This document discusses empowering brands through customer integration. It defines customer integration as combining customer knowledge with internal business factors to create value. The document outlines how customer integration can occur across a brand's development, configuration, production and marketing processes. It provides examples like Lego Cuusoo, Nike ID and IKEA that involve customers. While customer integration is known to benefit product development, the document notes little research exists on its benefits for brand management. It proposes a case study approach to explore how brands can benefit from customer integration and what success factors are involved. The research question aims to provide an overview of the benefits and success factors for different types of customer integration and their impact on brand performance.

1. Empowering Brands
with Customer Integration
Classification, Benefits and Success Factors
Jörg Sesselmann · Student ID 330657
Berlin School of Economics and Law · International Marketing Management · WT 2012/13

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“Customer integration describes the
combination of information and knowledge
from the customer’s domain with internal
factors of the seller’s business as a
precondition of value creation.”
Source: Reichwald and Piller, 2009. Interaktive Wertschöpfung, p.56

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Development Configuration Production Marketing
Customer integration along the value creation process

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Development Configuration Production Marketing
Customer integration along the value creation process

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A prominent example:

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Lego Cuusoo

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Customer integration along the value creation process
Development Configuration Production Marketing

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A prominent example:

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Nike ID

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Development Configuration Production Marketing
Customer integration along the value creation process

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A prominent example:

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IKEA

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Customer integration along the value creation process
Development Configuration Production Marketing

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A prominent example:

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McDonals’ Mein Burger

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Benefits of customer integration from a product
development’s perspective have been widely discussed:
• Increased efficiency and effectivity in the development process
• Reduction of product flops
• Generation of new product ideas
• And many more
Source: Reichwald and Piller, 2009. Interaktive Wertschöpfung, p.6, 9

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But little research has been conducted on customer
integration from a brand management’s perspective:
Examples of unaswered questions:
• Does customer integration affect brand performance criteria like
awareness, image, purchase intention or loyalty?
• Which brands should use customer integration, which shouldn’t
(considering their brand positioning and identity)?
• What are the preconditions that make customer integration a success for
brand management?
Source: Reichwald and Piller, 2009. Interaktive Wertschöpfung, p.6, 9

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How can brands and brand management
benefit from customer integration and which
are the corresponding success factors?
Research question:

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Research approach: Case study
Case study research is the intense, in-depth study of a specific
individual or specific context or situation.
• Suitable for broad, holistic and detailed examination of a case
in its real context
• Suitable to establish a firsthand understanding of events
• Suitable for exploratory questions (why? how?)
Source: Yin, 2009. Case Study Research – Design and Methods

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Specifications of the case study research
Multiple-case study (2-4 cases)
• Contrasting brands, concepts, target groups and success levels
• Enhanced validity by replication of findings
Triangulation methodology
• Multiple sources per case for enhanced reliability (artifacts, interviews,
articles, case studies, surveys)
Inductive research
• Development of a general theory based on the specific cases
Source: Yin, 2009. Case Study Research – Design and Methods

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Result: Overview of benefits and success factors
Type 1
Type 2
Type 3
Types of customer
integration
Brand performance
criteria
Benefit 1
Benefit 2
Benefit 3
Success factors
Success factor 1
Success factor 2
Success factor 3

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Expert interviews needed!
I am now looking for industry expertes, willing to engage in a short expert
interview in order to create a valid, insightful case study research.
• e interview takes 30 minutes only (phone/in person)
• You get the study results to support your project
• You help the research community and my graduation ;-)
Please contact me:
Jörg Sesselmann
joerg@sesselmann.de
+49179/3626051