How online self-customization creates identification: Antecedents and consequences of consumer-customized product identification and the role of product involvement

Impact of product customization level on consumer's word-of-mouth behaviors and contents: a field study

Purpose

Customization, a marketing strategy through providing personalized products, might be a new solution to motivate consumer feedbacks in electronic commerce (e-commerce) websites. Taking the dual-value of customization (emotional involvement and uniqueness expression) as the theoretical basis, this study aims to investigate the impact of customization on consumer's word-of-mouth (WOM) behaviors and contents by motivating: (1) more, (2) faster, (3) positive at first and then negative, (4) longer and (5) more helpful WOMs.

Design/methodology/approach

A field study was conducted with multi-sourced data: customer order data from a Chinese retailer and WOM data from Amazon.com. The two datasets were matched to filter out 463 online reviews among 6,892 customers who placed customized orders. Heckman's two-stage model, logistic regression, Ordinary least squares regression, Tobit regression, analysis of covariance and Lind–Mehlum U Test were used in the data analysis.

Findings

This study has found that (1) customization level motivates WOM behaviors including WOM posting and WOM speed, (2) an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between customization level and consumer rating and (3) customization level has a significantly positive impact on WOM helpfulness but not on WOM length.

Originality/value

This study advances theoretical development in the area of WOM motivators by proposing a new product-centric approach, customization, to stimulate voluntary WOMs. Empirical field research that analyzes consumer's real responses to customization is in scarcity. The dual-value of customized products is proposed as the underlying mechanism to explain the impact of customization level on consumer's WOM behaviors/contents. An interesting inverted U-shaped relationship is found between customization level and customer rating. This research provides nuanced practical guidance for websites, companies and consumers.

Impact of psychological ownership on customer citizenship behaviour in the sharing economy

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to explore the effects of customers’ psychological ownership of shared products on customer citizenship behaviour in the sharing economy. This study hypothesizes that customer-company identification can increase consumers’ psychological ownership of shared products in the absence of legal ownership, thereby promoting customer citizenship behaviour. This study asserts that psychological ownership plays a mediating role in the relationship between customer-company identification and customer citizenship behaviour based on social identity theory. We explore the moderating role of consumers’ proactive personalities in the sharing economy. METHODS: A questionnaire including the following was constructed: customer-company identification, psychological ownership, customer citizenship behaviour, and proactive personality. We administered the online consumer questionnaire in China to investigate the factors that affect consumer behavioural intentions in the sharing economy. RESULTS: First, based on a sample of 326 participants, the results suggest that both customer-company identification and psychological ownership are positively related to customer citizenship behaviour. Second, psychological ownership partially mediates the relationship between customer-company identification and customer citizenship behaviour. Third, proactive personality moderates the relationship between customer-company identification and customer citizenship behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of psychological ownership in promoting customer citizenship behaviour in the sharing economy.

Effect of eWOM review on beauty enterprise: a new interpretation of the attitude contagion theory and information adoption model

Purpose

This study developed a new interpretation of the attitude contagion theory, with the information adoption model (IAM) as the theoretical basis. A review of electronic word-of-mouth studies was conducted by using informational and individual determinants to develop an integrated empirical model that identified the antecedents and consequences of consumer attitude toward online reviews.

Design/methodology/approach

This study recruited 750 members of Facebook beauty fan pages in Taiwan and used the structural equation model to test research hypotheses.

Findings

Results revealed that perceived “ electronic word-of mouth (eWOM) credibility of online reviews” and “product involvement” could be used to explain the effects of attitude toward online reviews. Regarding the attitude contagion effect, the effect of “attitude toward online review” on both “attitude toward a product” and “attitude toward a brand” is stronger than that on “eWOM adoption.”

Originality/value

This paper provides valuable insights into the antecedents, consequences and mediating mechanisms that determine consumer attitude toward online reviews.

What Best Predicts the Use of Hearing Protection Devices?

The use of protective devices to safeguard health in noisy environments is crucial. Intensive exposure to pop, rock, and jazz (PRJ) music leads to irreversible damage to the auditory system. This study analyzed the psychological variables that best predict the use of personal hearing protection devices (PHPD) in professional PRJ musicians and the relative importance of PHPD in general as well as in four different occupational contexts, after controlling for auditory measures and condition. Professional musicians’ attitudes toward PHPD and behavior were assessed. Analyses showed that the best predictor of current usage was the duration of previous use, followed by additional psychological factors that predict usage in the four occupational settings. Researchers can draw on the current findings to explore other psychological factors and mechanisms that may facilitate the use of PHPD. For example, the finding that custom-made PHPD predicts the use of PHPD could be explored further by identifying the underlying psychological mechanisms, such as perception of ownership or identification processes. Studies should examine the other barriers/inducements to the use of PHPD in addition to those examined here, including the social factors connected to particular musical ensembles. Overall, psychological approaches encouraging behavioral change should be implemented, such as reminding individuals about previous use of PHPD, drawing their attention to these devices and the occupational environment, and enforcing PHPD norms to augment occupational health and safety.

The questionnaire used in the experiment is available online at https://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/ajp/media/redicts_the_use_of_hearing_protection/index.html

Activators of Airline Customers’ Sense of Moral Obligation to Engage in Pro-Social Behaviors: Impact of CSR in the Korean Marketplace

This study was designed to better comprehend airline customers’ purchase and pay intention formation by involving perceived airline corporate social responsibility (CSR), emotional factors, volitional factors, moral obligation, and brand involvement as key concepts. A survey methodology with quantitative data analysis was used. Our empirical results revealed that perceived CSR contributed to eliciting positive and negative emotions, brand attitude, and social norm. These variables significantly activated a sense of obligation to take pro-social actions. In addition, brand involvement acted as a significant moderator in the moral obligation and pay intention relationship. The adequateness of the higher-order structure of perceived CSR was verified.