HUMANIT3D for disaster response: an assessment of mass customization on organizational performance under turbulent environments

Mass customization aims to produce customized goods (allowing economies of scope) at lower cost (to achieve economies of scale) using multiple strategies (modularization and postponement). Mass customization in software and hardware design is becoming more popular for users and researchers. Through a simulation experiment of emergency response organizations under turbulent environment, we aim to compare standardization and mass customization of services and assess the impact of different forms of mass customization (early and late postponement) on performance, quality and consumer satisfaction, on the use of modular dynamic ecosystem based on HUMANIT3D, an integrated collaborative ecosystem composed of UAV management system, data collection system, and 3D Geographic Information System. Our hypothesis is that mass customization performs better and achieves better quality in turbulent environment than standardization, but only when using early postponement strategies. Using mixed methods study, we try to confirm our hypothesis. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of HumTech2015.