Public defence in Industrial Engineering and Management, M.Sc. (Tech) Mikko Heiskala

Title of the thesis: Implications from digital servitization and open platforms for mass customization capabilities

Doctoral student: Mikko Heiskala
Opponenr: Professor Lars Hvam, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Custos: Assistant Professor Kimmo Karhu, Aalto University School of Science, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management

Mass customization has been a powerful way for manufacturers to provide products tailored to even individual customer needs with efficiency comparable to mass production. Traditionally, manufacturers have relied on their internal capabilities in executing mass customization.

Recent digitalization driven trends of digital servitization and open platforms challenge these capabilities and the assumptions that underpin them—but at the same time they provide new opportunities for mass customization. Both expand the scope of customization the firms can offer to customers. Digitally servitized solutions or smart products can be customized continuously to customer needs, even after initial delivery. With open platforms, firms can harness the effort and creativity of external actors and expand the scope of customization well beyond what the firm could offer alone.

This dissertation explores how mass customization firms should amend their capabilities in response to these trends.

It makes four distinct contributions to mass customization research. First, it presents the Four Worlds Model (4WM) for modeling mass-customized services for sales configuration, extending the previous models geared for physical products. Second, it extends the focus of 4WM to mass customized solutions that combine products and services. Both contributions help mass customization firms develop better capabilities in supporting the sales of mass customized services and solutions.

Third, the dissertation present a 2x2 classification scheme for mass customization approaches. It uses increased continuity of customization and openness as its dimensions. Both viewpoints are missing from current mass customization classifications and have ben identified only in isolated studies within mass customization research. Fourth, the dissertation reveals implications for the capabilities mass customization firms need if they are to increase the continuity and openness of customization they offer. These are presented as propositions contextualized to the approaches the 2x2 classification defines. Prior mass customization research has rarely contextualized capabilities in this manner. The classification and propositions guide mass customization managers in what kind of capabilities their firm requries in order to execute a specific approach. 

Key words: mass customization, digital servitization, open platforms

Thesis available for public display 10 days prior to the defence at: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/doc_public/eonly/riiputus/ 

Contact information:

Doctoral theses of the School of Science: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/52