Product configurator impact on product quality

Alessio Trentin, Elisa Perin and Cipriano Forza

International Journal of Production Economics, 2012, vol. 135, issue 2, 850-859

Abstract: More and more firms today rely on product configurators to more efficiently and effectively meet increasingly diverse customers’ needs. In literature, however, the discussion of the performance outcomes of product configurator use is limited and largely based on anecdotal evidence. Our paper contributes to fill this gap by developing and empirically testing hypotheses about the relationship between product configurator use and product quality. We find empirical support for the hypotheses that product configurator use improves product quality and that this relationship is negatively moderated by the difficulty for a company to determine the needs of its target market. We conclude by discussing implications of our findings for both research and practice.

Keywords: Product configuration; Product quality; Mass customization; Product variety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:proeco:v:135:y:2012:i:2:p:850-859

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.10.023

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