Mass Customization: One Size Fits All

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Recommended: Industrial revolution and its impact

The concept of mass customization makes sense. Why wouldn’t a consumer want a product tailored to suit their individual desire? In his book, Mass Customization – The New Frontier in Business Competition, Joseph B. Pine defines mass customization as “developing, producing, marketing and delivering affordable goods and services with enough variety and customization that nearly everyone finds exactly what they want” (1993). Simply, the goal is to provide the consumer what they want when they want it.

Long before the Industrial Revolution, products were produced by specialized craftsman and custom-made for each consumer to their precise specifications and needs. The Industrial Revolution gave way from the individual artisans to the mass-production of standardized goods that met basic needs. Customized products remained available, but were reserved for the wealthy and elite (Goldsmith & Freiden, 2004). Advancements in technology and the Internet in the Information Age have made customized goods available to consumers at a reasonable price in this phenomenon known as mass customization. Lampel and Mintzberg explain that, the internet’s capabilities for manufacturer and consumer to interact and communicate combined with the just-in-time inventory model made possible by robotics have made mass customization possible (as cited in, Goldsmith & Freiden, 2004). While mass customization was made possible advancements of the technology and the manufacturing process, it is driven by the consumer's desire to be unique but varies from generation to generation.

Individualism and Conformity

In his book Denial of Death, Becker discusses the individual’s need to fit in but desire to stand out (1973). As humans, we search to be...

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Palmer, K. (2008). The Store of YOU. [Article]. U.S. News & World Report, 145(10), 54-56.

Pine II, B. J. (1993). Mass Customization -- The New Frontier in Business Competition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.

Russel, C. (1993). The master trend. [Article]. American Demographics, 15(10), 28.

Thomas, R. R. (unkown). Television Reception in the 1950's: A Coming of Age. The AWA Online Journal. Retrieved from The Antique Wireless Association Journal On-Lie website: http://www.antiquewireless.org/otb/tvearly1008.htm

Williams, K. C., & Page, R. A. (2011). Marketing to the Generations. Journal of Behavioral Sutdies in Business, 3.

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