Developing Integrated Configurators: A Longitudinal Case Study

Despite configurators' positive impacts on Engineering-To-Order (ETO) companies' operations and strategies, there is a paucity of empirical studies examining the development processes and practices of integrated configurators. Thus, we carry out a longitudinal case study in a large ETO company to study the characteristics and dynamics of the development process of an integrated sales and technical (IST) configurator. The IST configurator is developed based on a framework that we propose by drawing on literature analysis and extensive discussions with the case company. The findings highlight i) project team formation, ii) the complex and difficult interactions among team members, and ii) how team members react and interpret the unexpected events/changes, among others. Performance evaluation contributes to a holistic picture of the development process of the IST configurator. We further shed light on managerial implications related to business process changes associated with the application of the IST configurator. Our study is expected to broaden ETO companies' understanding of the development processes of integrated configurators and to guide them in development.