Frank T. Piller -- Personal Homepage

[ contact USA piller [at] iimcp.org, Tel: +1 / 617 / 326 3748 ]
[ contact GER piller [at] tim.rwth-aachen.de, Tel: +49 / (0)241 / 809 3577 ]

Frank Piller is a chair professor of management and the director of the Technology & Innovation Management Group at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, one of Europe’s leading institutes of technology. He also is a founding faculty member and co-director of the MIT Smart Customization Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
His recent research focuses on value co-creation between businesses and customers/users, customer-centric value creation, strategies to increase the poductivity of technical problem solving, and models to cope with contingenices of the innovation process.Frequently quoted in The Financial Times, The Economist, and Business Week, amongst others, he is regarded as one of Europe's leading experts in the fields of mass customization, customer-centric value creationand open innovation. [extended bio ... ]

Events: MCPC Conference Series, Seminars & Workshops

Executive Workshops & Corporate Speaking Engagements

Interaktive Wertschöpfung. Open Innovation, Individualisierung und neue Formen der Arbeitsteilung (mit Ralf Reichwald, Christoph Ihl und Sascha Seifert). 2te Auflage, Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden 2009. []
New GERMAN text book on a combining theory of customer co-creation, open innovation and mass customization. More information.

Handbook of Research in Mass Customization and Personalization, edited by Frank T. Piller and Mitchell M. Tseng. Published in two volumes (Part 1: Strategies and Concepts, Part 2: Application and Cases), New York: World Scientific Press 2010.
Comprehensive collection of more than 50 recent papers on all aspects of mass customization and personalization. With contributions of more than 100 international experts in the domain. More information. Download List of Contents and Introduction: mchandbook2010.pdf

Mass Customization: Ein Wettbewerbskonzept für das Informationszeitalter, Gabler DUV Verlag: Wiesbaden, 4. aktualisierte Aufl. 2006 [].
Based on an empirical study of 200 pioneering companies the book provides an in-depth analysis of mass customization, with a focus on manufacturing and operations and the enabling capabilities of modern information systems. More information

The Customer Centric Enterprise: Advances in Mass Customization and Personalization, edited by Mitchell M. Tseng and Frank T. Piller, Springer New York / Berlin 2003 [Chinese translation: 2004]
Following an interdisciplinary approach, leading scientists and practitioners share their ideas for building a customer centric enterprise from the perspective of design, engineering, and marketing. More information.

Mass Customization und Kunden-Integration: Neue Wege zum innovativen Produkt , herausgegeben von Frank Piller und Christof Stotko, Symposion, 2003 []
The book presents a managerial discussion on the implementation of a mass customization strategy and extents the concept towards a new approach: Open Innovation: Using customer integration and toolkits for user innovation to create better fitting new products. Kostenloser Download der Fallstudien des Buchs.

Frank Piller: Kundenindividuelle Massenproduktion: Die Wettbewerbsstrategie der Zukunft, mit einer Einführung von B. Joseph Pine II, München/Wien: Carl Hanser Verlag 1998. []
The first German book on Mass Customization, with an introduction by B. Joseph Pine II, discussion of the business model, manager and implementation orientated. Many case studies of the early pioneers of mass customization are presented. More Information

Fabrizio Salvador, Martin de Holan and Frank Piller: Cracking the Code of Mass Customization. MIT Sloan Management Review, 50 (2009) 3 (Spring 2009): 70-79. Download Original Version: Online edition of the journal. Download Working Paper Version: codeofmc2009.pdf

Frank Piller & Mitchell Tseng: Mass Customization Thinking: Moving from Pilot Stage to an Established Business Strategy. In: Handbook of Research in Mass Customization and Personalization, Part 1: Strategies and Concepts, New York: World Scientific Press 2010: 1-18. Download: mchandbook2010.pdf

John Bessant, Kathron Möslein, Anne-Katrin Neyer, Frank Piller and Bettina von Stamm: Radical Innovation: Making the right bet. AIM Executive Briefing. London: Advanced Institute of Management / London Business School 2009. Download: Link to project site.

Frank Piller & Christoph Ihl: Open Innovation with Customers – Foundations, Competences and International Trends. Expert Study commissioned by the European Union, the German Federal Ministry of Research and the Europäischer Sozialfond ESF. Published as part of the project "International Monitoring". Aachen: RWTH ZLW-IMA 2009.Download: Link to project site.

Frank Piller: Interactive value creation with users and customers. In: Anne S. Huff (ed.): Leading Open Innovation, Munich: Peter-Pribilla-Foundation 2008: 16-24. Download:piller_2008-pribilla.pdf 

Frank Piller: Mass Customization. In: Charles Wankel (ed.): The Handbook of 21st Century Management, Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage Publications 2008: 420-430. Download: handbook08.pdf

Frank T. Piller: Observations on the present and future of mass customization. Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal (Formerly: The International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems), 19 (2007) 4 (December 2007): 630-636. Download: fsmj07.pdf

Frank Piller: Mass Customization: Reflections on the state of the concept, International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, 16 (2005) 4 (October): 313-334 (Lead article).Download: fsmj05.pdf

Frank Piller and Ashok Kumar: Mass Customization & Financial Services: Providing custom products and services with mass production efficiency, Journal of Financial Transformation, Special Issue on "The Finance Factory", 18 (2006) November: 125-131. Download: joft06.pdf

Frank Piller and Ashok Kumar: For each, their own. The strategic imperative of mass customization. Industrial Engineer, 38 (2006) 9: 40-46. Download: ie2006.pdf

Klaus Moser, Melanie Müller and Frank Piller: Transforming mass customisation from a marketing instrument to a sustainable business model at Adidas, International Journal of Mass Customization (IJMassC), 2 (2006) 4: 463-480. Download: ijmassc2006.pdf

Klaus Moser and Frank T. Piller: Integration challenges of mass customisation businesses: the case of Steppenwolf, International Journal of Mass Customization (IJMassC), 2 (2006) 4: 507-522. Download: ijmassc2006.pdf

Frank T. Piller and Dominik Walcher: Toolkits for idea competitions: A novel method to integrate users in new product development, R&D Management, 36 (2006) 3: 307-318. Download: pillerwalcher.pdf [working paper version] . Download: Original version [Journal homepage]

Susumu Ogawa & Frank T. Piller: Collective Customer Commitment: Reducing the risks of new product development, MIT Sloan Management Review, 47 (2006) 2 (Winter 2006): 65-72. Download Original Version: Online edition of the journal. Download Working Paper Version: smr2006.pdf

Christoph Berger, Kathrin Moeslein, Frank Piller, and Ralf Reichwald: Co-designing the customer interface for customer-centric strategies: Learning from exploratory research, European Management Review, 2 (2005) 3: 70-87. Download: pdf and html [Online edition of the journal]

Frank Piller, Petra Schubert, Michael Koch and Kathrin Möslein: Overcoming mass confusion: Collaborative customer co-design in online communities, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10 (2005) 4, 10th Anniversary Issue of the Journal. Download: piller.html  [Online edition of the journal]

Nikolaus Franke and Frank Piller: Toolkits for user innovation and design: exploring user interaction and value creation in the watch market, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 21 (2004) 6 (November): 401-415. Download: jpim04.pdf 

Frank Piller, Kathrin Moeslein and Christof Stotko: Does mass customization pay? An economic approach to evaluate customer integration, Production Planning & Control, 15 (2004) 4: 435-444. Download: ppc04.pdf

Nikolaus Franke and Frank Piller: Key Research Issues in User Interaction with Configuration Toolkits, International Journal of Technology Management (IJTM), Vol. 26 (2003), No. 5/6, pp. 578-599. Download (corresponding working paper): TUM-AIBWP033.pdf

Ralf Reichwald, Christof M. Stotko and Frank T. Piller: Distributed mini-factory networks as a form of real-time enterprise: concept, flexibility potential and case studies, in: B. Kuhlin and H. Thielmann (eds.): The Real Time Enterprise, New York: Springer 2005: 407-438. Download: pil2005-4.pdf

Mitchell Tseng and Frank Piller: The Customer Centric Enterprise, in: M. Tseng and F. Piller (Eds.), The Customer Centric Enterprise: Advances in Mass Customization and Personalization, New York/Berlin: Springer 2003, pp. 1-18. Download: tsengpiller2003.pdf

The Market for Customized Footwear in Europe: Market Demand and Consumer Preferences. A project report from the EuroShoe Project within the European Fifth Framework Program. Edited by Frank T. Piller. Munich / Milan, March 2002. Download: euroshoe1.pdf 

Download full list of publications (PDF)

Frank Piller, Udo Klein-Bölting, Dirk Lüttgens & Susanne Neuber: Die Intelligenz der Märkte nutzen: Open Innovation. BBDO Insights Nr. 8, Mai 2008, S. 50-63.Download: openinnovation2008.pdf

Frank Piller: Mass Customization, in: Sönke Albers / Andreas Herrmann (Hg.): Handbuch Produktmanagement, 3. Auflage, Wiesbaden: Gabler 2007, S. 943-968. Download: pil2007-1.pdf

Christoph Ihl, Melanie Müller, Frank Piller und Ralf Reichwald: Kundenzufriedenheit bei Mass Customization: Eine empirische Untersuchung zur Bedeutung des Co-Design-Prozess aus Kundensicht. Die Unternehmung, 59 (2006) 3 (Juni): 165-184. Download: ihl_etal2006.pdf

Frank Piller: User Driven Innovation: Kunden als Initiator und Beteiligte im Innovationsprozess, in: Olga Drossou und Stefan Krempl (Hg.): Open Innovation. Freier Austausch von Wissen als soziales, politisches und wirtschaftliches Erfolgsmodell, Hannover: Heise dpunkt (Reihe Telepolis) 2006. Download: pil2005-1.pdf

Frank Piller: Von Open Source zu Open Innovation, Harvard Business Manager, 25 (2003) 12 (Dezember): 114. Download: hbm03.pdf

Ralf Reichwald und Frank Piller: Von Massenproduktion zu Co-Produktion: Kunden als Wertschöpfungspartner, Wirtschaftsinformatik 45 (2003) 5: 515-519. Download: reichpil2003.pdf

Frank Piller und Christoph Ihl: Mass Customization ohne Mythos: Warum viele Unternehmen trotz der Nutzenpotentiale kundenindividueller Massenproduktion an der Umsetzung scheitern, in: IO New Management, 71. Jg. (2002), H. 10, S. 16-30. Download: mythos.pdf

Frank Piller / Florian Hönigschmid /Florian Müller: Individualität und Preis: Eine empirische Untersuchung zu Preissensibilität und Zahlungsbereitschaft bei Mass-Customization-Produkten, Arbeitsbericht Nr. 28 des Lehrstuhls für Allgemeine und Industrielle Betriebswirtschaftslehre der Technischen Universität München, ISSN 0942-5098, May 2002. Download: TUM-AIBWP028.pdf

Ralf Reichwald / Frank Piller: Mass-Customization-Konzepte im E-Business, in: Rolf Weiber (Hg.): Handbuch Electronic Business, 2. Auflage, Wiesbaden: Gabler 2002, S. 469-494. Download: pil2002-8.pdf 

Ralf Reichwald / Frank Piller: Der Kunde als Wertschöpfungspartner: Formen und Prinzipien, in: Horst Albach et al. (Hg.): Wertschöpfungsmanagement als Kernkompetenz, Wiesbaden: Gabler, 2002, S. 27-52. Download: pil2002-3.pdf 

Frank Piller: CRM durch Mass Customization, in: HMD-Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik, 38. Jg. (2001), H. 221 (Oktober 2001), Themenheft Customer Relationship Management, S. 47-57. Download: pil2001-5.pdf

Frank Piller / Roland Meier: Strategien zur effizienten Individualisierung von Dienstleistungen, in: Industrie-Management, 17. Jg. (2001), Nr. 2, S. 13-17. Download: pil2001-10.pdf

Frank Piller / Detlef Schoder: Mass Customization und Electronic Commerce, in: ZFB - Zeitschrift für Betriebswirtschaft, 1999, Heft 10. Download: zfb99.pdf

Frank Piller: Das Produktivitätsparadoxon der Informationstechnologie, in: WIST, 27. Jg. (1998), H. 5, S. 257-262. Download: wist97.pdf 

Frank Piller: Kundenindividuelle Produkte - von der Stange: Mass Customization, in: HARVARD BUSINESS manager, 19. Jg. (1997), H. 3, S. 15 - 26. Download: hbm97.pdf

Download full list of publications (PDF)

RWTH Aachen, Technology & Innovation Management Group,
Kackertstrasse 15-17, 52072 Aachen, Germany
Tel +49 241 809-3577 | piller [at] mass-customization.de

MIT Smart Customization Group, MIT Design Lab,
attn: Betty Lou McClanahan, MIT Media Laboratory,
20 Ames Street, Room E15-228, Cambridge, MA 02142-1308, USA
Tel +1 617 326-3748 | piller [at] mass-customization.de