Mass Customisation Models for Travel and Tourism Information e-Services

Abstract

Online travel firms exploit current ICT advances for developing mass customization (MC) capabilities and addressing the needs of the sophisticated travellers. However, studies investigating MC in services and specifically in tourism are limited. By adopting a customer-focused approach, this paper addresses this gap by analysing the following issues: a) the ICT and product dimensions that online firms can customise for developing and implementing different MC models; and b) the customer value and benefits provided by the different MC models. After reviewing and illustrating the interrelationships of studies coming from the fields of customer value, MC and IS design, the author proposes a customer value based framework for developing MC models. The applicability and practical implications of this framework are demonstrated by analysing the MC practices of three online travel cyberintermediaries. Finally, the paper summarises the formulation of research propositions investigating the influence of users’ characteristics on the customer value and benefits sought by MC practices and on the design of the IS platforms supporting MC services.