Mass Customization: On-line Consumer Involvement in Product Design

Abstract

Using a channel theory framework, this experimental study investigated the on‐line involvement of consumers in product design, a mass customization approach. Three treatments varying the level of participants' design involvement in the design of a T‐shirt were developed to simulate a Web‐based retail environment. Results established an overall interest in design involvement, some support for higher levels of design involvement in shopping for apparel, and higher satisfaction with a Web site's navigation and usability as involvement increased. The study demonstrated that the Internet provides an acceptable interactive platform and distribution channel for consumer design involvement and should be considered by e‐tailers. Additional research directions are recommended.

Eliciting Behavior From Interactive Narratives: Isolating the Role of Agency in Connecting With and Modeling Characters

“…Important, the notion of agency can be considered one aspect of customization, where users individualize their content (Kalyanaraman & Sundar, 2006;Wheeler, DeMarree, & Petty, 2008;Wheeler, Petty, & Bizer, 2005). Various means of cus-tomizing the functionality, appearance, and characters in content facilitate feelings of control and enjoyment (Briñol & Petty, 2006;Celsi & Olson, 1988;Kalyanara-man & Sundar, 2006;Kamali & Loker, 2002;Noar, Crosby, Benac, & Troutman, 2011). Similarly, allowing users to make meaningful decisions engenders feelings of autonomy, which satisfy intrinsic needs and facilitate positive attitudes toward content (Deci & Ryan, 2000;Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski, 2006).…”

Co-creating brands: Diagnosing and designing the relationship experience

“…The customer has the opportunity to participate actively in the co-creation process through their innovation and product design (e.g., Füller, Jawecki and Mühlbacher, 2007). In particular, the development of the internet provides substantial opportunities for online involvement of consumers in product design (e.g., Kamali and Loker, 2002).…”

The factors influencing consumers' perceived complexity of online apparel mass customization service usage

“…It can be noted that the complexity of product by the MC services increases (Kamali & Locker, 2002), recent studies reported that too many options reduce or interrupt the consumer's interests in product customization (Godek, Brown, & Yates, 2004;Piller, 2003).…”

“…There are a few studies examining the effect of number of MC options on the MC service process, but the results are inconsistently reported (Godek, Brown, & Yates, 2004;Kamali & Locker, 2002;Piller, (Engel, Blackwell, & Miniard, 1995). This study intends to suggest OMC strategies maximizing benefits as well as minimizing the negative effect of the provision of design options increased by OAMC services.…”