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Analysis of interactions among Enablers of

mass
the enablers of mass customization

customization
An interpretive structural modelling approach
Inayat Ullah and Rakesh Narain Received 28 April 2017
Revised 28 July 2017
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Downloaded by UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND (AUS) At 22:21 30 September 2018 (PT)

13 September 2017
Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, India Accepted 19 September 2017

Abstract
Purpose – Current dynamic and turbulent business environment calls for adopting newer strategies so that
organizations can create a niche for itself in the market, mass customization (MC) being one of them. The
purpose of this paper is to identify the critical enablers necessary to realize the objectives of MC, study the
relationship among them and prioritize them in order of their importance so that a clear roadmap can be easily
prepared for successful implementation of MC.
Design/methodology/approach – A portfolio of enablers of MC has been elicited from a thorough
review of literature and experts’ opinion. Then, contextually relevant relations are chosen for each pair. In
addition, a hierarchy-based structural model is developed by using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM)
technique.
Findings – The findings classify the enablers into different groups according to their driving and
dependence power. The findings show the enablers of strategic importance that need focused attention. This
paper develops a structural model including hierarchy of enablers that forms a basis for the firms considering
transition to MC.
Practical implications – This paper allows the firms to differentiate the dependent and independent
variables and their mutual relationships, also by identifying and establishing the connection and
relationships among the enabling practices; firms can better prioritize the resources and implementation effort
to successfully provide each customer exactly they want.
Originality/value – This paper happens to be one of the first of its kind in the area of mass customization
research that presents a contextual model having a hierarchy of enablers.
Keywords Enablers, Mass customization, Interpretive structural modelling, ISM
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
Because of the advancements in manufacturing and information technologies, organizations
are now transforming their ways of conducting businesses (Kotha, 1996). Organizations are
focusing on achieving mass customization (MC) capabilities as MC approach has the
potential to compete in turbulent environment and to provide the organizations a
competitive edge (Liao et al., 2013; Tu et al., 2004). MC is an emerging marketing strategy
that aims to provide the customers a product exactly matched to their individual choices at
affordable prices (Pine, 1993). MC provides value to both manufacturers and customers. The
manufacturer receives value in terms of premium prices for customized products (Chen et al.,
2009) and also because of economies associated with cross-functional and cross-company Journal of Modelling in
Management
integration (Hsuan Mikkola and Skjøtt-Larsen, 2004). The customer receives value in terms © Emerald Publishing Limited
1746-5664
of satisfaction associated with personalized goods and services, sense of ownership, DOI 10.1108/JM2-04-2017-0048