The impact of time-based manufacturing practices on mass customization andvalue to customer

Mass customization capabilities enable firms to design, produce, and delive r a high volume of differentiated products that meet specific customer need s in a timely manner and at close to mass-production prices. A critical par t of mass customization is simultaneously achieving customer responsiveness , cost efficiency, and high volume production in the manufacturing system. This research describes mass customization and provides a framework to unde rstand the relationships among time-based manufacturing practices, mass cus tomization, and value to the customer. It involves the development of an in strument to measure mass customization. Data were collected from 303 manufa cturing firms of various size, location, and industry to develop the instru ment and test the relationships in the framework. The primary research meth od was structural equation modeling using LISREL. The study indicates that firms with high levels of time-based manufacturing practices have high leve ls of mass customization and value to the customer. Also, firms with high l evels of mass customization have high levels of value to customer. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.