Mass Personalization vs. Mass Customization: Finding Variance in Semantical Meaning and Practical Implementation between Sectors

During last 3 decades, Mass Personalization and Mass Customization as research domains have been advancedly overlooked and currently are overcoming theoretical boundaries. Ongoing digital transformation, rapidly increasing orientation to customer centric approach, demand-driven supply and value creation via online environment, platforms or tools undoubtedly influence content and development of these two paradigms too (Rungtusanatham and Salvador, 2008; Gandhi et al., 2013; Hu, 2013; KMPG, 2016; Tiihonen and Felfernig, 2017). On the other hand, a number of academic research as well as organization practices still show variances in the semantical meaning of those mentioned concepts, implementation logic and limited interaction with digitalization and value cocreation. Therefore, the research type of scoping review is based on literature analysis. It is followed throughout this article for a quality evaluation of a current standpoint and practical tendencies in the field of understanding Mass Personalization and Mass Customization, as well as defining possibilities in adapting approaches of value co-creation and technology-based attitude. Purpose – article aims to conceptualize an existing semantical gap between concepts of Mass Personalization and Mass Customization by analyzing recent scientific literature and trends in their practical implementation. Design / methodology / approach – in this research the author followed a mixed type of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The first one is related to the method of scoping review, which is used to collect and categorize data of semantical meaning in Mass Personalization and Mass Customization concepts. The qualitative one follows methods of general and comparative scientific literature review and conceptualization of new insights later. Therefore, the design of research is described as a systematic literature review and information systemization. Finding – results of the present evaluation of the research subject suggest that mismatches in semantical understanding of analyzed concepts as well as their adoption are very common. In addition, it is noticed that approaches of value co-creation and technology-based attitude and their combination are evaluated separately or partly from the research subject. Research limitations / implications – the present article has limitations both in theoretical and practical fields. From the perspective of scientific research, it is noticed that in different periods, the focus has been switched exclusively on process standardization or Mass Customization, without conducting a multi-dimensional research. In addition, there are also limited research carried out in the field of finding content differences between Mass Personalization and Mass Customization concepts as well as their possible combination for different sectors, with a focus on non-manufacturing organizations, digitalization and data analytics. Practical implications – results of the research may be applied in practice in different sectors and different type of organizations: a) as a multi-dimensional framework and basis for conducting an internal evaluation of ongoing process status as well as a content of service in relation to Mass Customization or Mass personalization; b) as a theoretical background to set up a direction and content of changes to reach a more customized or personalized service and create an overall more customer-centric approach in an organization; c) as a summary of key points for a better understanding on main differences, requirements, trends of each concept and their practical adoption. Originality / Value – theoretical analysis created following holistic and multidimensional standpoints not only confirms existing differences between semantical meanings but also reveals possible areas of misunderstanding when applied in practical implementation. In parallel, at this point, a combined approach of value co-creation and technology-based attitude produces valuable insights for future research and might serve as a basis for ongoing process evaluation in practice

A New Consumerism: The influence of social technologies on product design

Social media has enabled a new style of consumerism. Consumers are no longer passive recipients; instead they are assuming active and participatory roles in product design and production, facilitated by interaction and collaboration in virtual communities. This new participatory culture is blurring the boundaries between the specific roles of designer, consumer and producer, creating entrepreneurial opportunities for designers, and empowering consumers to influence product strategies. Evolving designer-consumer interactions are enabling an enhanced model of co-production, through a value-adding social exchange that is driving changes in consumer behaviour and influencing both product strategies and design practice. The consumer is now a knowledgeable participant, or prosumer, who can contribute to user–centered research through crowd sourcing, collaborate and co-create through open-source or open-innovation platforms, assist creative endeavors by pledging venture capital through crowd funding and advocate the product in blogs and forums. Social media- enabled product implementation strategies working in conjunction with digital production technologies (e.g. additive manufacture), enable consumer-directed adaptive customisation, product personalisation, and self-production, with once passive consumers becoming product produsers. Not only is social media driving unprecedented consumer engagement and significant behavioural change, it is emerging as a major enabler of design entrepreneurship, creating new collaborative opportunities. Innovative processes in design practice are emerging, such as the provision of digital artifacts and customisable product frameworks, rather than standardised manufactured solutions. This paper examines the influence of social media-enabled product strategies on the methodology of the next generation of product designers, and discusses the need for an educational response

Mass Customization in Wireless Communication Services: Individual Service Bundles and Tariffs

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

Raising new opportunities for the Next Economy by exploring variable user needs for Computational Co-Design

Digital Fabrication promises to revolutionize manufacturing, bringing both economic, social and environmental benefits. Combined with Computational CoDesign it can raise the creative potential of both designers and users. However, today the productive use of Digital Fabrication and Computational Design requires significant effort and specialised know-how, so valorising these practices calls for the identification of the application fields that benefit the most from them. This paper presents a tool for helping the discovery of design opportunities across comprehensive, ramified lists of product categories, where designers can identify possible points of intervention. The web-based tool allows the rapid evaluation of numerous product categories according to an extendable set of factors and inspiring questions related to the necessity of personalization, aiming to stimulate designers to consider unexpected frontiers of innovation. Beyond the scope of the research project, this tool has the potential to assist designers in finding applications also for other emerging technologies in a structured and scalable wa

An e-Business Model Ontology for Modeling e-Business

After explaining why business executives and academics should consider thinking about a rigorous approach to e-business models, we introduce a new e-Business Model Ontology. Using the concept of business models can help companies understand, communicate and share, change, measure, simulate and learn more about the different aspects of e-business in their firm. The generic e-Business Model Ontology (a rigorous definition of the e-business issues and their interdependencies in a company’s business model), which we outline in this paper is the foundation for the development of various useful tools for e-business management and IS Requirements Engineering. The e-Business Model Ontology is based on an extensive literature review and describes the logic of a “business system” for creating value in the Internet era. It is composed of four main pillars, which are Product Innovation, Infrastructure Management, Customer Relationship and Financial Aspects. These elements are then further decomposed.e-business models, ontology, e-business, strategy

Post-Series Design: a tool for catalysing the diffusion of personalisable design.

Today a range of increasingly mainstream Digital Fabrication tools help designers not only in prototyping, but also in the production of final parts for consumer products. These hardware tools, while still have significant limitations, they already offer new levels of morphological freedom and logistical flexibility, which allows the efficient production of personalisable products – supposing advanced software tools of Parametric Design. However, since DF, PD and personalisation are still marginal, one may suspect that the Design profession has a shortage of adequate capabilities. Therefore, this contribution proposes a conceptual tool focused on valorising the previous hardware and software tools to achieve meaningfully personalisable products. The proposed canvas tool is structured specifically to facilitate opportunity identification and conceptual design, based on a set of key advantages (variabilities) derived from numerous case studies of existing personalisable products realised with DF. The new approach and tool have been experimented with a class of product design students, but it also aims to facilitate product development at enterprises, coherently with the emerging Industry 4.0 paradigm

Design for (every)one: co-creation as a bridge between universal design and rehabilitation engineering

In this paper the authors describe a general framework for co-designing assistive devices in a horizontal user innovation network [1] by and for disabled users. This framework attempts to identify, share and use “hidden solutions” in rehabilitation contexts and translate them into disruptive assistive devices build with local resources. Within healthcare contexts local solutions are frequently more effective, as they reflect the physical, emotional and cognitive needs of specific patients and engage all the stakeholders in a specific local context. By using an open horizontal innovation network, where assistive devices can be easily shared and physically hacked by other paramedics, general patterns can be detected and translated into standard universal design objects. This generative design thinking approach [2] is more than feasible with digital trends like crowd sourcing, user-generated content and peer production [3]. Cheap and powerful prototyping tools have become easier to use by non-engineers; it turns them into users as well as self manufactures [4]. We discuss the different aspects of this open innovation process within a ‘design for disability’ context and suggest the first steps of an iterative co-design methodology bringing together professional designers, occupational therapists and patients. In this paper the authors sketch the holistic framework which starts with the innovation development and the co-creation process between these disciplines

A New Account of Personalization and Effective Communication

To contribute to understanding of information economies of daily life, this paper explores over the past millennium given names of a large number of persons. Analysts have long both condemned and praised mass media as a source of common culture, national unity, or shared symbolic experiences. Names, however, indicate a large decline in shared symbolic experience over the past two centuries, a decline that the growth of mass media does not appear to have affected significantly. Study of names also shows that action and personal relationships, along with time horizon, are central aspects of effective communication across a large population. The observed preference for personalization over the past two centuries and the importance of action and personal relationships to effective communication are aspects of information economies that are likely to have continuing significance for industry developments, economic statistics, and public policy