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International audienceThe operations management literature on mass customization mainly focuses on the questions of whether and how manufacturers can efficiently deliver customization. Researchers have analyzed the trade-offs between customization and dimensions of operational performance such as delivery times, quality, and costs. However, we argue that providing efficient customization is not sufficient per se to assess the value of mass customization. From this perspective, this paper focuses on complementary mechanisms for creating value: the benefits perceived by individual consumers. Two global components of perceived value within the context of mass customization are identified: mass-customized product, with three dimensions, and mass customization experience, with two dimensions. The Consumer-Perceived Value Tool (CPVT) is proposed to empirically measure the five perceived benefits related to the mass-customized product and to the codesign process from the consumer viewpoint. The psychometric properties of the CPVT are assessed using three samples. The implications of this approach are discussed, along with directions for further research

This research examined how consumer–brand relationships change when one contrasts brands perceived as nostalgic with brands perceived as non‐nostalgic. Paired comparisons of brands in six product categories revealed that brand attachment, self‐brand connections, and storytelling, as well as, the propensity to offer the brand as a gift and collect brand‐derived products, depend on the nostalgic status of the brand. On a sample of 606 consumers, the results showed that a brand's nostalgic status has a positive effect on attachment, self‐brand connections, and storytelling. These effects had not previously been considered in nostalgia research. Furthermore, the nostalgic status of a brand has positive effects in terms of intention to purchase the brand as a gift and collect brand‐derived products. Moreover, ANOVA results illustrate that consumer relationships with nostalgic brands are systematically stronger than with non‐nostalgic brands. Finally, results indicated that product category moderates all of the dimensions of brand relationships while gender does not.

Purpose -Based on Greimas' contributions in 2002 and on qualitative research, this paper aims to focus on a semiotic analysis of the meaning of nostalgia related to products and brands. Design/methodology/approach -This paper involves a two-stage interview process. Informants were interviewed first in T1 (July-August 2005) about products and brands connected to nostalgic feelings. They were re-interviewed a year after in T2 (June-July 2006). Pictures of products and brands evoked in T1 were shown and informants where asked what came to mind when they where exposed to such material. Based on the transcription of the interviews, a three-step content analysis was performed: a first reading of the corpus made it possible to identify the two dimensions of time that structure the informant's discourse: "continuity" and "discontinuity". Then a lexical analysis of the vocabulary associated with nostalgic experience was computed. Finally, a semiotic analysis of the texts was performed. Findings -The two opposing dimensions of a semiotic square, "continuity" versus "discontinuity" provide a structure for understanding the most important features of nostalgia: "long-standing nostalgia" (continuity) and "first-time nostalgia" (discontinuity). This provides a typology of four nostalgic moments: everyday past, uniqueness, tradition and transition which are linked to specific brands and objects. Research limitations/implications -Since this typology is qualitative, it must be confirmed on a larger scale in order to be implemented by managers in the marketing decision-making process. Originality/value -These four distinct moments enable a researcher to propose a typology of brands, products or objects that when considered in association, can provide a better understanding of emotional attachment.

Although step-down line extension (SDLE) is not a new business practice, it has greatly increased in recent years to meet new market trends. In comparison with brand extension, SDLE is a research area where studies are relatively limited.Little is known about the feedback effects of this strategy on core brands from a consumer ' s perspective. Moreover, SDLE may be a dangerous decision especially for luxury brands. This article examines the role of the brand concept (luxury versus nonluxury) in the impact of SDLE on consumer-brand relationships. A before-and-after pseudo-experimental study conducted on the Internet among BMW and Peugeot clients shows that SDLE negatively infl uences the main variables of consumer-brand relationships (self-brand connections, brand attachment, brand trust and brand commitment) only for the luxury brand BMW. The strongest dilution effects appear for the relational variables of an emotional nature: self-brand connections and brand attachment. On the contrary, no dilution effects are found for the non-luxury brand Peugeot. This research highlights the importance of considering brand concept and consumer-brand relationships in vertical line extensions .