1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH
Final thesis: Electronic collaborative mass customization (ECMC) as a competitive strategy I am Krista Palmu from Aalto University School of Economics (Department of Marketing and Management) and I am conducting my final thesis on electronic collaborative mass customization (ECMC) as a competitive strategy. In my research, I am interviewing organizations and service providers about the use and utilization of virtual customer co-design platforms as competitive tools. As a secondary research source, I use netnography in order to gain a multifaceted view on the subject and guarantee customer-centrism.
The interview will be a themed interview meaning that it entails open discussion around certain pre-defined themes. The interview is conducted in Finnish language, it will be recorded, and it will last approximately two to three (2–3) hours. The purpose of the research is to collect information about the way electronic collaborative mass customization may be utilized as a competitive weapon which means that information will be gathered in terms of the concept’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats from four different perspectives – namely, customers, competitors, organization, and system. The research questions are sent beforehand to participants (see Part 2). The aim is to collect data according to the following field:
Current state –
Strengths and weaknesses
Future state –
Opportunities and threats Customers
Competitors Organization System
Only the researcher (the researcher being me) will utilize the collected data and the data will be analyzed according to the principles of content analysis what means that broader themes guiding operations are being sought. The data will be transcribed and sent to the participants for correcting. Ultimately, the final report will be will be stored in Helecon’s electronic database and sent to the interviewees as a sign of gratitude for the collaboration.
2. STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY
The interview entails two aspects – the current state (strengths and weaknesses) and the future state (possibilities and threats). Inside each of these scenarios, four different mass customization elements are being discussed. The fundamental idea is to collect information about the following:
1. What are the key success factors (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) behind customer understanding and how can they be managed/developed? (*)
2. What are the key success factors (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) behind competitive understanding and how can they be managed/developed? (**) 3. What are the key success factors (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
behind organizational understanding and how can they be managed/developed? (***) 4. What are the key success factors (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
behind systems understanding and how can they be managed/developed? (****)
(*) For example, needs, requirements, preferences…
(**) For example, market situation, competitors, competitive means such as marketing, product design, price…
(***) For example, attitudes, cultures, resources, management, know-how of employees… (****) For example, technological processes, manufacturing, delivery…
It is possible to prepare oneself for the interview by considering answers the above-mentioned questions beforehand. The interview aims at being very generic meaning that company-specific solutions are not the main focus of discussion but, rather, the interview emphasizes electronic collaborative mass customization as a general strategic tool or solution for companies. Thereby, the answers may be primarily provided from this viewpoint.
3. PROGRESSION OF THE INTERVIEW
It is possible to proceed as follows:
________________________________________________________________________________ GENERAL INFORMATION: Name: Title: Organization: Turnover: Line of business: Length of career:
Experience of similar concepts or other fields: Possibility to publish company name:
Evaluation of the concept’s success: Prioritization of key success factors:
________________________________________________________________________________
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
CUSTOMERS – what are the related key success factors and how can they be better utilized?
Current state
1. What strengths does the concept have with regard to customers currently and how can they be utilized/developed?
2. What weaknesses does the concept have with regard to customers currently and how can they be utilized/developed?
Future state
3. What opportunities does the concept have with regard to customers in future and how can they be utilized/developed?
4. What threats does the concept have with regard to customers in future and how can they be utilized/developed?
COMPETITORS – what are the related key success factors and how can they be better utilized?
Current state
1. What strengths does the concept have with regard to competition currently and how can they be utilized/developed?
2. What weaknesses does the concept have with regard to competition currently and how can they be utilized/developed?
Future state
3. What opportunities does the concept have with regard to competition in future and how can they be utilized/developed?
4. What threats does the concept have with regard to competition in future and how can they be utilized/developed?
ORGANIZATION – what are the related key success factors and how can they be better utilized?
Current state
1. What strengths does the concept have with regard to organization currently and how can they be utilized/developed?
2. What weaknesses does the concept have with regard to organization currently and how can they be utilized/developed?
Future state
3. What opportunities does the concept have with regard to organization in future and how can they be utilized/developed?
4. What threats does the concept have with regard to organization in future and how can they be utilized/developed?
SYSTEM – what are the related key success factors and how can they be better utilized?
Current state
1. What strengths does the concept have with regard to system currently and how can they be utilized/developed?
2. What weaknesses does the concept have with regard to system currently and how can they be utilized/developed?
Future state
3. What opportunities does the concept have with regard to system in future and how can they be utilized/developed?
4. What threats does the concept have with regard to system in future and how can they be utilized/developed?