Contingent Response to Self-Customization Procedures : Implications for Decision Satisfaction and Choice

Self-customization is the process by which consumers seek to customize offerings to their own preferences. In this article, the authors propose that differences in self-customization procedures potentially influence (1) the product configuration favored, (2) the degree of decision difficulty in product customization, (3) the degree of satisfaction with the customized option, and (4) the degree of willingness to purchase. The authors examine these propositions in a series of studies that allow self-customization through the use of either a by-attribute or a by-alternative method. They show that consumers tend to choose an intermediate (compromise) option significantly more often when they customize a product using the by-attribute method than when using the by-alternative method. In addition, the by-attribute customization procedure leads to a lower level of experienced difficulty, greater satisfaction, and higher willingness to purchase the customized option than the by-alternative method. Finally, the decrease in experienced difficulty in the by-attribute customization method is not solely due to the reduction in information consideration but also due to less explicit trade-offs among competing characteristics. These results can aid marketing managers in designing mass-customization procedures.