Title: Key research issues in user interaction with user toolkits in a mass customisation system

Authors: Nikolaus Franke, Frank T. Piller

Addresses: Vienna University of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Entrepreneurship, Augasse 2-6, 1090 Vienna, Austria. Technische Universitat Munchen, TUM Business School, Leopoldstrasse 139, 80804 Munich, Germany

Abstract: The idea of integrating users into the design and production process is a promising strategy for companies being forced to react to the growing individualisation of demand. Whilst there is a huge amount of managerial literature on mass customisation, empirical findings are scarce. Our literature review shows that specifically the core of a mass customisation system, the toolkit and the users| interaction with it, has hardly been researched. The objective of this paper is to set a research agenda in the field of user interaction with toolkits for mass customisation. From the literature and 15 exploratory expert interviews with leading pioneering companies we deploy four key research issues in this evolving field.

Keywords: mass customisation; personalisation; configuration; user innovation; customer integration; toolkits; user co-design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2003.003424

International Journal of Technology Management, 2003 Vol.26 No.5/6, pp.578 - 599

Published online: 07 Sep 2003 *

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