what it is, they can act against it, and they can take steps to prevent it from happening in the future. While it is unlikely that any organization will ever be able to rid itself of bullshit entirely, this article argues that by taking these steps, astute managers can work toward stemming its flood.
The Promise of Digitalization: Unpacking the Effects of Big Data Volume, Vari...Ian McCarthy
Despite significant academic and managerial interest in big data, there is a dearth of research on how big data impacts long-term firm performance. Reasons for this gap include a lack of objective indices to measure big data availability and its impact, and the tendency of studies to ignore the costs associated with collecting and analyzing big data, assuming that big data automatically delivers benefits to firms. Focusing on how firms create and capture value from big data about customers, we use the resource-based view (RBV) and three dimensions of big data (i.e., volume, variety and veracity) to understand when the benefits outweigh the costs. Relying on the number of downloads of mobile device applications, we find that volume of big data has a negative effect on firm performance. This result suggests that the ‘bigness’ of big data alone does not ensure value creation for a firm, and could even constitute a ‘dark side’ of big data. Because big data variety – measured as the number of types of information taken per each application – moderates the negative effects of big data volume, simultaneous high values of volume and variety allow firms to create value that positively affects their performance. In addition, high levels of veracity (i.e., a high percentage of employees devoted to big data analysis), are linked to firms benefiting from big data via value capture. These findings shed light on the circumstances in which big data can be beneficial for firms, contributing to a better theoretical understanding of the opportunities and challenges and providing useful indications to managers.
Masterclass: Confronting indifference to truthIan McCarthy
Many organizations are drowning in a flood of corporate bullshit, and this is particularly true of organizations in trouble, whose managers tend to make up stuff on the fly and with little regard for future consequences. Bullshitting and lying are not synonymous. While the liar knows the truth and wittingly bends it to suit their purpose, the bullshitter simply does not care about the truth. Managers can actually do something about organizational bullshit, and this Executive Digest provides a sequential framework that enables them to do so. They can comprehend it, they can recognize it for what it is, they can act against it, and they can take steps to prevent it from happening in the future. While it is unlikely that any organization will ever be able to rid itself of bullshit entirely, this article argues that by taking these steps, astute managers can work toward stemming its flood.
Confronting indifference toward truth: Dealing with workplace bullshitIan McCarthy
Many organizations are drowning in a flood of corporate bullshit, and this is particularly true of organizations in trouble, whose managers tend to make up stuff on the fly and with little regard for future consequences. Bullshitting and lying are not synonymous. While the liar knows the truth and wittingly bends it to suit their purpose, the bullshitter simply does not care about the truth. Managers can actually do something about organizational bullshit, and this Executive Digest provides a sequential framework that enables them to do so. They can comprehend it, they can recognize it for what it is, they can act against it, and they can take steps to prevent it from happening in the future. While it is unlikely that any organization will ever be able to rid itself of bullshit entirely, this article argues that by taking these steps, astute managers can work toward stemming its flood.
Although manipulations of visual and auditory media are as old as the media themselves, the recent entrance of deepfakes has marked a turning point in the creation of fake content. Powered by latest technological advances in AI and machine learning, they offer automated procedures to create fake content that is harder and harder to detect to human observers. The possibilities to deceive are endless, including manipulated pictures, videos and audio, that will have large societal impact. Because of this, organizations need to understand the inner workings of the underlying techniques, as well as their strengths and limitations. This article provides a working definition of deepfakes together with an overview of the underlying technology. We classify different deepfake types: photo (face- and body-swapping), audio (voice-swapping, text to speech), video (face-swapping, face-morphing, full body puppetry) and audio & video (lip-synching), and identify risks and opportunities to help organizations think about the future of deepfakes. Finally, we propose the R.E.A.L. framework to manage deepfake risks: Record original content to assure deniability, Expose deepfakes early, Advocate for legal protection and Leverage trust to counter credulity. Following these principles, we hope that our society can be more prepared to counter the deepfake tricks as we appreciate its treats.
Social media? It’s serious! Understanding the dark side of social mediaIan McCarthy
Research and practice have mostly focused on the “bright side” of social media, aiming to understand and help in leveraging the manifold opportunities afforded by this technology. However, it is increasingly observable that social media present enormous risks for individuals, communities, firms, and even the whole of society. Examples for this “dark side” of social media include cyberbullying, addictive use, trolling, online witch hunts, fake news, and privacy abuse. In this article, we aim to illustrate the multidimensionality of the dark side of social media and describe the related various undesirable outcomes. To do this, we adapt the established social media honeycomb framework to explain the dark side implications of each of the seven functional building blocks: conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, groups, and identity. On the basis of these reflections, we present a number of avenues for future research, so as to facilitate a better understanding and use of social media.
The propensity and speed of technology licensing: at LUISS Guido Carli Univer...Ian McCarthy
Licensing speed: There has been much research interest in the speed of innovation, although few consistent findings have emerged. In this study, we unpack the innovation process and focus on the commercialization stage to examine two questions: Which licensor and patent characteristics determine the speed of licensing? How does the speed of licensing impact the royalties and lumpsum payments to licensors? We addressed these questions by proposing that licensing speed is influenced by variables for licensor prominence (size and experience), licensor knowledge structuration (technological depth, technological breadth and experience), and patent appeal (forward citations, scope and complexity). We predict and find that these variables work to increase the size, complexity and duration of the licensing-out task, while also allowing licensors to take their time to review, negotiate and select agreements with higher royalty rates. These findings are counter to arguments for a fast-paced innovation strategy, as it suggests that for the commercialization stage of the innovation process the relationship between licensing speed and licensor royalty
rates rewards a ‘less haste, greater payoff approach.
Seven steps for framing and testing a research paperIan McCarthy
I use the steps in this presentation to:
(i) test research ideas for research papers,
(ii) shape research papers, and
(iii) help draft the Introduction section of a research paper.
For each step I draft one or two concise paragraphs.
I then present and share these with co-authors, collaborators and colleagues to test the ideas and get feedback on how interesting and valid they are.
I consider and work through these steps several times during the life of a research paper framed.
Ian McCarthy gave a seminar at LUISS Guido Carli University on being a business school professor. He discussed the challenges of balancing research, teaching, and service requirements while pursuing tenure. McCarthy emphasized the importance of having a clear "why" behind one's work to stay motivated. He advised professors to take small steps towards goals, manage their time well, and prioritize health to have long, productive careers. McCarthy also shared his experience using social media to enhance his research and reputation.
Best practices for project execution and deliveryCLIVE MINCHIN
A select set of project management best practices to keep your project on-track, on-cost and aligned to scope. Many firms have don't have the necessary skills, diligence, methods and oversight of their projects; this leads to slippage, higher costs and longer timeframes. Often firms have a history of projects that simply failed to move the needle. These best practices will help your firm avoid these pitfalls but they require fortitude to apply.
How are Lilac French Bulldogs Beauty Charming the World and Capturing Hearts....Lacey Max
“After being the most listed dog breed in the United States for 31
years in a row, the Labrador Retriever has dropped to second place
in the American Kennel Club's annual survey of the country's most
popular canines. The French Bulldog is the new top dog in the
United States as of 2022. The stylish puppy has ascended the
rankings in rapid time despite having health concerns and limited
color choices.”
Discover timeless style with the 2022 Vintage Roman Numerals Men's Ring. Crafted from premium stainless steel, this 6mm wide ring embodies elegance and durability. Perfect as a gift, it seamlessly blends classic Roman numeral detailing with modern sophistication, making it an ideal accessory for any occasion.
https://rb.gy/usj1a2
Anny Serafina Love - Letter of Recommendation by Kellen Harkins, MS.AnnySerafinaLove
This letter, written by Kellen Harkins, Course Director at Full Sail University, commends Anny Love's exemplary performance in the Video Sharing Platforms class. It highlights her dedication, willingness to challenge herself, and exceptional skills in production, editing, and marketing across various video platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
[To download this presentation, visit:
https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations]
This presentation is a curated compilation of PowerPoint diagrams and templates designed to illustrate 20 different digital transformation frameworks and models. These frameworks are based on recent industry trends and best practices, ensuring that the content remains relevant and up-to-date.
Key highlights include Microsoft's Digital Transformation Framework, which focuses on driving innovation and efficiency, and McKinsey's Ten Guiding Principles, which provide strategic insights for successful digital transformation. Additionally, Forrester's framework emphasizes enhancing customer experiences and modernizing IT infrastructure, while IDC's MaturityScape helps assess and develop organizational digital maturity. MIT's framework explores cutting-edge strategies for achieving digital success.
These materials are perfect for enhancing your business or classroom presentations, offering visual aids to supplement your insights. Please note that while comprehensive, these slides are intended as supplementary resources and may not be complete for standalone instructional purposes.
Frameworks/Models included:
Microsoft’s Digital Transformation Framework
McKinsey’s Ten Guiding Principles of Digital Transformation
Forrester’s Digital Transformation Framework
IDC’s Digital Transformation MaturityScape
MIT’s Digital Transformation Framework
Gartner’s Digital Transformation Framework
Accenture’s Digital Strategy & Enterprise Frameworks
Deloitte’s Digital Industrial Transformation Framework
Capgemini’s Digital Transformation Framework
PwC’s Digital Transformation Framework
Cisco’s Digital Transformation Framework
Cognizant’s Digital Transformation Framework
DXC Technology’s Digital Transformation Framework
The BCG Strategy Palette
McKinsey’s Digital Transformation Framework
Digital Transformation Compass
Four Levels of Digital Maturity
Design Thinking Framework
Business Model Canvas
Customer Journey Map
Industrial Tech SW: Category Renewal and CreationChristian Dahlen
Every industrial revolution has created a new set of categories and a new set of players.
Multiple new technologies have emerged, but Samsara and C3.ai are only two companies which have gone public so far.
Manufacturing startups constitute the largest pipeline share of unicorns and IPO candidates in the SF Bay Area, and software startups dominate in Germany.
HOW TO START UP A COMPANY A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE.pdf46adnanshahzad
How to Start Up a Company: A Step-by-Step Guide Starting a company is an exciting adventure that combines creativity, strategy, and hard work. It can seem overwhelming at first, but with the right guidance, anyone can transform a great idea into a successful business. Let's dive into how to start up a company, from the initial spark of an idea to securing funding and launching your startup.
Introduction
Have you ever dreamed of turning your innovative idea into a thriving business? Starting a company involves numerous steps and decisions, but don't worry—we're here to help. Whether you're exploring how to start a startup company or wondering how to start up a small business, this guide will walk you through the process, step by step.
Understanding User Needs and Satisfying ThemAggregage
https://www.productmanagementtoday.com/frs/26903918/understanding-user-needs-and-satisfying-them
We know we want to create products which our customers find to be valuable. Whether we label it as customer-centric or product-led depends on how long we've been doing product management. There are three challenges we face when doing this. The obvious challenge is figuring out what our users need; the non-obvious challenges are in creating a shared understanding of those needs and in sensing if what we're doing is meeting those needs.
In this webinar, we won't focus on the research methods for discovering user-needs. We will focus on synthesis of the needs we discover, communication and alignment tools, and how we operationalize addressing those needs.
Industry expert Scott Sehlhorst will:
• Introduce a taxonomy for user goals with real world examples
• Present the Onion Diagram, a tool for contextualizing task-level goals
• Illustrate how customer journey maps capture activity-level and task-level goals
• Demonstrate the best approach to selection and prioritization of user-goals to address
• Highlight the crucial benchmarks, observable changes, in ensuring fulfillment of customer needs
SATTA MATKA SATTA FAST RESULT KALYAN TOP MATKA RESULT KALYAN SATTA MATKA FAST RESULT MILAN RATAN RAJDHANI MAIN BAZAR MATKA FAST TIPS RESULT MATKA CHART JODI CHART PANEL CHART FREE FIX GAME SATTAMATKA ! MATKA MOBI SATTA 143 spboss.in TOP NO1 RESULT FULL RATE MATKA ONLINE GAME PLAY BY APP SPBOSS
Event Report - SAP Sapphire 2024 Orlando - lots of innovation and old challengesHolger Mueller
Holger Mueller of Constellation Research shares his key takeaways from SAP's Sapphire confernece, held in Orlando, June 3rd till 5th 2024, in the Orange Convention Center.
Top mailing list providers in the USA.pptxJeremyPeirce1
Discover the top mailing list providers in the USA, offering targeted lists, segmentation, and analytics to optimize your marketing campaigns and drive engagement.
At Techbox Square, in Singapore, we're not just creative web designers and developers, we're the driving force behind your brand identity. Contact us today.
The 10 Most Influential Leaders Guiding Corporate Evolution, 2024.pdfthesiliconleaders
In the recent edition, The 10 Most Influential Leaders Guiding Corporate Evolution, 2024, The Silicon Leaders magazine gladly features Dejan Štancer, President of the Global Chamber of Business Leaders (GCBL), along with other leaders.
How to Implement a Real Estate CRM SoftwareSalesTown
To implement a CRM for real estate, set clear goals, choose a CRM with key real estate features, and customize it to your needs. Migrate your data, train your team, and use automation to save time. Monitor performance, ensure data security, and use the CRM to enhance marketing. Regularly check its effectiveness to improve your business.
Easily Verify Compliance and Security with Binance KYCAny kyc Account
Use our simple KYC verification guide to make sure your Binance account is safe and compliant. Discover the fundamentals, appreciate the significance of KYC, and trade on one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges with confidence.
Easily Verify Compliance and Security with Binance KYC
The what, why and how of mass customization
1. Production Planning & Control,
Vol. 15, No. 4, June 2004, 347–351
Special issue editorial: the what, why and how
of mass customization
IAN P. MCCARTHY
Abstract. This paper introduces the aim, scope and content of accompanying increase in variety and uncertainty,
this special issue on mass customization. It begins by providing without affecting lead-time, cost or quality. This
a background review of mass customization, which revolves
around two questions: what is mass customization, and why problem is compounded by the fact that the mass
mass customize? By focusing on these, the paper presents defini- customization opportunity can require very differ-
tions and explanations of the different approaches to mass cus- ent approaches, depending on factors such as the
tomization, and describes the potential reasons for and benefits type of market served, the product complexity and
of mass customization. In addition to setting the scene for value, and the level of customization offered. The
the special issue, this introductory review asserts that there is a
relative dearth of research on how to design and operate main topics of the Special Issue focus on the need to
a manufacturing system capable of mass customizing. This is a understand the different strategies, configurations
system design or configuration issue, which involves determin- and practices of manufacturing systems that enable
ing the most appropriate or viable design for the available range mass customization.
of multiple and interdependent design variables. However,
despite the strong interest in configurational research in the This problem of how to implement and operate new
business and operations strategy area, there are few works manufacturing strategies is a recurring and important
that develop and propose models for understanding how to theme in operations management. Skinner (1996) con-
mass customize.
ducted a seminal review of the theory and practices asso-
ciated with new manufacturing strategies and concluded
that of all the challenges facing manufacturing compa-
1. Introduction
nies, the task of successfully implementing new manufac-
turing strategies is greatest. The problem is not about
In crafting the call for papers, I wrote:
understanding what constitutes the strategy, but deter-
Mass customization is a strategy that seeks to mining how to design and transform an organizational
exploit the need for greater product variety and system from its current form (configuration) into one
individualisation in markets. However, the chal- capable of achieving its new goals. This is certainly the
lenge for managers is to design and operate case for mass customization, because even though the
integrated systems that can accommodate the opportunity to mass customize has significantly increased
Author: IAN P. MCCARTHY, SFU Business, Simon Fraser University, 515 West Hastings Street,
Vancouver, BC V6B 5K3, Canada.
IAN MCCARTHY is the Canada Research Chair of Management of Technology in the Faculty of
Business Administration at SFU. His research focuses on understanding and designing competitive
and sustainable organizational forms using systems methods, classification tools and evolutionary
concepts. This involves technology and operation management issues such as: managing opera-
tional complexity, mass customization, modelling decision-making in new product development,
and classifying drug discovery strategies. Dr McCarthy is a qualified chartered engineer, a member
of the EPSRC College (a UK research council) and a director of the Complexity Society.
Previously he was on faculty at the University of Warwick and the University of Sheffield, and
held management positions at Philips Electronics, British Alcan and Footprint Tools.
Production Planning & Control ISSN 0953–7287 print/ISSN 1366–5871 online # 2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
DOI: 10.1080/0953728042000238854
2. 348 I. P. McCarthy
with improvements in the cost and speed of collecting . The ability to forecast and understand market
and processing information using the internet, one of opportunities is increased from the improved and
the key challenges inhibiting the adoption of mass custom- frequent communication with customers.
ization practices, is the limited number of studies that
With the business case for mass customization gaining
explicate how to design and operate manufacturing
acceptance, Pine (1993) was one of the first to consider the
systems accordingly. This issue of strategic implementa-
operational implications of mass customization for manu-
tion (i.e. How to realize the desired configuration?) is
facturers. He stressed that mass customization should
crucial for understanding how to translate manufactur-
strive to deliver a personalized product without incurring
ing strategy into operational reality. It is a system design
a cost penalty. This view has been endorsed by others (e.g.
problem that involves searching a space of strategic con- ˚
Beaty 1995, Ahlstrom and Westbrook 1999, Tu et al.
¨
figurations, whose elements are different combinations of
2001) who argue that mass customization should provide
manufacturing capabilities (McCarthy 2004). Thus, the
configuration perspective is consistent with the ‘how’ numerous customer prescribed product variations, but
question, as it helps frame and develop models that pro- with little or no lead-time or cost penalty. Based on this
duce both synchronic (categorical or associative) and ideal notion, the following definition captures the essence
diachronic rules (predictive or effective) on how to design of mass customization for manufacturing firms:
and change systems. The capability to manufacture a relatively high
volume of product options for a relatively large
2. The what and why and how market (or collection of niche markets) that
demands customization, without tradeoffs in cost,
The term ‘mass customization’ was first coined by delivery and quality.
Davis (1987) in his book Future Perfect, in which he The last part of the definition refers to the common
described a trend where companies sought to micro- operational difficulty of avoiding or minimizing any form
segment markets and offer unique products and services of tradeoff (Corbett and Vanwassenhove 1993, Mapes
to customers. It is a strategy that involves producing et al. 1997, McCarthy 2004). This means that manu-
goods and services for a relatively large market, while satis- facturing firms seeking to mass customize will face two
fying the specific needs of individual customers using an challenges. First, the ability to design a system capable of
envelope of product and cost options. It is also important collecting and processing highly varied and uncertain
to note that the word ‘mass’ both implies and defines that product information; and, second, the ability to trans-
a relatively high volume of products is produced for a form and assemble materials to produce a corresponding
mass market. This definition would therefore exclude ˚
range of product variety (Ahlstrom and Westbrook 1999,
¨
those firms that produce relatively low volumes of Salvador et al. 2001, Tu et al. 2001, Duray 2002).
bespoke products. The emphasis on material transformation and assem-
To understand whether a company should adopt a bly in the second challenge is not simply to make the
mass customization strategy has been tackled by a num- problem manufacturing relevant, but to stress the unique
ber of researchers (e.g. Kotler 1989, Pine 1993, Agrawal difficulties faced by manufacturers wishing to mass cus-
et al. 2001, Berman 2002). The general conclusion is tomize, as opposed to service firms wishing to mass cus-
that the case for mass customization revolves around tomize. For instance, Wind and Rangaswamy (2001) use
the following competitive factors: the terms mass customerization and mass customization
. Customers and their expectations have shifted from to distinguish between the customized offerings created
a broad base of uniformity and sameness to a net- by service firms and manufacturing firms respectively.
work of niche and heterogeneous market require- Mass customerization and mass customization both aim
ments. to provide customized offerings, but with mass customi-
. Fashions and customer preferences shift literally zation the task is to personalize and manufacture a
overnight, and product life cycles have become physical product and with mass customerization the per-
significantly shorter. sonalization process focuses on a service in terms of infor-
. Assemble to order and the construction of product mation and marketing. To illustrate this point, Wind and
families are strategies that offer options and differ- Rangaswamy (2001) present the case of garden.com,
entiation, whilst maintaining performance in terms which tried to transform the nursery industry. The tradi-
of cost, quality and delivery. tional nursery model involves serving customers who visit
. Understanding and satisfying specific customer a store location and select from about 200–300 plants
expectations enables a company to achieve a better and, in most cases, they then have to transport the plants
strategic fit with customers’ long-term needs. back to their homes. With garden.com, customers visit a
3. The what, why and how of mass customization 349
website that allows them to design a garden (e.g. are the basis for achieving one or more strategic priorities
Japanese style or English style) subject to local soil and (e.g. mass customization).
climate conditions and using an inventory of over 16,000 To summarize the current status, researchers have
plants and other related products. The customer creates identified and discussed some of the configuration
the product design and defines the resulting bill of elements needed to support mass customization (e.g.
materials. The point of this example is that garden.com flexibility, postponement, information technology and
did not own or operate any stores and it did not own decoupling points). Yet, others (e.g. Kotha 1996,
or operate any manufacturing or growing facilities. It Feitzinger and Lee 1997, Silveira et al. 2001) point out
focused solely on capturing the needs of individual cus- that this work can be too industry-specific or lacking
tomers and then managing a supply chain to deliver the the theoretical robustness or empirical evidence to help
bill of materials for the garden designs. develop, implement or achieve them, regardless of the
As the awareness and popularity of the mass customi- context of the firm.
zation concept continued to grow, researchers began to
explore and classify the different approaches for mass
customizing. To understand these variations required 4. The special issue’s articles
knowledge about the factors that govern a mass customi-
zation strategy. For example, researchers (e.g. Pine 1993) Together, the 11 articles that appear in this special
believed the degree of product variety offered by a com- issue make contributions that help address the ‘How’
pany is a defining factor, while others (e.g. Huffman and question. This does not involve simply importing ideas
Kahn 1998, Ross 1996) contend that the stage and from existing areas of operations management and adapt-
amount of customer involvement is a varying feature of ing them to suit the mass customization paradigm, but
mass customization. With just these two factors, it is by using them to provide rich, theoretically-grounded
descriptions of how manufacturing systems should be
obvious that different firms in different industries will
configured to achieve certain levels of mass customization.
develop different approaches to mass customization,
Mikkola and Skjøtt-Larsen’s article establishes a
each requiring a different organizational configuration.
framework for examining how manufacturing systems
The result is a plethora of conceptual models (many
should be configured for mass customization in terms of
referred to by the papers in this special issue) that identify
postponement and modularization. They achieve this by
and describe either the general strategic approach or one
presenting a modularization characteristic curve, which
aspect of the approach (e.g. the degree of customer invol-
illustrates the combined effect of component customiza-
vement, the type of product modularity and the degree of
tion, value inputs and supplier–buyer interdependence.
product variety). From these simple but useful models it
The intention is that the framework will help users better
is apparent that even though the essence of mass custo- understand how configurations should be designed by
mization is relatively fixed, at an operational level it will analysing the relationships between mass customization
often mean different things to different groups of firms and postponement in relation to modularization.
because the following factors will vary for firms: Comstock, Johansen and Winroth examine the
. the product volume/variety ratio; experience of a leading Swedish mobile telephone man-
. the complexity and value of the product complexity; ufacturer’s experience of introducing a manufacturing
. the point of customer involvement; system for the production of a customized, entry-level
. the degree of customer involvement; mobile telephone. They use product, process and system
. the type of product modularity offered; perspectives to examine the consequences and ability to
. the nature of the customized offering and the mass customize when moving the customization order
perceived value. point downstream in the value chain. They also critically
evaluate the company’s status as a mass customizer.
Despite the variety of strategies for mass customization, Tu, Vonderembse and Ragu-Nathan report a study
interested individual firms will all ask the same question: that collected data from 303 US manufacturing firms.
how do we implement a successful mass customization The study sought to gather and analyse empirical evi-
strategy? Although all firms are unique and the specifics dence on how manufacturing managers design systems
of the answer are likely to vary from firm to firm, it is to cope with the environmental uncertainty and increas-
possible to identify and aggregate the different, but ing product variety that goes with a mass customization
appropriate, technologies, practices and capabilities strategy. It examined the configurations that permit mass
into a number of distinct manufacturing configurations customization in terms of re-engineering set-ups, preven-
(Rakotobe-Joel et al. 2002) or ‘prescribed formats’ tive maintenance, cellular manufacturing and quality
(Greenwood and Hinings 1996). These configurations assurance.
4. 350 I. P. McCarthy
Salvador, Rungtusanatham and Forza seek to inte- until an order is placed, collecting more precise informa-
grate the product design, marketing and operations man- tion about market demands and the ability to increase
agement aspects of mass customization by investigating loyalty by directly interacting with each customer. This
how the extended enterprise should be configured when approach is intended to help manage the tradeoff
different degrees of customization are offered. They pre- between the benefits and costs of customer integration.
sent a number of case studies of firms in different indus- Potter, Breite, Naim and Vanharanta use an approach
tries. These illustrate the degrees of freedom customers that is central to the configuration perspective. They
have in specifying product features and how these affect develop and present a typology that helps define the
the configuration of the extended enterprise. Their find- anatomy of potential mass customization configurations.
ings reveal two distinct configurations, each one suggest- The typology is applied to supply chains to show the
ing a similar structure between the product structure and capabilities and areas of change needed for mass custom-
the configuration of the extended enterprise. izing. By using the typology, firms can benchmark their
Coronado, Lyons, Kehoe and Coleman provide a case current configuration and identify a route to achieving
study that describes the use of an internet-enabled pro- mass customization.
duction information system to facilitate information shar- Finally, the paper by Squire, Readman, Brown and
ing across a build-to-order system. The system consists of Bessant provides a needed and valuable reminder of the
three tiers of a high-volume, high-variety supply chain. question: does mass customization really hold the key
The paper reports that improved levels of information to customer value? They argue that mass customization
transparency will lead to better co-ordination and syn- could augment customer perceived value, but that this
chronization of schedules, which in turn can result in would occur only for certain customers, in certain mar-
significant reductions in raw materials and component kets, at certain times. Thus, before adopting and imple-
stock across the supply chain. menting a configuration for mass customizing it is
Duray advocates the merits and utility of using classi- essential that firms recognise whether their customers
fications to understand and design configurations. She (existing and potential) would really value customization
then explores the effects of modularity and customer of their products. They present a tool that aims to address
involvement on production planning. The study uses this question.
data which have been gathered from a survey of US
manufacturing plants. The findings lead to conclusions
that the type of modularity employed will significantly
affect all aspects of the production planning system stud- References
ied. Whereas the point of customer involvement in the
value-chain production influences only one of the aspects AGRAWAL, M., KUMARESH, T. V., and MERCER, G. A., 2001,
of the production planning system. The false promise of mass customization. McKinsey Quarterly,
Yassine, Kim, Roemer and Holweg examine the effec- 38(3), 62–71.
˚
AHLSTROM, P., and WESTBROOK, R., 1999, Implications of
¨
tiveness of customized product design in achieving a mass
mass customization for operations management: an explora-
customization strategy and the role that information tory survey. International Journal of Operations and Production
technology plays in facilitating this approach to customi- Management, 19(3), 262–274.
zation. They propose and test a conceptual model to BEATY, R. T., 1995, Mass customization. Manufacturing Engineer,
show how information technology can enable partnering 75(5), 217–220.
firms to communicate, collaborate and achieve effective BERMAN, B., 2002, Should your firm adopt a mass customiza-
tion strategy? Business Horizons, July–August, pp. 51–60.
knowledge sharing and creation. The model is tested CORBETT, C., and VANWASSENHOVE, L., 1993, Trade-offs —
using data from Korean automotive first-tier suppliers. what trade-offs? Competence and competitiveness in man-
Rudberg and Wikner adapt the traditional customer ufacturing strategy. California Management Review, 35(4),
order decoupling point (CODP) typology to show how 107–122.
engineering resources (for product design) can be inte- DAVIS, S. M., 1987, Future Perfect (Reading MA: Addison-
Wesley).
grated with the production system (for product manufac-
DURAY, R., 2002, Mass customization origins: mass or custom
ture) to accommodate and successfully implement a mass manufacturing? International Journal of Operations and Production
customization strategy. They argue that this typology Management, 22(3), 314–329.
will help managers better understand how to design FEITZINGER, E., and LEE, H. L., 1997, Mass customization
configurations according to the specifics and features of at Hewlett-Packard: the power of postponement. Harvard
the mass customization environment they intend to serve. Business Review, January–February, pp. 116–121.
GREENWOOD, R., and HININGS, C. R., 1996, Under-
Piller, Moeslein and Stotko assert that customer inte- standing radical change bringing together the old and
gration is achieved by designing systems that have econo- new institutionalism. Academy of Management Review, 21(4),
mies of integration based on postponing some activities 1022–1054.
5. The what, why and how of mass customization 351
HUFFMAN, C., and KAHN, B. E., 1998, Variety for sale: mass management. Computational and Mathematical Organization
customization or mass confusion? Journal of Retailing, 74(4), Theory, 8(4), 337–364.
491–513. ROSS, A., 1996, Selling uniqueness. Manufacturing Engineering,
KOTHA, S., 1996, From mass production to mass customization: December, pp. 260–263.
the case of the National Industrial Bicycle Company of SALVADOR, F., FORZA, C., and RUNGTUSANATHAM, M., 2001,
Japan. European Management Journal, 14(5), 442–450. Operations configurations for mass customization. Proceedings
KOTLER, P., 1989, From mass marketing to mass customization. of the European Operations Management Association, 8th
Planning Review, September–October, pp. 11–47. International Annual Conference, Bath, pp. 754–764.
MAPES, J., NEW, C., and SZWEJCZEWSKI, M., 1997, SILVEIRA, G. D., BORENSTEIN, D., and FOGLIATTO, F. S., 2001.
Performance trade-offs in manufacturing plants. International Mass customization: lterature review and research directions.
Journal of Operations and Production Management, 17(9–10), International Journal of Production Economics, 72(1), 1–13.
1020–1033. SKINNER, W., 1996, Manufacturing strategy on the ‘S’ curve.
MCCARTHY, I. P., 2004, Manufacturing strategy – understand- Journal of Production Operations Management, 5(1), 3–14.
ing the fitness landscape. International Journal of Operations and TU, Q., VONDEREMBSE, M. A., and RAGU-NATHAN, T. S.,
Production Management, 24(2), 124–150. 2001, The impact of time-based manufacturing practices
PINE, B. J. I., 1993, Mass Customization: The New Frontier in on mass customization and value to customer. Journal of
Business Competition (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Operations Management, 19, 201–217.
Press). WIND, J., and RAMASWAMY, A., 2001, Customerization: the
RAKOTOBE-JOEL, T., MCCARTHY, I. P., and TRANFIELD, D., next revolution in mass customization. Journal of Interactive
2002, A structural and evolutionary approach to change Marketing, 15(1), 13–32.