Abstract
PurposeThe operational capability of mass customization (MC) allows consumers to obtain products tailored to their idiosyncratic needs. This study aims to provide insights into the potential of this capability for countering a product's liability of foreignness – the negative effect of the out-group status of a product's country of origin (COO) on consumers' evaluations of the product.Design/methodology/approachBased on the social identity approach, it is hypothesized that this liability is reduced when a consumer product is mass-customized rather than standardized as per a mass-production strategy. This hypothesis is tested using a mixed between- and within-subject experiment.FindingsWhen evaluating mass-produced sneakers, native German-speaking (Italian-speaking) South Tyrolean consumers rated the quality of Italian (German) sneakers significantly lower than that of German (Italian) sneakers. However, when the sneakers were mass-customized, this difference in perceived product quality was non-significant for both groups of consumers, supporting the research hypothesis.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research could replicate this study in other samples, with other product types, COOs and countries of destination, as well as at different degrees of product customization.Practical implicationsBusiness-to-consumer firms contemplating the development of their MC capability are made aware that the benefits of this operational capability might go beyond the typical advantages highlighted by the existing literature.Originality/valueThis paper joins the discussion on MC value by offering a theoretical explanation and empirical support for another mechanism through which the operational capability of MC can create value, at least in business-to-consumer industries: by countering a product's possible liability of foreignness and thus increasing perceived product quality in export markets.
Highlights
Mass customization (MC) denotes the operational capability to provide customized products/ services that fulfill each customer’s idiosyncratic needs without substantial tradeoffs in cost, delivery and quality performance (e.g. Pine, 1993; Squire et al, 2006; Kortmann et al, 2014)
The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model showed a good fit with the data: χ2(df) 5 26.548 (19), X 2=df 1⁄4 1:397; comparative fit index (CFI) 5 0.993, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) 5 0.0399 (0.0; 0.0839)
This debate has not been overlooked by operations management (OM) journals, which have contributed to a better understanding of the sources of MC value (e.g. Piller et al, 2004; Merle et al, 2010, Fogliatto et al, 2012), sometimes by building upon theories from other fields, such as the uniqueness theory from social psychology and the self-concept theory from consumer psychology
Summary
Mass customization (MC) denotes the operational capability to provide customized products/ services that fulfill each customer’s idiosyncratic needs without substantial tradeoffs in cost, delivery and quality performance (e.g. Pine, 1993; Squire et al, 2006; Kortmann et al, 2014). The second mechanism is the increase in the utilitarian benefit accruing to customers from the possession of the product (Piller et al, 2004; Merle et al, 2010) This increment stems from the closer fit between each customer’s idiosyncratic preferences and the objective, functional or aesthetic features of the mass-customized product (Merle et al, 2010; Fogliatto et al, 2012; Sandrin et al, 2017). In their most recent review of the MC literature, Fogliatto et al (2012) indicated that this is a promising area for further research
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