Maria Kollberg Thomassen

Børge Sjøbakk
email: borge.sjobakk@sintef.no

Erlend Alfnes
email: erlend.alfnes@ntnu.no

A Strategic Approach for Automation Technology Initiatives Selection

Keywords: Operations strategy, automation, process technology, strategic approach, technology selection, high variety production

des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

Introduction

Despite rapid developments of new manufacturing technologies, a large percentage of technology adoptions fail to achieve expected benefits [START_REF] Da | Strategic selection of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT), based on the manufacturing vision[END_REF][START_REF] Small | Planning, justifying and installing advanced manufacturing technology: a managerial framework[END_REF]. The risk of unsuccessful investments in advanced production equipment is high. Often, companies have insufficient foundation for investments decision-making [START_REF] Small | Planning, justifying and installing advanced manufacturing technology: a managerial framework[END_REF]. Consequently, many companies tend to make large investments in equipment that give only limited payoff [START_REF] Chung | Human issues influencing the successful implementation of advanced manufacturing technology[END_REF], often resulting in too much capacity, excess functionality and equipment that does not fulfill its potential [START_REF] Mehrabi | Trends and perspectives in flexible and reconfigurable manufacturing systems[END_REF]. A rapid increase in the number of available technologies and technology complexity has implied more challenging decision-making [START_REF] Morgan | Integrating product mix and technology adoption decisions: a portfolio approach for evaluating advanced technologies in the automobile industry[END_REF][START_REF] Torkkeli | The contribution of technology selection to core competencies[END_REF]. Literature proposes numerous approaches to technology selection [START_REF] Farooq | Manufacturing technology selection: a supply chain perspective[END_REF][START_REF] Raafat | A comprehensive bibliography on justification of advanced manufacturing systems[END_REF][START_REF] Chan | Investment appraisal techniques for advanced manufacturing technology (AMT): a literature review[END_REF]. However, existing models are criticized for requiring large computations and for being time consuming and difficult to use due to their high level of sophistication [START_REF] Ordoobadi | Development of a justification tool for advanced manufacturing technologies: system-wide benefits value analysis[END_REF][START_REF] Goyal | Advanced manufacturing technology effectiveness: A review of literature and some issues[END_REF]. The purpose of this research is to develop an approach to support decision-makers in automation technology selection. The approach is self-explanatory, simple to apply and permits rapid prioritization of automation initiatives. The study expects to contribute to improved practices of how companies can arrive at better quality automation decisions by adopting a systematic approach.

The approach was developed using action research, including literature investigations and discussions with representatives of two case companies; a supplier of hightech ship equipment and a plastic pipe system supplier. The companies provided detailed insights into their experiences from historical and ongoing automation processes, as well as their needs of how current practices should be improved.

The rest of the paper is structured as follows. A theoretical background is given, followed by a presentation of the suggested approach. An illustrative example of how the approach can be used is also included. After this, conclusions are presented.

Theoretical background

Most of the traditional literature on automation, with focus on high-volume, lowvariety production, claims that automation is highly suitable for standardized processes and products in high volumes [START_REF] Sjøbakk | Automation in the ETO Production Situation: The Case of a Norwegian Supplier of Ship Equipment[END_REF]. Processes characterized by specific product features or high level of customization have traditionally been challenging to automate [START_REF] Frohm | Levels of Automation in production systems[END_REF]. However, more flexible technologies have emerged in recent years that permit more efficient automation also of non-standard processes [START_REF] Koren | Design of reconfigurable manufacturing systems[END_REF]. Decreased technology prices in combination with increased labor costs enable automation in areas that have not earlier been viable [START_REF] Wadhwa | Flexibility in manufacturing automation: A living lab case study of Norwegian metalcasting SMEs[END_REF]. Consequently, the interest for automation is growing also among companies characterized by high variation and typically manual based labor. With this development, automation decisions become even more challenging.

A relatively large body of literature addresses technology selection and justification issues in manufacturing companies. There is especially a wide range of approaches for technology selection [START_REF] Farooq | Manufacturing technology selection: a supply chain perspective[END_REF] and justification of new technology investments [START_REF] Raafat | A comprehensive bibliography on justification of advanced manufacturing systems[END_REF]. Basically, technology selection methodologies focus on how to select the best technology for a specific process whereas investment appraisal techniques provide support for analysing investment justification problems of specific equipment.

There is a large variation in process focus among existing approaches, meaning that they are developed for different purposes and settings. For example, Torkkeli and Tuominen [START_REF] Torkkeli | The contribution of technology selection to core competencies[END_REF] propose a process for integrating technology selection to a part of core competence management in large manufacturing companies, whereas the technology selection framework of Farooq and O'Brien [START_REF] Farooq | An analytical approach to strategic technology selection[END_REF] aims to ensure alignment of technology decisions to supply chain objectives. Moreover, most approaches are based upon specific methods that imply detailed and time-consuming analyses and calculations for a defined technology or process [e.g. [START_REF] Kengpol | The development of a decision support tool for the selection of advanced technology to achieve rapid product development[END_REF][START_REF] Efstathiades | Strategic planning, transfer and implementation of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMT). Development of an integrated process plan[END_REF][START_REF] Chan | Evaluation methodologies for technology selection[END_REF]. Only a few approaches have been identified that address applicability or usability aspects and provide guidance on usage of approaches [START_REF] Greitemann | Strategic Screening of Manufacturing Technologies[END_REF][START_REF] Phaal | Technology management process assessment: a case study[END_REF]. Social and environmental aspects are rarely considered in current approaches.

A synthesis of the main phases of different technology decision-making approaches and typical areas of analysis in a selection of literature is presented in Table 1.

3

The Suggested Technology Selection Approach

The suggested technology selection approach is described in this section. It has been developed based on the literature and input from the two case companies. The companies seek increased efficiency in order to retain their production in Norway. Their high labor costs make automation the most efficient means of competitiveness. The companies are already highly automated; however, automation is applied in a rather "traditional" manner and includes mainly standard processes and simple products.

The approach aims to support prioritization of automation initiatives so that a few projects can be selected for more detailed analysis and evaluation for acquisition and implementation. Even though the process is structured in five steps, it is assumed that the process is highly iterative in practice and recurrence is a natural part of the process, and that findings in subsequent steps may lead to reassessment of previous ones.

The first step deals with technology strategy decisions. A key question is how manufacturing can support the business strategy in terms of various performance metrics. Corporate responsibility and environmental policies should be used to shape main principles for responsible manufacturing in terms of workplace health, safety practices and environmental stewardship. Industry trends and company technology capabilities are used to decide whether the company should be an 'innovator' or a 'follower' and whether technologies are to be developed in-house or purchased.

In step 2, process analysis, the overall manufacturing system should be understood in terms of: (1) its performance requirements in terms of volumes, batch sizes, capacity and utilization, for instance; (2) main products and their processing requirements, with regard to geometry and material specifications; (3) the processing activities performed by the manufacturing system. Thereafter, process candidates can be identified by calculating current and future processing times in machine hours and man hours for each process, selecting labor intensive candidates for automaton and adding candidates based on requirements for performance and responsible manufacturing.

Technology alternatives are analyzed in step 3. For each process candidate, potential technologies should be identified. For each technology, its maturity should be assessed together with the level of adaptation required to perform the process using the technology. Each technology should also be evaluated in terms of what performance it implies for the process. Selected technologies should be suitable for each process and be evaluated based upon short-term and long-term considerations.

Step 4 involves the ranking of process/technology combinations where process/technology candidates are assessed in terms of strategic importance and ease of implementation. Priority should be given to initiatives with a strong strategic impact that are also easy to implement.

Investment and implementation aspects are considered in step 5, where the economic viability is tested for the prioritized candidates, usually through development of business cases. Specific analyses to be carried out typically vary with the information requested by the company's board of directors. For viable projects, implementation plans with defined milestones and responsibilities should be developed. The main elements of the suggested approach are summarized in Table 2.

Application of the Approach

This chapter describes how the suggested approach for structuring and selection of potential automation initiatives is applied in one of the case companies. The company produces pipes for water, sewage, gas, cable protection and electrical installations. Its standard products come in a large number of variants depending on aspects related to for instance color, material and geometry including shape, circumference and length. Non-standard variants are made in-house in a separate department. Here, standard products from the inventory are customized by means of manual labor and low-level, semi-automated process technology.

Step 1: Technology strategy decisions. In order to compete against low-cost competitors and retain production in Norway, cost efficiency is a key competitive priority for the company. As such, any technology investments should contribute to reduced operating costs. Further, the company continuously works on improving its workplace health and safety practices, and there is high priority on eliminating straining, manual and repetitive tasks. Being a Norwegian subsidiary of one of the world's leading suppliers of plastic pipe systems, the company seeks to be an innovator. Since the company has limited capabilities to develop new technology in-house, they primarily seek to acquire new equipment from external suppliers.

Step 2: Process analysis. The manufacturing performance requirements are mapped next, including an assessment of the production data over the last four years in terms of number of parts produced, cycle time, share of man hours, service level, other delivery terms, and so on. This is used to identify main products (plastic pipes and components in a range of variants) and map their processing requirements. The main processes carried out to produce these products are identified, including plastic extrusion or injection molding for standard product variants, with subsequent forming, joining (e.g. welding) and assembly for customized products. Products are grouped based on similarities in processing and product characteristics. For each of these groups, aggregate processing times in machine-hours and man-hours are calculated, see Fig. 1. This overview is used to select the most labor intensive candidates. Groups with high man-hours (1, 4 and 5) are selected as candidates. Group 6 is omitted because the process is already highly automated. Groups 2, 3, 7 and 8 are assessed based on additional requirements to evaluate whether they are potential candidates. However, these did not qualify for further enquiry.

Step 3: Technology analysis. For the selected groups, available technologies are identified based on internet searches and technical expertise, within the company and with external experts. These are characterized in terms of technological maturity, including working reliability, and level of adaptation required in order to implement the technology, and mapped in a framework. The left part of Fig. 2 shows an example where technologies for group 4 are mapped according to the two dimensions. Step 4: Technology/process ranking. Next, the selected candidates of alternative process/technology combinations are assessed in terms of ease of implementation and strategic importance. The right part of Fig. 2 above illustrates the positioning of different technologies for different product groups according to the two dimensions. The sizes of the circles indicate the share of products the technology is able to handle. By weighting the alternatives, final automation project priority came out as: 4C, 4A, 5B, 1D and 1A. Project 5A was discarded due to its lack of ease of implementation, although aspects of design for automation aspects were considered that might have helped to simplify implementation.

Step 5: Investment and implementation. The company is working on business cases showing the viability of the suggested automation projects. Being a part of an international group, it follows a corporate template for investment proposals. Several of the analyses proposed in the approach are carried out in order to fulfill the group management's requirements for investment proposals.

Conclusions

Automation technology constitutes a critical element for Norwegian manufacturing industry to increase productivity and stay competitive. Making sound automation decisions at the first attempt is crucial; however, existing models for selection of automation initiatives are not being used by industry due to their high complexity. In response, this paper presents a strategic approach for selecting automation technology projects that intends to be simple and efficient to use. The approach mainly addresses the early phases of the technology selection process, and contributes with improved understanding of how companies systematically can select appropriate automation initiatives. It has been developed based on literature and in collaboration with two case companies by utilizing the action research method.

The results represent a first version of the approach. Involved case company representatives and colleagues participating in the two projects have given positive feedback on the approach. More research is needed to develop it into a more consistent methodology. Planned activities include testing and developing the approach on specific automation initiatives in case companies. Key dimensions of the approach will be further specified including evaluation criteria for the different steps. Further work will focus on aspects related to high product variation.

Fig. 1 .

 1 Fig. 1. Example of labor intensity mapping in the case company

Fig. 2 .

 2 Fig. 2. Examples of technology analysis and technology/process rankingCircles A, B and C represent three different pipe bending technologies. The size of each circle represents the total amount of products that the technology is able to process. Technology A is mature but can only handle 30 % of the total volume. Technology C is possible to use for 100 % of the volume; however, its cycle time is significantly lower. Technology B has low performance as well as low maturity, making it a less desirable candidate. Based on this mapping, technology A and C are selected for the next step. Similar mappings are carried out for groups 1 and 5.Step 4: Technology/process ranking. Next, the selected candidates of alternative process/technology combinations are assessed in terms of ease of implementation and strategic importance. The right part of Fig.2above illustrates the positioning of different technologies for different product groups according to the two dimensions. The sizes of the circles indicate the share of products the technology is able to handle. By weighting the alternatives, final automation project priority came out as: 4C, 4A, 5B, 1D and 1A. Project 5A was discarded due to its lack of ease of implementation, although aspects of design for automation aspects were considered that might have helped to simplify implementation.Step 5: Investment and implementation. The company is working on business cases showing the viability of the suggested automation projects. Being a part of an international group, it follows a corporate template for investment proposals. Several of the analyses proposed in the approach are carried out in order to fulfill the group management's requirements for investment proposals.

Table 1 .

 1 Main phases and typical areas of analysis identified in literature

	Main phase Typical areas of analysis	Refs.
	Strategic	Market characteristics, evolution and trends Manufacturing vision and strategy	[1, 6, 9, 16, 18,
		Core competencies definition	22]
		Business objectives, opportunities and competitive priorities
		Strategic planning incl. technology strategy, mission and purpose
	Operations	Resources and competences Operational goals and requirements	[9, 18, 22, 23]
		Product characteristics
	Technology Technology alternatives identification Technology characteristics and performance	[6, 9, 16, 18, 19,
		Technology impact assessment incl. risk	22-24]
	Investment	Technical, manufacturing and financial criteria definition Economic/financial, strategic and analytical justification	[9, 17, 18]
	tation Implemen-	Technical knowledge Training and installation Deployment and protection of core competencies	[6, 9, 18]

Table 2 .

 2 The suggested approach

	Step	Input	Assessments and Decisions	Output
	Technol-	Business strategy	Define manuf. competitive priorities	Technology
	ogy strat-	CSR strategy	and responsibility objectives	strategy
	egy	Technology trends	Define innovation position for main	Areas of
		Competences	technologies	interest for
				automation
	Process	Manuf. performance	Map processes	Manufactur-
	analysis	and responsibility re-	Select labour intensive processes	ing process
		quirements	Add candidates based on additional	candidates
		Product processing	requirements
		requirements
		Bill of manuf. processes
	Technol-	Literature and patents	Identify alternative technologies	Technolo-
	ogy anal-	Conferences, fairs	Assess technology maturity and per-	gy/process
	ysis	Expert knowledge	formance	combina-
		Internal documents and	Select technologies for each candidate	tions
		workshops	process
	Technol-	Accumulated input	Assess strategic importance	Ranked
	ogy/	from step 1-3	Assess ease of implementation	technology
	process		Select project candidates based on	projects
	ranking		strategic impact and ease of imple-
			mentation
	Inv. and	Sales forecasts	Analyse investments	Time
	imple-	Acquisition costs	Assess suppliers	phased
	mentation	Operating cost	Assess competence requirements	technology
		Supplier quotations	Select projects and plan implementa-	implementa-
			tion	tion plan

Acknowledgements. We are grateful to The Research Council of Norway for funding this research. We would also like to express our appreciation to colleagues, especially Lars Erik Wetterwald, and case companies involved in the projects Effective Production of Advanced Maritime Equipment (EFFEKT) and Sustainable Multi-variant Manufacturing in Semi-process Industry (MIX), and the Center for Research-based Innovation Norwegian Manufacturing Future (SFI Norman), for their contribution.


Serena Caracchi
email: serenac@stud.ntnu.no

Pavan K Sriram
email: pavan.sriram@ntnu.no

Marco Semini
email: marco.semini@ntnu.no

Jan Ola Strandhagen
email: janola.strandhagen@sintef.no

Capability Maturity Model Integrated for Ship Design and Construction

Keywords: Ship Design and Construction, CMMI, maturity models, value chain configurations

Project constraints are continuously growing in terms of time, cost, customer satisfaction, return on investment, quality. And also they are growing in terms of complexity, number of stakeholders, number of parameters to manage and number of interactions between these parameters. In this paper, we carry out literature study on capability maturity model integrated (CMMI) for Ship Design and Construction. The purpose is to understand, demonstrate and develop a structure for CMMI in Ship Design and Construction. Capability maturity models offer companies a simple but effective tool to organize, control and monitoring their processes. Emerged out of software engineering, the application fields have widened and maturity model research is becoming more important. So far, few limited studies exits on applicability of capability maturity models for Ship Design and Construction. The developed structure can be used as a structured matrix to assess the maturity levels of the company through measurable stages. In addition, the structured matrix can be used to assess and improve individual companies involved in the ship design and construction process, for example a yard and assess various value chain configurations, i.e., alternative configurations of actors to be performing a planned ship design and construction project.

Introduction

Ship design and construction involves integrated activities, that includes tendering, contracting, concept and functional design, engineering, procurement, production, commissioning, delivery, and guarantee service [START_REF] Andritsos | The automation and integration of production processes in shipbuilding[END_REF]. In recent years, the ship design and construction community has become increasingly aware of the significance of the operational and managerial side of such activities, if they are to be effectively performed, coordinated and integrated [START_REF] Semini | Strategies for customized shipbuilding with different customer order decoupling points[END_REF]. However, there is a lack of models and tools supporting the assessment, improvement and integration of these activities. Within project management in general, various models for internal assessment and improvement of process quality/capability have been proposed. Among them, the capability maturity model (CMM) and its successor, capability maturity model integrated, [START_REF] Chrissis | CMMI Guidlines for Process Integration and Product Improvement[END_REF] seem to be particularly suitable for more specific application in various sectors. Attempts have been made to adapt them to the industry characteristics within fashion [START_REF] Battista | The Logistic Maturity Model: Application to a Fashion Company[END_REF], the automotive industry [START_REF] Gonzalez | Measuring project maturity: example in a french automotive organization[END_REF], construction [START_REF] Meng | Maturity Model for Supply Chain Relationships in Construction[END_REF], and mechatronics and transportation [START_REF] Pels | PLM maturity assessment[END_REF]. To the authors' knowledge, no such studies have been performed for ship design and construction industry. This study seeks to fill the knowledge gap by developing a structure for a CMMI for ship design and construction. It aims to identify the activities the CMMI should evaluate (criteria), as well as the maturity levels in each of these activities. The main result of this paper is the CMMI matrix which could be used as a tool to assess and improve the capabilities of individual companies involved in the ship design and construction process, for example, a yard. It may also be in project-making in order to assess alternative configurations of actors to be performing a planned ship design and construction project. The concepts and results developed in the present research are mainly based on a literature review. International journals and conference proceedings, scientific textbooks, as well as white papers and relevant internet sources have been used in order to understand ship design and construction as well as to review existing research on maturity models.

Ship design and construction

Ships differ regarding the level of required customization, demand volumes and other characteristics [START_REF] Semini | Strategies for customized shipbuilding with different customer order decoupling points[END_REF]. Ship design and construction is a complex process in which a lot of resources and areas of the company are involved, and requests a high level of coordination between parties. The project starts with the concept design, where customer requirements are translated into first set of documents with the principal characteristics of ships (area, volume, weight, speed). Then there's a deeper level, called basic and functional design, in which is created a specification book that collects technical details of the entire system and theirs economic feasibility. The contract design is built on a platform in which customer, yards, designers and engineers and constructions parties agree on specifications and costs about the entire project; the platform is continuously update. Through engineering activities concept design is translated into drawings, sketches and concrete instructions to build the ship. In this step the ship project is integrated with the different systems and subsystems (electrical, control,..) and often the engineering is carried out concurrently with procurement and production. Planning and coordination is an essential activity to conclude the work on time. Essentially the building strategy is decided (how to build and with what), costs and time are estimated and the main schedule is anticipated. Finally the construction of the ship is carried out in the production and assembly stage, starting with the hull and finishing with the assembly of the various subsystems. After all the work in the dry dock is finished, the ship is launched on water. The procurement concerns the selection, the negotiation and the collaboration with suppliers. It's also a very important activity because it's necessary to complete it in little time, from the signed contract and the start of work. Then there's the commissioning, in which a long period test is carried and the ship is delivered to the buyer. The ship design and construction company agrees on maintenance and carries routine maintenance at an agreed time basis.

Above we introduced the main activities performed in ship design and construction. It did not distinguish between the ship designer and the ship builder (yard). In some cases, there are indeed fully integrated firms that carry out a large part of the project inhouse and sometimes even own the finished product. Usually, however, the different activities are not performed by a single company, but a network of geographically dispersed parties with different roles and interactions. Even a single activity, such as engineering, can be split among several parties. The degree to which each party is involved in the various activities differs from project to project, and so does the level of integration and coordination between them. This is a characteristic of ship design and construction. Due to these differences, we find it useful to name the involved parties in terms of their predominant function. We concentrate on those with the most significant roles in actually carrying out the ship design and construction activities:

 The ship designer  The shipyard  Main equipment suppliers

3

CMMI: an overview

Review of existing models

Maturity models generally arose at the beginning of the nineties when companies started to feel the need to assess the current state of their organizations in a structured way [START_REF] Kohoutek | Reflections on the capability and maturity models of engineering processes[END_REF]. Today, there are many different models, each oriented towards a specific domain ( Among the reviewed models CMMI appears to be particularly suitable for application to ship design and construction. First of all, CMMI reduces task uncertainty and helps manage complex interaction among actors, tasks and processes; this leads to a reduction in defects and rework. It supports process integration and the reuse of past knowledge, reducing time and costs. And another significant benefit is that it helps to integrate supply chains, contributing towards effective relationship management [START_REF] Veldman | Applicability of the capability maturity model for engineer-to-order firms[END_REF]. Quality schemes, such as ISO 9001:2000 and DNVs Manufacturer product quality assessment (MPQA) are outwards oriented, aiming to provide certifications towards customers and stakeholders [START_REF] Bozarth | The impact of market requirements focus and manufacturing characteristics focus on plant performance[END_REF]. Maturity models, on the other hand, support internal assessment and improvement. They complement each other. ISO 9001:2000 has been associated with the third level in the CMMI structure [START_REF] Yoo | A unified model for the implementation of both ISO 9001: 2000 and CMMI by ISO-certified organizations[END_REF]. Yoon et al. also proposed a method to implement both frameworks by initially implementing CMMI and adding further requirements for ISO 9001:2000. Further we define CMMI and discuss the maturity levels of CMMI in the following section.

Definitions of CMMI

Before defining a CMMI model is important to understand CMM model from which, CMMI is derived. The Capability Maturity Model is a framework representing a path of improvements recommended in order to reach a different stage of process capability [START_REF] Paulk | Capability maturity model for software[END_REF]. CMM integration (CMMI) is an extension of CMM model, composed by a collection of the best practices in the areas of product and service development, service establishment, management, delivery and product and service acquisition. There are two representation of CMMI: continuous and staged. The main difference between them is while the staged model rates the whole organization with one figure, a continuous model rates separately the performance of each of the processes that are assessed [START_REF] Jokela | A survey of usability capability maturity models: implications for practice and research[END_REF], CMMI Product Team (2002)).

The levels and benefits of CMMI

In continuous representation CMMI has got six levels of maturity represented in figure 1 (CMMI Product Team (2002), Chrissis et al. ( 2003)):Incomplete (Level 0): In this level processes are not performed or partially not performed (every/some goals are not satisfied). Performed (Level 1): Process satisfies the specific goals of the process area but the procedures are not homogeneous. Managed (Level 2): Process is performed with a basic infrastructure in place to support itself. It is planned and executed in accordance with policy. People that work on it are skilled. Processes are also monitored, controlled and reviewed. Defined (Level 3): At this level processes are managed but also they follow precise guidelines about purposes, inputs, activities, roles, measures, criteria. Quantitatively Managed (Level 4): Defined processes are controlled using statistical and other quantitative techniques. With these is possible to handle quality and performances. Optimizing (Level 5): With a quantitatively managed process is possible to understand the different causes of variation in the process and improve it.

For our matrix we ignore level 0.

Towards CMMI for Ship Design and Construction

The new model contains seven main criteria's. They are contract design, design and engineering, planning and coordination, production and assembly, procurement, logistics, and maintenance. However the main criteria's are not assess directly. Instead, each main criterion is broken down in three subcriteria. For example, the main criterion contract design is broken down into bidding, value chain configuration, negotiation and agreement. Both the main criteria's and subcriteria are developed on the basis of literature review (Meng et The review of the literature on existing models also contributes to the identification of assessment criteria.

In addition to the literature review, an expert group discussion confirms these indicators and gives a compliment. As show in table 2, assessment criteria are described in a structured matrix. In the following matrix, the assessment descriptions of all criteria and subcriteria a different maturity levels are explained. This helps for in depth assessment.

Conclusions

This paper has proposed a structure for a CMMI for ship design and construction. Based on a literature study, relevant criteria and subcriteria have been identified and maturity levels proposed for each subcriterion. The most direct application is for internal assessment and improvement purposes at yards and other actors involved in ship design and construction. In addition, the CMMI can be used when configuring the network of actors to be performing a ship design and construction project. For example, it may be applied to a number of yards that are candidates for the construction of a specific ship. This can support both the selection of yards as well as deciding which engineering, procurement, and production tasks to assign to the yard. The ultimate goal of using the CMMI is to contribute to effective completion of ship design and construction projects. It should help to meet ever-increasing requirements to flexibility and responsiveness at highest quality and lowest cost.

The current study is literature-based, and a natural next step is to test, refine, and operationalize the CMMI by means of a number of case studies. Moreover, opportunities to apply the model in other engineer-to-order segments should be investigated, for example the manufacturing of maritime equipment such as thrusters, winches, and cranes.

6

Figure 1 .

 1 Figure 1. CMMI model scheme Benefits can vary during the different stages and for can be different for every company.But there are some general advantages that it is simple to lists. According to[START_REF] Goldenson | Demonstrating the impact and benefits of CMMI: an update and preliminary results[END_REF] and[START_REF] Veldman | Applicability of the capability maturity model for engineer-to-order firms[END_REF], a CMMI maturity model can: increase customer satisfaction; reduce the costs of work products and the processes employed to produce; increase focus of quality with the reduction of defects over time; increase communication and coordination between actors; fit better the schedule of the project, improve the schedule predictability and reduce time required to do the work; improve productivity; reduce variability in lead times. Through the development of the structured matrix we aim to achieve similar benefits for ship design and construction.

  al. (2011), Veldman and Klingenberg (2009), Wendler (2012), James et al. (2012), Semini et al. (2014), Lamb (2004), Chrissis et al. (2003), Jokela et al. (2006), APM (2007), Netland et al. (2007), van Dokkum (2011)).

Table 1 ):

 1

	Model	Domain	Developer and key reference
	Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)	Management	Carnegie Mellon University , Chrissis, Konrad et al. (2003)
	Enterprise Architecture Maturity Model	IT Management	National Association of State CIO's (www.nascio.org/hotIs sues/EA/EAMM.pdf)
	European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model	Business Management	EFQM , Wongrassamee, Simmons et al. (2003)
	Process Maturity Model	Process Management	Rummler-Brache Group,(www.rummler-brache.com)
			Office of
	Project Management Maturity Model (PM3)	Project Management	Government Commerce, UK (www.ogc.gov.uk/sdtoo lkit/reference/tools/PMMM_
			release_v5.pdf)
	Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3)	Project Management	AXELOS Limited (www.p3m3-officialsite.com/AboutP3M3/ AboutP3M3.aspx)

Table 1 .

 1 Existing maturity models

Table 2 .

 2 CMMI model for shipbuilding.

	Criteria	Sub Criteria	Performed	Managed	Defined	Quantitatively Managed	Optimizing
	Contract Design	Bidding	Ad hoc	Repeatable but in-tuitive	Standard	Manage and meas-urable	Federated
		Value chain
		configura-	Random	Reactive	Structured	Proactive	Predictive
		tion
		Negotiation
		and agree-	Unaware	Tactical	Focused	Strategic	Pervasive
		ment
		Concept,
	Design and Engineering	basic and functional	Uncontrolled and isolated	Collaboration on major issues	Structured and collaboration on major issues	Structured and col-laborating	Fully integrated
		design
		Engineering and analysis	Individual	Incipient	Standardized	Consistent	Range of approaches
		Change Manage-ment	Implemented by instructions	Inconsistent as-sessment of change requests	Significant change conse-quences assessed	Time, cost and quality impacts as-sessed	Rapid and effective explora-tion of change options
	Planning and Coordination	Project planning	Separated	Connected	Integrated	Controlled	Fully implemented
		Execution Generally done	Organized proce-dures	Standardized procedures Planned procedures	Improved procedures
		Monitor and control	Manual	Random	Scheduled	Planned	Improved
	Production and Assembly	Hull pro-duction	Basic product implications identified	Production con-cepts identified	Capability to produce proto-type components	Capability in place to begin full rate production	Full rate production demon-strated and lean production practices in place
		Outfitting	Uncertain and poorly con-trolled	Characterized for hull production and reactive	Characterized for hull pro-duction and proactive	Measured and con-trolled	Focused on continuous pro-cess and improvement
		Testing and commis-sioning	Authorized	Accordance with guidelines	Accepted and available	Implementation of all requirements	Incorporated and confirmed
	Procurement	Working re-lationships	Confrontation or arms length	Limited coopera-tion	Collaboration	Close collaboration	Mutual help
		Innovation	No sharing learning and innovation	Little sharing learning and innovation	Sharing learning and innovation	Sharing learning and matically Innovation siste-	Continuous sharing learning and innovation
		Information exchange	Little infor-mation is exchanged openly	Some information is exchanged openly	Much information is exchanged openly	Most information is exchanged openly	Everything is exchange openly on a general platform
	Logistics	Warehous-ing	Shared	Divided	Ordered	Measured	Reduced
		Transporta-tion	Static infor-mation	Static information with limited real time alert	Multi channel information and account base alert	Location based, multimodal infor-mation	Location based, multimodal proactive re-routing
		Production logistics	Reacting	Transactional and anticipated	Operational and repeatable	Collaborated and Responsive	Integrated and agile

Acknowledgement

This research was made possible by the SUSPRO project (Decision support for sustainable production of offshore ships in global fluctuating markets) as well as SFI Norman. The authors would like to thank the participants of the project for providing the inputs and fruitful discussions.


Stig B Taps
email: taps@m-tech.aau.dk

Thomas D Brunoe

Kjeld Nielsen

Kaj A Joergensen

Slack Resource as Evolutionary Determinant of International Manufacturing Joint Venture's Growth Performance

Keywords: Growth performance, Innovation conceptualization, Slack resources, Absorptive capacity

At present time in a world of change our understanding are constantly challenged with new knowledge that radically makes demand on prevailing theories and concept the scientific world for long have believed was unchangeable. This article makes a back flash on innovation performance with some suggestion on how International Manufacturing Joint Ventures can enhance their learning capacity. Manufacturing in a global world is a complicated management challenge because the supply chain is located in different national settings. Networkning and knowledge absorption is a key to get international competitiveness. This paper claims a framework for building absorption capacity in international manufacturing firms.

Introduction

International Manufacturing Joint Ventures (IMJV) is an organizational entity, constructed by two or more firms of different nationality [START_REF] Inkpen | Knowledge, Bargaining Powder, and the Instability of International Joint Ventures[END_REF], pooling a portion of their resources within a common legal organization [START_REF] Kogut | Joint Ventures: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives[END_REF]. These resources comprise firmspecific knowledge, and the knowledge base created in the entity is affected by each partner's sharing of knowledge with the other (Buckley, 1996). Productive resources of human technologies and mechanical technologies [START_REF] Collin | A framework for analyzing technical systems in complex organizations[END_REF] are bundled from different sources, i.e., from partner transfer, by acquisition, and by engagement. Physical facilities are acquired, and technological equipment arrives, and is installed according to the focus. Managers, technical experts and labor are engaged, bundled together in a firm without a history by the simple fact that the IMJV is a new firm construct, a new 'child', to stand alone, and seeking to its own performance s through efficiency of combining those diverse bundling of resources. The IMJV is a synthetic organization [START_REF] Thomson | Organization in aaction[END_REF], simultaneously establishing a structure and carry on operation. People have fragmented knowledge on parts of the focus, and the knowledge technology embedded in people is diffused and distinct, and acquired in working experiences from different organizational settings, maybe too, from other geographical locations outside the IMJV. Taking actions and making decisions within this newly structured 'child' are not supported by common understandings of actors or by common social and technological experiences.

How can such a synthetic construct growth? Managers' must transform the IMJV from a synthetic organization through a process implying entrenched behaviors to stabilize organizational continuity whether as deliberate plans to establish patterns of behavior or as emergent patterns by which such patterns get established [START_REF] Mintzberg | The strategy safari[END_REF]. Accordingly the transformation process can be one of designing formal planning systems to imply entrenched organizational behavior through standardization of work, skills or outputs; and by focusing on collective socialization and individual cognition to establish an emergent pattern of coherence in behavior. Inter-correlation drive different parts in organization to coherence among their parts by means of manager's "tuning" of coordination mechanisms e.g., their choice among mechanisms to entrench behaviors in desired outcome and synergistic complementation between mechanisms.

Further, this dynamic capability approach acknowledge that resource endowments are "sticky", firms are to some degree stuck with what they have and may have to live with what they lack [START_REF] Teece | Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management[END_REF]. Features as bundling of resources, structural form of IMJV , appointment of managers to various departmental responsibility, and strategic direction are commended contractual agreements among partners' founding conditions and therefore sticky for managerial actions within IMJV. Such imprinted stickiness makes demand on the ability of an IMJV to grow and innovate. Conditions could be barriers to transfer best practice inside the firm e.g., difficulty to transfer knowledge among subunits, and be hindering to integration and operational streamlining of practices, structures and systems.

The paper is organized in the following way. First, grow performance is elaborated from an innovative perspective and it is argued that building organizational slack resources to handle uncertainty influence firm's innovative performance. Second, a constructive approach for research in management capabilities to exploit resources for innovative purpose is argued.

Innovative performance

Innovation has been conceptualized in many ways and studied from several perspectives. For instance, distinctions are made between studies of adoption and diffusion of innovations and at different levels of analysis: individual, organizations, industry and nations.

Economists

Economists conceptualize innovation at a high level of aggregation or abstraction, seeing it as one of the factors that cause increased productivity and economic growth at the industry or even national level [START_REF] Damanpour | Theories of Organizational Structure and Innovation Adoption: The Role of Environmental Change[END_REF].

According to Urabe [START_REF] Urabe | Innovation and the Japanese Mangement System[END_REF]:

Innovation consists of the generation of a new idea and its implementation into new product, process or service, leading to the dynamic growth of the national economy and the increase of employment as well as to creation of pure profit for the innovative business enterprise.

Firm is innovative only when 'newness' is transformed to economic benefit to society. Firm's innovativeness and rent generation are the outcome of the analytical fit between structure-conduct-performance of firms [2]. But when there are rapid changes in technology and market forces and defensible feedback effects from competitors such a monopoly rent generating strategy is difficult to defend. The growing uncertainty in today's turbulent competitive environment together with customers changing and unpredictable demand after products and services, accelerating pace of technological change affecting newness in manufacturing processes. For example, Pine claims [START_REF] Pine | Mass customization: The new frontier in business competition[END_REF] that our understanding of the market and the marketing concept is a misunderstanding because the market only exists as an individualist. Understanding customers idiosyncratic needs by development of a solution space makes increasing demand on robust process design [START_REF] Nielsen | A Framework Study on Assessment of Mass Customization Capbilities[END_REF].

Technologists

By technology researchers innovation is defined as a continuous process during which the innovation changes form as it is used and assimilated [START_REF] Sahal | Original Research ArticleTechnological Forecasting and Social Change[END_REF]. The processes of generating new technology and improving upon existing technology concern technologists and they study both product and process innovations from this perspective. Some technologists study the nature and dynamics of technological change within the context of the industry and attempt to understand the relationship between technological changes at the industry level and firm-level adaptations to these changes [START_REF] Burgelman | Design for Corporate Entrepreneurship in Established Firms[END_REF].

Other technologists researcher are concerned with factors that influence the generation of technological innovation at the level of organizational subunits such as the R&D or the manufacturing departments. They focus on factors that improve technical performances and criteria that influence the choice and use of technological innovations in various organizational subunits.

Thus, both generation factors and adoption phases of the innovation process within subunits is under study. For example, Salvador [START_REF] Salvador | Cracking the Code of Mass Customization[END_REF] proposes a process model approach based on three fundamental organizational capabilities: Solution Space development, Robust Process Design, and Choice Navigation that constitutes radical innovation to crack the code of mass customization. Wheelwright & Clark [28] argue that problem s in new product and new process development arises because of mismatch between anticipated benefits in resource utilization, organizational renewal and market position with strong defensible competitive barriers. They find causes for these mismatches from organization's analytical capability to alignment of external reality, and from lack of communication among functions within an organization and from locking into product and processes without innovative uniqueness and from managers fail to plan sufficiently.

2.3

Sociologists

Also sociologists research in innovation at the focus on the organizational features that are compatible with the adoption of innovation within the organizations. One definition of innovation within this school is that innovation is adoption of an internally generated or purchased device, system, policy, program, process, product, or service that is new to the adopting organization [START_REF] Damanpour | Organizational Innovation: A Meta-Analysis of Effects of Determinants and Moderators[END_REF].

This school studies factors (as technologists) but factors as the importance of distinct contextual, structural and individual features that explain variance in innovation adoption at the level of organization. Hage [START_REF] Hage | Organizational Innovation and Organizational Change[END_REF]claim that complexity of the division of labor is critical for organizational innovation because the division would lead to much greater adaptiveness or flexibility of the intellectual or problem-salving capacities or learning capacities of the organization, what Cohen & Levintahl [START_REF] Cohen | Absorptive Capacity: A New Perspective on Learning and Innovation[END_REF] refer to as absorptive capacity.

From the above discussion innovation is conceptualized in different ways. Innovation is seen as a product; a new idea; method or device and as a process of introducing something new, newness either as technology or as organization. Organization can either be generator or adopter on innovation. Organization as generator of innovation is linked to the organization's problem solving and decision making capability to remove ambiguities between successive stages of the innovation process: idea generation, project definition, problem-solving, design and development, and commercialization of new product s and processes.

The level and type of analysis

The level of analysis is conceptualized differently across four levels: industry, organization, subunits and the innovation itself. At the industry level researcher are concerned with factors that distinguish innovation development patterns among industries such as technological appropriateness to the stages of the industry life-cycle. Research at the organizational level seeks to identify contextual, structural and behavioral characteristics that differentiate innovative from non-innovative organizations. They try to find group of organizational characteristics which relative more efficiently determine the outcome of organizational innovation such as its adaptability to the environment, capacity to allocate resources to innovative programs and overall performances. At the subunit level researcher try to identify and analyze factors that either facilitate or hinder innovations within a division or a department. The most widely studied organizational subunits are R&D departments. The type of innovation under investigation also differs. Process innovations are defined as tools, devices, and knowledge in throughput technology that mediate between inputs and outputs and are new to an industry, organization or subunit. Product innovations, in contrast, are outputs or services that are developed to the benefit of customers.

Type of innovation is also conceptualized as either radical or incremental. Radical innovations changes fundamentally existing practices within an organization or an industry into new practices on how to make activities around in transforming competences to new standards. Radical innovations give rise to new business possibilities, new strategies and new structures under increased environmental uncertainty. Incremental innovation improves the old product or process within the existing structure and strategy and mainly reinforces the existing capabilities of the organization's practices.

Type of innovation can be viewed as either technical or social. This distinction reflects a more general distinction between technical innovation and administrative innovation. Technical innovation includes products, processes and technologies used to produce product s or render services related to the technical core of an organization. Administrative innovation is related to management processes in designing organizational structure, administrative processes and human resources.

Differences in conceptualization of innovation among economists, technologists and sociologists are summarized in table 1. Each group is only addressing a limited aspect of innovation complexity whenever the position is focused and broad definition, and the product and process view s and the radical or incremental perspective.

At the introduction we argued that dynamic capabilities are the key role in adoption, integrating and configuring internal and external organizational skills, resources and functional competences and are important determinants for IMJV's growth performance. Therefore in the next section the focus is on the organizational level of analysis. The insights from other levels of analysis are gained to broaden the following argumentation about slack resource availability in organization as important determinants for IMJV's innovation.

Slack resources, absorptive capacity to innovation

The slack serves as a buffer between organization and environmental discontinuities and provides the organization with the internal capability to invest for innovation [START_REF] Eppkin | Planning for Strategic Flexibility[END_REF].

Evans [START_REF] Evans | Strategic Flexibility for High Technology Manoeuvres: A Conceptual Framework[END_REF] has labeled innovative capability as strategic flexibility keeping the organization both agile and versatile. Bugelman [START_REF] Burgelman | Design for Corporate Entrepreneurship in Established Firms[END_REF] argue that the rate which mutant ideas were pursued seemed to depend on the amount of slack resources available at the operational level. To keep it simple, we define slack as the pool of resources in an Table 1. Differences in conceptualization of innovation among economists, technologists and sociologist (Based on [START_REF] Burgelman | Design for Corporate Entrepreneurship in Established Firms[END_REF])

organization that is in excess of the minimum necessary to produce a level of organizational output [START_REF] Nohria | What is the Optimum Amount of Organizational Slack?: A Study of the Relationship between Slack and Innovation in Multinational Firms[END_REF]. The excess of absorptive capacity an organization on a given time has over the capacity to run the daily operation is the resource available to innovative performance. A firm's absorptive capacity is defined as the ability prior related knowledge confers to recognize the value of new information, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends [START_REF] Cohen | Absorptive Capacity: A New Perspective on Learning and Innovation[END_REF]. These abilities, collectively, constitute what they call a firm's absorptive capacity. They view absorptive capacity, at the firm level construct, as an ability the firm develops over time by accumulating a base of knowledge. The firm absorptive capacity is generated in a variety of ways: by product of a firm's R&D activities; by production experience, reorganize or automate particular manufacturing processes; and by investment in absorptive capacity directly, when sending personal for technical training.

How manager design the structural features of the institutional, managerial, and technical level [START_REF] Parson | Structure and process in mordern societies[END_REF]of a firm, and how they coordinate interrelated activities to a coherent whole, have great influence on a firm's absorptive capacity. This design process is complicated by the resource bundling, in so far as, an IMJV is a new "child", with people without experience in working together, and with prior knowledge acquired in variety of different organizational contexts. Knowledge may be nominally acquired, but not well utilized, because the individual do not possess the appropriate contextual knowledge necessary to make new knowledge full y intelligible [START_REF] Lindsay | {Human Information Processing}[END_REF]. Therefore, firm's absorptive capacity is not simply the sum of the absorptive capacities of its employees, but is dependent on the firm's capacity to transfer knowledge across and within subunits.

In the following section we shall shortly argue a complete theoretical framework we propose to be.

5

Theoretical framework.

Bundling of complex, heterogeneous resources, and capabilities of organizations that are usually dissimilar in culture, size, industry, an often country of origin present a managerial challenge. Because of partners' bundling of complementary resources, management within IMJVs typically lacks administrative tools. The organization is operated by people, who do not have a common tradition, and the organization does not form an entity. Lack of planning systems or blueprints force management to establish new structures and simultaneously carry on operations. Uncertainty is high on, how to manage an IMJV to a coherent whole entity. Because of the bundling of resources, complexity and differentiation increases, as well as in the risk of conflicts, opportunistic behavior, and competing goals between subunits. As a result management is confronted by the increasingly crucial need to monitor, coordinate, and integrate the activities of the IMJV [START_REF] Child | Organizations: A guide to problem and practise[END_REF], [START_REF] Mintzberg | The structuring of organizations, a synthesis of the research[END_REF]. A structuration process [START_REF] Weick | Competing through Development Capability in a Manufacturing-Based Organization[END_REF] develops knowledge technologies e.g., the meaning and concepts to use mechanical technologies and human technologies in production [START_REF] Collin | A framework for analyzing technical systems in complex organizations[END_REF], by which uncertainties are transformed to relatively certainties of how to act. Structuration suggest, then, that systems are built from rules and interactions; that resources, like actions, are tools people use to enact organizations; and that structures are the medium and outcome of the interaction [START_REF] Weick | Competing through Development Capability in a Manufacturing-Based Organization[END_REF]. Manager are bounded rational [START_REF] Simon | Economic, Bounded Rationality and the Cognitive Revolution[END_REF] in their acting, because the continuous, reciprocal interaction among variables, have a continuum of outcomes, that should all alternatives be examined no action would occur. Manager act accordingly to what they can see and take advantage of in their belief on what is satisfyingly. They are bounded by, what they know, and by what they value, and they are sensitive to norms of what is appropriate behavior [START_REF] Kogut | What Firms do? Coordination, Identity and Learning[END_REF]. IMJV, as a synthetic organization, is without organizational rationality, because of lack of rules, routines, and procedures, and "knowing that", and "knowing how" [START_REF] Kogut | What Firms do? Coordination, Identity and Learning[END_REF], is dispersed among organizational members, without common interpretation of the world. It is left to manager 's bounded rationality to implement a structuration process, satisfying their belief on the relation between the imprented targets from partner, knowledge technologies encoded in the context , and choice of coordination tuning, to facilitate an emerging learning process with in the IMJV. The theoretical framework for the research is outlined in Figure 1.

The first category of determinants in the framework comprises two exogenous determinants of IMJV forms: technology and organization structure. Technology is linked to organization structures through its requirements for procedures to control work and requirement for information, coordination and control intensity. How managers integrate mechanical technologies with the human technologies is dependent on their choices between mechanism: formalization, to make task simpler by routinization, and building information linkages; centralization, to distribute responsibility and decisions authority; socialization, the degree of motivation of workers and reduction of distractions. The organizational absorptive capacity is thus an outcome of management's cognitive skills to combine coordination mechanisms in a structuration process and building communication linkages supporting exploration of the new possibilities.

Conclusion

This conceptual approach is descriptive. The intended empirical research is case study to explore, in natural settings, how this approach might contribute to deeper understanding of the phenomenon. But much more work must be done, especially in the scientific understanding and methodology proposal.

Fig. 1 .

 1 Fig. 1. Theoretical framework


Aldo Duchi
email: aduchi@ethz.ch

Golboo Pourabdollahian
email: golboo.pourabdollahian@polimi.it

Davide Sili

Matteo Cioffi

Marco Taisch

Paul Schönsleben

Motivations and Challenges for Engineer-to-Order Companies Moving toward Mass Customization

Keywords: Engineer-to-order (ETO), Mass Customization (MC), Motivations and challenges, Product configuration

ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

Introduction

Engineer To Order (ETO) is considered as a manufacturing strategy in which all the necessary activities to deliver the product (design, engineering, manufacturing, assembly) are executed after receiving the customer's order [START_REF] Wikner | Integrating production and engineering perspectives on the customer order decoupling point[END_REF]. Therefore each product is highly customized and the processes along the value chain differ for each product variant. Nowadays ETO companies are surrounded by several trends such as globalization, margin shrink, increased competition, delivery-time pressure, and turbulent technological advances. To achieve profitable business despite all these challenges, more and more ETO companies have started to pursue innovative strategies and a viable approach towards adapting Mass Customization (MC) in the ETO context. Mass Customization is referred as a "production principle that emphasizes customized products that do not cost more than mass-produced products" [START_REF] Schönsleben | Integral logistics management: Operations and supply chain management in comprehensive value-added networks[END_REF]. Despite of several similarities between ETO and MC, their interdependencies are rarely investigated in the literature. In fact, while traditional MC is focused on defining strategies for Mass Producers (MP) to increase the level of personalization without losing efficiency, ETO companies have dealt with the same trade-off (from a different perspective) trying to keep a high level of customization while increasing their productivity [START_REF] Haug | From engineer-to-order to mass customization[END_REF]. The few studies in the literature investigating both ETO and MC are mainly focused on the operational level. On the other hand, scarce contribution has been pro-vided at the strategic level where there is a lack of support for ETO firms to evaluate the convenience of a shift towards MC [START_REF] Bonev | Performance measures for mass customization strategies in an ETO environment[END_REF].

To this end, this study aims at proposing a new term of ETO-MC, which suggests a hybrid strategy to ETO firms combining the characteristics of MC and ETO. Moreover, the paper aims at identification and analysis of possible motivations and challenges that an ETO company might face during its transition toward MC in a value chain perspective.

Methodology

With the intent to obtain a comprehensive overview of the topic, two main data sources are used in this study namely literature and case studies. Accordingly, first a set of opportunities and challenges resulting from an extensive literature has been analyzed and collected in a framework for motivations/challenges identification. The proposed classification is based on the distinguished elements of the ETO value chain.

In addition, leaving from the results of the literature review, a case study analysis was carried out in order to deepen the findings and improve the results. In this regard, four ETO companies were analyzed. The selection of case studies was mainly based on the four defined independent variables within the study, namely the organization, the characteristic of the product, the market, and the supporting IT Systems. A summary of case study companies is illustrated in Table 1.

Findings: identification of motivations and challenges

Based on the data collected from the literature, the motivation and challenges in an ETO-MC environment have been traced back to common areas of concern that can be identified within the processes along the whole value chain [START_REF] Gosling | Principles for the design and operation of engineer-to-order supply chains in the construction sector[END_REF]. The areas of concern are referred to the domains where the motivations and challenges of a shift toward MC are more likely to happen. They have been defined using a cluster analysis of the collected data. Eventually the final model is developed as a reference structure illustrating the positioning of each part of ETO value chain and their related areas of concern in a transition toward MC (Table2).

Table. 2 ETO Value Chain and areas of concern

Phase Description Areas of concern New Product Development

The process which is delegated to the introduction of new technological solutions matching emerging customers' need and requirements. NPD is critical to the success of ETO firms. A strategic shift towards MC can produce several changes to the performances delivered by this process.

-value creation within a stable solution space -knowledge management.

Sales

A potential customer order in the ETO segment is often initiated by an invitation to tender. The generation of a valid offer document, including mapping of customer requirements, definition of commercial characteristics as well as quotation of prices and lead times, is the general objective within the tender stage [START_REF] Willner | Development of a Business Process Matrix for Structuring the Implications of Using Configurators in an Engineer-To-Order Environment[END_REF]. Since the success rate for winning a tender is quite low in the ETO sector, fast and costefficient processes are required during this stage [START_REF] Hicks | Supply chain management: A strategic issue in engineer to order manufacturing[END_REF].

-customer interaction and product configuration -cost estimation -supporting it systems

Order specific Engineering

With the use of configurable BOMs that efficiently implement both generative and adaptive configuration approaches [START_REF] Schönsleben | Methods and tools that support a fast and efficient design-to-order process for parameterized product families[END_REF], ETO-MC firms are able to adjust the product to fit the single customer's requirements without requiring deep modifications of the product structure. Increases in productivity in ETO-MC strongly relate on this capability and specifically the automation of engineering tasks.

-automation of engineering tasks

Procurement

Procurement obtains the specifications for components and sub-systems from the design function and deals with the relationship with the suppliers of components or subassemblies of the product. The effectiveness of procurement in the ETO environment depends upon whether the specifications are correct and appropriate (Caron & Fiore 1995).

-communication and sourcing strategy

Production & Logistics

To remain competitive, a company should synchronize the engineering, manufacturing and procurement processes [START_REF] Forza | Managing for variety in the order acquisition and fulfilment process: The contribution of product configuration systems[END_REF]. That is mainly due to the fact that decisions made during the engineering and development phases affect every downstream process [START_REF] Hvam | Optimizing the order processing of customized products using product configuration[END_REF].

-operations -warehousing

Areas of Concern

New product development

Value Creation within a stable solution space: ETO firms addressing MC are able to determine a predefined set of solutions that can be represented within a configurator. This set of solutions is referred to as a solution space. The creation of a predefined product solution space involves the risk that the boundaries of that space are not properly defined [START_REF] Haug | From engineer-to-order to mass customization[END_REF]. Therefore, from a product design point of view, a transition to MC seems generally to be much more complex for an ETO company compared to a mass producer [START_REF] Haug | From engineer-to-order to mass customization[END_REF]. Moreover, the simplification of the product designs is an aspect that can have problematic consequences, since it may lead to problems such as "loss of innovative capability and greater chance of imitation by competitors" (Hvam et al. 2009). However, the area might contain some potential motivations for an ETO as well such as increased level of commonality and leading to higher number of product variants which can be designed and produced efficiently [START_REF] Schönsleben | Methods and tools that support a fast and efficient design-to-order process for parameterized product families[END_REF].

Knowledge Management: a crucial requirement that ETO manufacturers have to fulfil in order to shift towards MC is the creation of a "new and more organized way of structuring the company's product line" [START_REF] Reid | Sharing ETO Knowledge, Managing the NPD process in ETO manufacturing Organisations[END_REF]. This can be made by adopting more rational ways of representing product variety (product families, platforms, modularity). Such effort makes "the knowledge about the configuration system explicit" [START_REF] Forza | Product Information Management for Mass Customization[END_REF], facilitating the task of product developers since they dispose of more standardized and clear knowledge of the product they are called to design [START_REF] Reid | Sharing ETO Knowledge, Managing the NPD process in ETO manufacturing Organisations[END_REF]. It also enables the cross usage of component modules, thus reducing unnecessary redundancy [START_REF] Forza | Managing for variety in the order acquisition and fulfilment process: The contribution of product configuration systems[END_REF], [START_REF] Fleishanderl | Configuring large systems using generative constraint satisfaction[END_REF].

Sales

Customer Interaction & Product configuration: in an ETO environment, customers requests are constantly translated into technical specifications and production features [START_REF] Hvam | Optimizing the order processing of customized products using product configuration[END_REF]. In this regard, configurators are considered as a main resource and enabler for MC [START_REF] Zebardast | Analysis of factors for successful implementation of Mass Customization: key resources and key activities[END_REF]. In fact, thanks to their systemized product offering, ETO-MC is able to direct customers to internally most easily producible, profitable component combinations [START_REF] Heiskala | Mass customization with configurable products and configurators: a review of benefits and challenges[END_REF]. However, the configurator design also implies some challenges. ETO products are often hard to standardize to a degree that allows configuration. This transforms the knowledge-based design to one of the main challenges of an ETO-MC company. [START_REF] Sabin | Product configuration frameworks-a survey[END_REF][START_REF] Edwards | Mass Customization Services[END_REF].

Cost Estimation: ETO manufacturers often struggle with significant margin deviations [START_REF] Brunoe | A case of cost estimation in an engineer-to-order company moving towards mass customisation[END_REF]. Accordingly, a considerable high amount of their portfolio generates no or little profit. Such unexpected deviations typically results from poorly made cost estimation. The use of configuration systems is argued as a way to improve the quotation process of ETO products [START_REF] Hvam | Improving the quotation process with product configuration[END_REF]. By calculating budget quotations, the configuration system manages to create sufficiently precise price estimations offered by one company providing a "more consistent, fastest easier way to enter an order" [START_REF] Haug | From engineer-to-order to mass customization[END_REF]. Supporting IT Systems: the rigidity of traditional systems makes it extremely difficult to configure customized products and manufacturing processes. Hence in an ET-MC environment specific BOM needs to be developed for the scope of technical configuration [START_REF] Piller | Mass customization: reflections on the state of the concept[END_REF]. A knowledge-based system allows configurable BOMs by means of adap-tive or generative techniques, they can be flexibly adapted to the single customer own requirements without needing deep modifications to the product structure [START_REF] Schönsleben | Methods and tools that support a fast and efficient design-to-order process for parameterized product families[END_REF].

Order Specific Engineering Automation of Engineering tasks:

There are several approaches to study the reuse of product and process knowledge with the aim to reduce the time and cost spent on product development thorough automation of repetitive design tasks [START_REF] Forza | Managing for variety in the order acquisition and fulfilment process: The contribution of product configuration systems[END_REF], [START_REF] Edwards | Expected and Realized Costs and Benefits from Implementing Product Configuration Systems[END_REF]. The CODP perspective proposed by Wikner and Rudberg [START_REF] Wikner | Integrating production and engineering perspectives on the customer order decoupling point[END_REF], underlines the possibility of stocking engineering knowledge. Operationally, this means to find out repetitive design tasks, to standardize the knowledge related to them and to automatize these tasks. An impact of the reduction of repetitive engineering is that their expertise can be used for high-added-value tasks, since time is freed. On the other hand, the leaders of engineering teams are required to have high technical competences "to follow the thinking of their colleagues when developing a customer specification". In addition, they should have excellent social skills "to encourage colleagues to use existing parameters or to suggest sensible enhancements" [START_REF] Schönsleben | Methods and tools that support a fast and efficient design-to-order process for parameterized product families[END_REF].

Procurement

Communication: People within an ETO-MC organization have to understand reciprocal needs and interdependence in a better way, coming to an agreement on the product characteristics that could be varied by the customer, taking into account the material planning [START_REF] Forza | Managing for variety in the order acquisition and fulfilment process: The contribution of product configuration systems[END_REF]. In addition, thanks to the latest IT systems releases, third companies are sometimes allowed to interface directly with the product configuration system, thus improving the performances of the entire supply chain [START_REF] Edwards | Expected and Realized Costs and Benefits from Implementing Product Configuration Systems[END_REF].

Sourcing Strategy: with regard to procurement and materials management, "a firm applying a MC strategy should be able to source and ship small quantities of highly differentiated products efficiently" [START_REF] Piller | Does mass customization pay? An economic approach to evaluate customer integration[END_REF]. Standard supply chains are generally geared toward handling large quantities of similar or identical products. Mass customizers thus must maintain relationships with more suppliers, spend more time on sourcing market research, and invest in the integration of supply chain management systems.

Production and Logistics

Operations: A successful transition toward MC is only possible if flexible manufacturing processes are supported by an increasing information richness of products and processes, that guarantees a cost efficient and individualized production [START_REF] Dellaert | Marketing Mass-Customized Products: Striking a Balance Between Utility and Complexity[END_REF]. Furthermore, when the level of standardization of the product increases, the level of correctness of product information improves as well [START_REF] Forza | Managing for variety in the order acquisition and fulfilment process: The contribution of product configuration systems[END_REF]. Moreover, from a production point of view, the increased standardization of the customized products can lead to motivations, such as reductions of manufacturing costs and amount of error.

Warehousing: The MC strategy implies using some standard modules in the platform of a customized product which eventually leads to an increase in the amount of standardized orders for warehousing, while the dangers of imprecise forecasts will be reduced. In this sense, the risk of not being able to sell purchased items having the technical performances specified during the pre-award phase still exists, but in a smaller scale [START_REF] Haug | From engineer-to-order to mass customization[END_REF]. However, to avoid long response times, request should be emitted as soon as possible (at the Kick-off of a new project).

Empirical findings

Empirical evidences collected from case study analysis provide a broader view toward motivations and challenges of ETO companies on their way to MC in practice. The following findings not only support a part of data collected from the literature but also highlight additional issues that these companies face in practice.

Although the analyzed companies show different characteristics, most of the motivations/challenges entailed by an MC strategy are concentrated in the design stages, new product development (NPD) and Order Specific Engineering (OSE). In particular, NPD, through the application of specific design approaches (modularity, product families, etc.), allows delivering part of the theoretically producible variety at low costs and reduced lead-time. MC approach to OSE can instead lead to savings in case the product needs additional manual working.

A crucial ETO-MC companies' feature is the increased standardization in the engineering phases. Many design activities, associated with the specification of a product, can be automated with the support of IT Systems, such as configurators, and standard documentation. In all the case studies, a reduction of routine/repetitive engineering activities was registered. Nevertheless, even if the companies have already reached a high level of standardization, from the analysis it emerges that additional value could be unlocked from the adoption of design configurator based on parametric design principles.

The interviewed managers pointed out the significant required amount of know-how as a main challenge. In particular, they put in evidence how strong skills are necessary in the design and use of product configurators as tools enabling the transition. However, the development of these capabilities is not immediate. The managers expressed the effort spent in the past to set up these tools and their concern for future developments and integration of this kind of systems. In fact, both the cost and complexity for adapting the configuration software are extremely high; furthermore, these tools express their potential only when they are properly used. Explanatory is the case of company D, which manages to get more standardized orders only when a technical engineer accompanies the sales agent during the customer configuration.

From the analysis, it emerges that a considerable level of integration between NPD, specific engineering and technical support to Sales is required for MC. In the case of companies A and C, engineering team and sales force are in contact on a daily base. In company B, there is full integration between NPD, Sales and OSE. The interaction between Sales and engineering can, indeed, lead to a better matching between customer needs and the product variety that the company is able to deliver without additional engineering.

Regarding production, logistics and procurement activities, the main motivations are conditioned to improvements in the upstream processes. Economies of scale in production and procurement arise, in fact, from a higher degree of standardization in the design phase.

Conclusions

This paper aimed at providing ETO firms with a model to clarify the strategic implication when addressing an MC strategy in an ETO-MC environment. Specifically, the model displays a collection of the most critical motivations and challenges entailed by MC, classified by the phase of the ETO process to which they are related.

Based on the results of data analysis, most of the motivations and challenges are concentrated in the design stages (NPD and OSE). In particular NPD, through the application of specific design techniques, contributes to deliver a pre-defined part of all the theoretically producible product variants at a lower cost and a reduced LT. On the other hand, the phase of Order Specific engineering (OSE) in ETO-MC firms is structured to be responsive to non-standard requests that are very differentiated solutions that the firm either is not able or prefer not to represent before the order was received. The primacy of engineering comes from the evidence that MC is enabled by an increased level of standardization in the design activities. While the theoretical value of this statement is expressed in literature there are rare sources to support the firms which want to assess the practical consequences of the higher standardization implied by MC. This paper provided a deeper insight into the problem presenting a study of the strategic implications of MC thanks to a detailed case study analysis. The adoption of case studies methodology helped in structuring the perception of managers about the effects of a shift towards MC. Nevertheless, the reduced number of companies limits the applicability outside the specified boundaries of this research.

In particular, the generalizability of the results should be tested in the context of small-medium ETO enterprises.

Table 1 .

 1 Case study companies: generalizability of the results

	Company	A	B	C	D
	Industry	Industrial Steam Turbines	Elevators	Concrete mixing cessing plants and mineral pro-	Asphalt plants
	Product	Extremely di-verse, offering ad hoc technologies for different cus-tomer	Slightly Diverse, high degree of commonality among product families	Very Diverse, core technologies are completely different	Moderately Di-verse: will to standardize and uniform the tech-nological charac-teristics
	Market (Units/year)	Less than 50	More than 1000	300-500	Less than 300
	Supporting	IT Systems	Sales Configura-tor	Design Configu-rator (Generative)	Design Configu-rator (Adaptive)	Sales Configura-tor

Acknowledgement

This work is funded by the research project through the Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI (CTI no.: 15021.1 PFES-ES). The authors would like to thank all participating organizations for sharing their insights in the ETO industry.