The mass production of standardized goods was the source of America's economic strength for generations and became the model for successful industries. Today, that model is a major cause of the nation's declining competitiveness. As Joe Pine makes clear, innovative companies are embracing a new paradigm of management - mass customization - that allows them to create greater variety and customization in their products and services at competitive prices, or better. He explains mass customization in its historical context, demonstrates why mass production cannot work in turbulent industries, and outlines how new forms of competition have led to greater variety and customization. Based upon academic and field research, his work is a thoughtful analysis and commentary on when and how managers in both service and manufacturing industries can make the transition to mass customization. He details the strategies, methods, and organizational transformations required to develop, produce, market, and deliver individually customized goods and services, and shows managers how to analyze their own industries to determine if they should shift to mass customization.
B. Joseph Pine II is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and management advisor to Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial start-ups alike. He is cofounder of Strategic Horizons LLP, a thinking studio dedicated to helping businesses conceive and design new ways of adding value to their economic offerings.
In his speaking and teaching activities, Mr. Pine has addressed both the World Economic Forum and TED, and is a Visiting Scholar with the MIT Design Lab. He has also taught at Penn State, Duke Corporate Education, the University of Minnesota, UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management, and the Harvard Design School. He serves on the editorial boards of Strategy & Leadership and Strategic Direction and is a Senior Fellow with both the Design Futures Council and the European Centre for the Experience Economy, which he co-founded. For more, see www.StrategicHorizons.com.
