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Impact of Product Modularity on Mass Customization Capability: An Exploratory Study of Contextual Factors

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  • Mincong Tang

    (Talent Development Research Base on Decision and Consulting of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, P. R. China†International Center for Informatics Research, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, P. R. China)

  • Yinan Qi

    (#x2021;Business School, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, P. R. China)

  • Min Zhang

    (#xA7;Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK)

Abstract

This study examines how the impact of product modularity (PM) on the mass customization capability (MCC) is moderated by several contextual factors, such as the firms’ information system capacity (ISC), teamwork (TW), multifunctional employees (MFE), and organizational structure (flat or hierarchical) (OSF). Data from 238 firms located in multiple countries across three different industry groups were analyzed to test the moderated regression models and the hypotheses. The results showed that the product modularity strongly impacts the MCC. Compared to ISC, the social contextual variables, such as TW, MFE, and OSF, have stronger moderating effects on the impact of the product modularity on the mass customization capability. In addition, ISC helps MCC solely for firms with flat organizational structures. Overall, our study suggests that manufacturers who desire to become mass customizers should create flat, nimble organizations with employees who are trained in several different tasks and are adept at teamwork.

Suggested Citation

  • Mincong Tang & Yinan Qi & Min Zhang, 2017. "Impact of Product Modularity on Mass Customization Capability: An Exploratory Study of Contextual Factors," International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(04), pages 939-959, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:ijitdm:v:16:y:2017:i:04:n:s0219622017410012
    DOI: 10.1142/S0219622017410012
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