Browsing by Author "Karhu, Kimmo, Asst. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Finland"

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Implications from digital servitization and open platforms for mass customization capabilities
(2024) Heiskala, Mikko
School of Science | Doctoral dissertation (article-based)
Mass customization (MC) has been a key competitive strategy for manufacturers to deliver individually customized products at near mass production efficiency. For this, MC requires key MC capabilities: solution space development (SSD), robust process design (RPD), and choice navigation (CN). Sales configurators have been important information systems for CN support. However, recent digitalization driven trends of digital servitization and open platforms challenge the assumptions that have underpinned manufacturing MC, MC capabilities, and role of configurators in CN. Both expand the opportunities for MC firms to serve their customers. Digitally servitized solutions or smart products can be customized more continuously. Combined with open platforms, the scope of customization can also be greatly expanded. Yet, existing MC research is geared toward designing and manufacturing MC products with a firm's internal MC capabilities. We do not know how MC firms should amend their MC capabilities to fully benefit from the opportunities for more open and continuous MC digital servitization and open platforms bring. This dissertation addresses this gap. Its objective is to increase the current understanding of the effects of digitalization-driven trends of servitization, move to solutions that combine products and services, and open platforms have on MC. This dissertation comprises four articles and a summary that synthesizes the results. The first three papers address CN support and how mass-customized services and solutions should be modeled for sales configuration. They draw from multiple literature streams and empirical data from seven case companies to identify real-world phenomena and concepts for this purpose. The research approach in them aligns with design science research. The last paper is conceptual. Drawing from literature streams on digital servitization and open platforms, it explores their influences for MC. This study makes four contributions to MC research. First, it presents the Four Worlds Model (4WM) for modeling mass-customized services for sales configuration. The model extends previous physical product-oriented approaches with concepts that are relevant for modeling services. Second, it identifies relevant real-world phenomena for sales configuration of mass-customized solutions, extending the focus of the 4WM. Third, the study presents a 2x2 MC classification scheme that uses continuity and openness of customization as its dimensions, both viewpoints missing from previous MC classifications and only recently identified in isolation within MC research. Fourth, the study reveals implications for MC capabilities from increased continuity and openness of customization. These are presented as propositions that are contextualized regarding specific MC approaches in the classification. Research has rarely contextualized MC capabilities in this manner, but there may be implications that are contingent on the MC approach the MC firm executes.