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Customization, as a crucial way to meet the heterogeneous demand of individuals, exists two fundamental and competing motivations, namely, assimilation and uniqueness. Based on optimal distinctiveness theory, this paper aims to validate the interactive effect of self-expressive customization types (i.e. customization to express individual identity and customization to express a shared identity) and self-construal on consumers’ willingness to pay a premium (WPP).

Two studies were conducted to provide empirical support for all proposed hypotheses. The first study (n = 151) uses a hypothetical scenario of a basketball game to test the interaction effect of self-expressive customization and self-construal. The second study (n = 184) assumes a scenario of designing a t-shirt or a uniform to examined the moderated mediating role of consumer-product identification.

The results reveal that independent (vs interdependent) self-construal will have stronger consumer-product identification for customization to express an individual identity (vs customization to express a shared identity), thus generating a higher WPP. Also, perceived task difficulty is the boundary condition of the research model.

This paper makes insightful contributions to the customization literature by strengthening the identity signals of customization and exploring the psychological mechanism and the boundary conditions.

This research is one of the first few empirical studies to examine the impact of self-expressive customization on consumers’ WPP via the identification with the focal object. This paper not only expands the literature of self-expressive customization but also provides a new research direction for the research of person-object interaction in marketing.

Presents a new taxonomy for the non make‐to‐stock sector to enable a like‐with‐like comparison, arguing that existing taxonomies within the literature are inadequate for strategic research purposes. Presents empirical evidence which has been collected from 22 companies in three European countries – the UK, Denmark and The Netherlands. The data support the structure of the proposed new taxonomy and provide insights into competitive advantage and customisation issues in the non make‐to‐stock sector. Finally, two new labels for this sector of industry are proposed. “Versatile manufacturing company” is used to describe those manufacturers which are involved in a competitive bidding situation for every order which they receive, customisation by individual order. In contrast, the “Repeat business customiser” may only be in this position for the first of a series of similar orders from a particular customer, customisation by contract.

Most mass customization literature focuses on the move from mass production to mass customization. However, in some literature engineer‐to‐order (ETO) companies are also claiming to have become mass customizers, although it can be questioned if these companies conform to popular definitions of mass customizers. The purpose of this paper is to ask the question: under which conditions is it reasonable to label ETO companies as mass customizers?

First, definitions of mass customization are examined and related to ETO companies that move towards mass customization. Second, the individual transitions from mass production and ETO to mass customization are analyzed by: relating the transition to classifications from relevant literature; describing the motivations and risks associated with the transition; and defining some of the most important transition characteristics. Finally it is discussed if ETO companies can become mass customizers and under which conditions it would be reasonable to describe them as such.

The paper argues that from several angles it makes sense to label some ETO companies as mass customizers although the products are not at prices near mass produced ones.

To avoid dilution of the concept of mass customization, while not excluding ETO companies, it is suggested to start out with a broad definition of mass customization under which separate definitions of different kinds of mass customizers are created.

Although much has been written about mass customization, and ETO companies in much literature have been labeled as mass customizers, the essential discussion of under which conditions it is reasonable to label ETO companies as mass customizers has been missing.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of successful customization of apparel in e‐retailing and to provide managerial suggestions for strategic planning.

Using an online survey, data are collected from 300 female adults in the US secured through a nationwide random sampling method. AMOS 7.0 and SPSS 15.0 are used to analyze the data.

Customers recognize the benefits of online customization of apparel when they perceive the website to be useful and competent. Additionally, customers perceive customization websites to be more useful when the websites are secure for the information customers provide. Interestingly, the ease of operation of a website is negatively related to the perception of a competent website and does not influence a positive attitude toward the online customization of apparel.

In order to give the impression of competent and useful websites, marketers need to develop secure websites. Ease of operation on the website may not always be an advantage for apparel customization; therefore, marketers need to find the optimal levels of ease of website operation to imply useful, yet competent, websites.

This study identified the potential factors for successful customization of apparel in e‐retailing and provided strategic implications to marketers.

Customization, a marketing strategy through providing personalized products, might be a new solution to motivate consumer feedbacks in electronic commerce (e-commerce) websites. Taking the dual-value of customization (emotional involvement and uniqueness expression) as the theoretical basis, this study aims to investigate the impact of customization on consumer's word-of-mouth (WOM) behaviors and contents by motivating: (1) more, (2) faster, (3) positive at first and then negative, (4) longer and (5) more helpful WOMs.

A field study was conducted with multi-sourced data: customer order data from a Chinese retailer and WOM data from Amazon.com. The two datasets were matched to filter out 463 online reviews among 6,892 customers who placed customized orders. Heckman's two-stage model, logistic regression, Ordinary least squares regression, Tobit regression, analysis of covariance and Lind–Mehlum U Test were used in the data analysis.

This study has found that (1) customization level motivates WOM behaviors including WOM posting and WOM speed, (2) an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between customization level and consumer rating and (3) customization level has a significantly positive impact on WOM helpfulness but not on WOM length.

This study advances theoretical development in the area of WOM motivators by proposing a new product-centric approach, customization, to stimulate voluntary WOMs. Empirical field research that analyzes consumer's real responses to customization is in scarcity. The dual-value of customized products is proposed as the underlying mechanism to explain the impact of customization level on consumer's WOM behaviors/contents. An interesting inverted U-shaped relationship is found between customization level and customer rating. This research provides nuanced practical guidance for websites, companies and consumers.

This study intends to examine consumers' fashion customization experiences through a web content mining (WCM) approach. By applying the theory of customer value, this study explores the benefits and costs of two levels of mass customization (MC) to identify the values derived from style (i.e. shoe customization) and fit customization experiences (i.e. apparel customization) and further to compare the dominating dimensions of value derived across style and fit customization.

A WCM approach was applied. Also, two case studies were conducted with one focusing on style customization and the other focusing on fit customization. The brand Vans was selected to examine style customization in study 1. The brand Sumissura was selected to examine fit customization in study 2. Consumers' comments on customization experiences from these two brands were collected through social networks, respectively. After data cleaning, 394 reviews for Vans and 510 reviews for Sumissura were included in the final data analysis. Co-occurrence plots, feature extraction and grouping were used for the data analysis.

The emotional value was found to be the major benefit for style customization, while the functional value was indicated as the major benefit for fit customization, followed by ease of use and emotional value. In addition, three major themes of costs, including unsatisfied service, disappointing product performance and financial risk, were revealed by excavating and evaluating consumers' feedback of their actual clothing customization experiences with Sumissura.

This study initiates the effort to use web mining, specifically, the WCM approach to thoroughly investigate the benefits and costs of MC through real consumers' feedback of two different types of fashion products. The analysis of this study also reflects the levels of customization: style and fit. It provides an in-depth text analysis of online MC consumers' feedback through the use of feature extraction analysis and word co-occurrence networks.

Total quality management resulting from the quest for total customer satisfaction implies giving every customer a product tailored specifically to their needs at a price comparable to that of mass produced products. Mass customisation offers several benefits, but are organisations ready for the paradigm shift? Three sets of factors that are indicative of the move from mass production to mass customisation were tested empirically in selected South African organisations, namely: industry, competitive and environmental considerations; products/services and structural arrangements; and organisational orientation. If the organisation is ready to make the paradigm shift, it still needs to determine the kind of customisation required to create unique customer value within the limits of its capabilities and orientation.

Service‐marketing literature has traditionally built upon the combination of low technology and high interaction between service providers and customers in service delivery. However, many service organisations have started to utilise high‐tech in their operations. More specifically, they are considering how to make their services available to a wide range of customers with the aid of technology. So far, only few empirically oriented studies on this trend can be found in service literature. In this article the topic is approached on the basis of both services marketing literature and an in‐depth analysis of two case studies. The empirical evidence was gathered from two Finnish financial organisations, an insurance company and a bank, both having utilised technology in their service production and delivery. The consequences of these choices are evaluated and compared with each other. We conclude with a framework for strategic decision making, which ties together the dimensions of service type, technology and encounter. On the basis of our empirical cases, we suggest that there are numerous strategic options between the ends of each continuum of the framework, and in addition to advanced technology, service providers need to pay explicit attention to social aspects. The lesson we learned calls for more customer orientation when planning high‐tech solutions in service operations, and taking a new attitude to segmentation.

This research aims to analyse the implementation of a German platform for housing projects through a successful case on modern methods of construction featuring efficient on‐site construction. Through continuous development, the platform has been carefully designed to suit a carefully selected market – optimising cost and value. Based on the platform, the company has managed to create a high‐quality product at low cost. In fact, they have managed to reduce costs by more than 30 per cent, enabling the company to sell houses to people that normally would not be able to afford a house of their own.

The paper adopts a case study approach combining a qualitative collection of empirical material with an analytical framework drawing upon classical modelling techniques for development of product platforms.

The paper identifies some central learning points from the German platform such as: platform does not imply that “off‐site manufacturing” is the most optimal production method, rather it is a matter of handling complexity; strong commitment and loyalty from the whole organization is needed; importance of having a specific customer focus (target costing); and incremental rather than radical innovation.

The findings challenge the predominant understanding of industrialisation of the construction processes, illustrating how substantial improvements can be achieved through platform thinking, on‐site production and traditional construction practices.

The banking industry is definitely among the service industries that have been thoroughly transformed during the past decades. The direction of development has been toward more efficient mass services enabled by information and communication technologies (ICT). The purpose of this paper is to focus on analysing the changes in banking services, particularly the mass services offered through service factories. The aim is to review the previous literature on efficient production of banking services, and particularly analyse the effects of service factories in this area.

The theoretical focus of the paper reviews the frameworks and models for service positioning and efficiency for recognising the typical banking services used in the analyses. The Service Process Matrix is analysed for its components and implications for recognising efficient service processes for different types of services.

The findings show that the Service Process Matrix provides a tool for categorising different services for their efficiency in the case industry analysed. The matrix is adapted to better reflect the changes in banking services.

The quest for service efficiency is of importance, both in public services and service businesses alike. Several tools and models have been proposed to analyse the most appropriate way to produce services of different types. This paper analyses this area and provides insights for managers in how to position different service types for best customer value and efficient service processes. The paper also provides insights for service researchers looking for frameworks to categorise different service types.