2010
Volume 1, Number 3
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT (IJIEM)
ISSN 2217-2661
Abbreviated key title: IJIEM
Published by: University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences,
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
Start year: 2010
Volume 1, Number 3
- Going More Open in Innovation: Does it Pay?
- The Implementation of an Organizational Innovation: Examples of Mass Customizing Firms of the Capital Goods Industry
- Modeling concepts for choice navigation of mass customized solutions
- How to Overcome the Barriers Between Economy and Sociology With Open Innovation, Open Evaluation and Crowdfunding?
- Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems as an Application of Mass Customisation
- Methodology Concept of Customer Profile Definition
Going More Open in Innovation: Does it Pay?
Fatur, P., Likar, B., Ropret, M.
Abstract
The research investigates into the relationship between the company’s innovation inputs and its
performance. The research was carried out on the sample of 2503 Slovenian companies from
manufacturing and selected service sectors.
The results indicate a correlation between the revenues arising from innovations and the company's
performance in terms of the financial ratios, in particularly ROE and growth of revenues from sales.
Furthermore, it is shown that the distribution of innovation expenditures is related to the company’s
innovation performance. The financial inputs related to external sourcing of ideas and knowledge
(open innovation) have a positive correlation with the innovation performance.
Key words: open innovation, performance management, productivity, R&D>
The Implementation af an Organizational Innovation: Examples of
Mass Customizing Firms of the Capital Goods Industry
Kohl, H., Depner, H.
Abstract
Mass customization can be viewed as an organizational innovation, because a realization of the
strategy requests a restructuring of structures and processes in a firm. The implementation of an
organizational innovation is a far more complex process compared to the one of a technological
innovation. Thus, it is supposed that firms implementing an organizational innovation are heavily
dependent on the acquisition of external knowledge. This paper analyses – based on German case
studies – how firms of the capital goods industry proceed when introducing a mass customization
strategy. At the centre of consideration are answers to the questions what kind of knowledge the firms
need for the implementation, how much they depend on external knowledge and whether social,
organizational or spatial proximity between the actors in the innovation process is relevant for the
knowledge exchange.
Key words: capital goods industry, mass customization, organizational innovation
Modeling Concepts for Choice Navigation of Mass Customized
Solutions
Heiskala, M., Tiihonen, J., Sievänen, M., Paloheimo, K.-S.
Abstract
Customers want individualized solutions regardless of whether the solutions comprise products,
services, or any combination of them. Choice navigation support is a key capability for a company
offering such mass customized solutions. We seek to identify modelling concepts for supporting
choice navigation. Our findings draw from our case experiences in seven companies and scientific
literature. We propose concepts such as bundles, explicit customer needs and characteristics affecting
determination of the optimal solution, and high-level service co-creation process. These concepts
partly extend physical product configuration conceptual models, providing a good basis for improving
choice navigation support for solutions.
Key words: Mass Customization, Services, Modelling
How to Overcome the Barriers Between Economy and Sociology
With Open Innovation, Open Evaluation and Crowdfunding?
Freund, R.
Abstract
This paper is structured in the following way. The first part describes Open Innovation as a business
model which uses internal and external knowledge for innovation. Part two focus on the large base of
ideas which can be evaluated (intern/extern) with IT-solutions (Open Evaluation). And in part three it is
argued, that crowdfunding can overcome the barriers between economy and sociology.
Key words: open innovation, open evaluation, crowdfunding
Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems as an Application of Mass
Customisation
Joergensen, S. N., Nielsen, K., Joergensen, K.
Abstract
Manufacturing systems are today developed as engineer to order solutions tailored to producing a
specific product or a limited product mix. Such dedicated systems are not consistent with market
demands for rapid product changes, product variety, and customisation, which require flexibility and
responsiveness of manufacturing systems. A Reconfigurable Manufacturing System (RMS) is aimed at
possess such flexibility and responsiveness and is said to be the manufacturing paradigm of
tomorrow. RMS is, though, not yet fully developed. A similarity between RMS and modular product
families, known from Mass Customisation (MC), is seen and based on this similarity a potential to
maturing RMS further by applying MC methods and techniques is identified. Based on literature
surveys this paper analyses this potential by diagnosing gabs for RMS to succeed as a MC product.
For each gab MC theory holds related methods and techniques, which indicates a potential and,
herby, an area of interest for further study.
Key words: Reconfiguable Manufacturing System, Configuration, Mass Customisation, Modular Product Architecture
Methodology Concept of Customer Profile Definition
Fürstner, I., Anišic, Z.
Abstract
In the twenty-first century, a company has to organize around the customer in order to be a successful
and viable firm. Customers expect to get what they would like, with a side order of customization. This
approach raises several questions that have to be answered, one of which is that despite nowadays
customers are knowledgeable in general, they are still far from being experts that can really co-create
a product or a service. Therefore, the fundamental challenge is to avoid the abortion of the
configuration process by the customer. Based on problem analysis regarding customers’ involvement
in the configuration process, the main areas of investigation to be considered are the minimization of
the complexity experienced by the customers and the reduction of the cognitive overhead, considering
not only the extent of choice, but also the lack of understanding about which solution meets their
needs and also the uncertainties about the behavior of the supplier and the purchasing process. The
paper presents one approach towards defining the appropriate customer profile that enabes the
adaptation of the process of co-creation to different customers that suits each individual customer’s
needs and limitations.
Key words: Customer Profile Definition, Mass Customization, Adaptive Configuration