Due to the shift from seller to buyer markets in recent times, where instead of productivity and cost efficiency now other goals like quality, time and flexibility become more important, firms have to react. Furthermore, availability of modern information and communication technologies, notably the internet and the resulting market transparency enhances the bargaining power of customers. Along with globalization, shorter product life cycles, a wide variety of variants and increasing market saturation firms are confronted with highly competitive global markets. Therefore, it is all the more crucial that companies distinguish themselves in the market to succeed. An extremely important point in this context is the ability of firms to innovate. Only with innovative and marketable products a company can survive in a market in the long-term. To ensure innovativeness that is strongly linked with competitive advantage, sustainability and long term profitability firms are increasingly in search of new sources.
Customer co-creation, customer integration, user innovation, open innovation and mass customization are just some terms behind which a new paradigm in technology and innovation management is hidden. The accurate umbrella-term for all these concepts is “interactive value creation”. Firms, most notably in the last four decades , recognized that external actors, especially customers and users, are a crucial source for innovative knowledge. Accordingly interactive value creation means the active integration of customers and users in the value creation process within a firm, so far mainly performed internally. In this regard, interactive value creation is primarily divided in two basic types: open innovation and mass customization (product individualization). Whereas, put simply, open innovation targets the innovation of new products by opening the innovation process to external actors, mass customization implies the development of individualized products. Within this thesis the focus lies particularly on mass customization.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Paper review: Franke et al. (2009)
- Aim, motivation and positioning
- Interactive Value Creation - Open Innovation and Mass Customization
- Experimental model
- Hypotheses
- Procedure and sample
- Findings
- Evaluation of the methodology
- Comparison
- Conclusion and outlook
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper review aims to analyze and position the research paper by Franke et al. (2009) within the relevant research domain, comparing it with other pertinent publications. It focuses on the concept of "interactive value creation" and its application to mass customization.
- The effectiveness of mass customization strategies in delivering customer value.
- The role of "sticky information" in understanding the complexities of customization.
- The influence of customer preferences and product design on customer satisfaction.
- The methodology employed in Franke et al.'s research and its implications for future research.
- A comparison of Franke et al.'s findings with those of other relevant studies.
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction highlights the changing dynamics of buyer-seller markets and the need for companies to innovate. It introduces the concept of "interactive value creation" and its two primary types: open innovation and mass customization. The paper focuses on mass customization and its potential to drive innovation and customer satisfaction.
The paper review section presents the research paper by Franke et al. (2009) by outlining its aims, motivation, and positioning within the existing literature. The authors explore the complexities of customization strategies, particularly the concept of "sticky information" – the challenge of bridging the gap between customer needs and manufacturer capabilities. The paper's methodology and findings are then discussed, with an emphasis on the experiment conducted to test the value of customization.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key concepts explored in this paper review include interactive value creation, mass customization, open innovation, customer co-creation, customer integration, user innovation, sticky information, customer preferences, product design, customer satisfaction, and experimental methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "interactive value creation"?
Interactive value creation is a management paradigm where external actors, particularly customers and users, are actively integrated into a firm's value creation process to leverage their innovative knowledge.
How does mass customization differ from open innovation?
While open innovation focuses on creating entirely new products by opening the process to outsiders, mass customization focuses on developing individualized products tailored to specific customer needs.
What is the concept of "sticky information" in customization?
Sticky information refers to the difficulty and cost of transferring specific knowledge about customer needs to the manufacturer, which mass customization strategies aim to overcome.
Why is innovation becoming more dependent on customers?
Due to global competition, shorter product life cycles, and market transparency, firms need new sources of innovativeness to maintain a competitive advantage and long-term profitability.
What was the focus of the research by Franke et al. (2009)?
The research analyzed the effectiveness of mass customization strategies in delivering actual value to customers and how individual preferences influence overall satisfaction.
- Quote paper
- B.Sc. Yasemin Sari (Author), 2011, Interactive Value Creation - Mass Customization, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/170870
