Do we have a theory of product differentiation postponement? Literature review and reconceptualization

Form postponement postulates that changes in product form occur at the latest possible point along a production and distribution process. The potential benefits of form postponement have been widely investigated in the literature. However, as it often happens with developing research fields, conflicting or hard-to-relate findings are quite frequent in this literature. In this paper, we demonstrate that the past research findings can be reconciled by distinguishing among three mutually exclusive types of FP. We build this thesis by developing a typological theory that formalizes how, why and under which assumptions each type of form postponement affects inventory holding costs, delivery lead times, processing costs, transportation costs, quality conformance and order specification flexibility. Directions for future research and implications for practice are finally discussed.