Self-Customisation and Attribute Alignability: Role of Utilitarian versus Hedonic Consumption

Abstract

High degree of customisation prevalent in various industries calls for a richer understanding of customers’ evaluations of different attributes during the task of choosing some options and forgoing others. To that end, the research reported in this paper examines consumers’ preference for alignable versus nonalignable attributes during self-customisation of products. Specifically, we propose that utilitarian versus hedonic consumption goals will explain consumer’s preference of alignable versus nonalignable attributes. Consistent with our theorizing, results from two studies suggest that when customising a utilitarian product, consumers rely more on alignable product components. Conversely, ..