Sharing one’s Customization Experience Increases Affective Reactions Toward the Customized Product
(A2022-107616)

AUTHORS

Rocio Alarcon-Lopez, Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management; Anne-Kathrin Klesse, Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management; Inés López-López, Universidad de Murcia; Salvador Ruiz de Maya, University of Murcia

ABSTRACT

In the marketplace, customers often customize products. Enabled by technological advances, it is nowadays easy for companies to encourage customers to share their customization experience with others (e.g., via email or WhatsApp). Here, we predict that sharing one's customization experience (versus not sharing it) increases the sharer’s affective reactions toward the customized product; this occurs because sharing one’s customization task allows the sharer to express his/her unique identity. Across five studies (in the field, lab, and online), we document a positive effect of sharing one’s customization experience; we reveal that this effect is specific to self-expressive customization tasks and pronounced for consumers high in need for uniqueness. Our work makes important theoretical contributions to research on product customization and literature on sharing. It also carries practical implications as it elucidates sharing as a beneficial easy-to-implement strategy.