Enhancing consumer value of the co-design experience in mass customization

Abstract

This research examines the extent to which the consumer’s perceived value of the co-design experience influences satisfaction with that experience and loyalty intentions toward the online mass customization (MC) program, and whether the consumer’s thinking style during the co-design experience affects the perception of value. A total of 178 millennial consumers used Converse’s “Design Your Own” MC program, completing a survey regarding their co-design experience. Results validate the positive (negative) influence of control and enjoyment (complexity) on satisfaction with the co-design experience and the positive impact of satisfaction on loyalty intentions toward the MC program. Additionally, individual thinking style influences perceived value. Experiential thinking during the co-design experience positively (negatively) influences control (complexity) and has no significant effect on enjoyment, whereas rational processing increases complexity and enjoyment, exerting no significant effect on control. Managerial implications of these results can help providers build value-laden, MC co-design experiences.