Measuring modularity-based manufacturing practices and their impact on mass customization capability: A customer-driven perspective

As uncertainty in markets and technology intensifies, more companies are adopting modular product and process architectures to cope with increasing demands for individually customized products. Modularity-based manufacturing is the application of unit standardization or substitution principles to create modular components and processes that can be configured into a wide range of end products to meet specific customer needs. This study defines modularity-based manufacturing practices (MBMP), develops a valid and reliable instrument to measure MBMP, builds a framework that relates customer closeness, MBMP, and mass customization capability, and tests structural relationships within this framework using LISREL. Based on 303 responses from members of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, statistically significant and positive relationships were found among customer closeness, modularity-based manufacturing practices, and mass customization capability. Managerial implications of the empirical findings of this study and future research directions are also discussed.