Journal article
The Influence of Trait and State Narcissism on the Uniqueness of Mass-Customized Products
Journal of retailing, Vol.92(2), pp.162-172
06/2016
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/108224
Abstract
•Uniquely configured products can augment firms’ product diffusion and profit margins.•Mass customization's potential to configure unique products remains largely untapped.•Product uniqueness is positively associated with consumers’ narcissistic tendencies.•Priming state narcissism via marketing communications increases product uniqueness.•Firms employing mass customization should consider both trait and state narcissism.
Mass customization systems provide consumers with the opportunity to create unique self-designed products. To retailers and manufacturers, the segment of customers configuring unique products is of considerable interest given their potential impact on product diffusion and profits. Yet field evidence suggests that only a minority of consumers use the full potential of such systems by configuring products with unique options (e.g., a volcano red car instead of a white one). The present research shows that the uniqueness of mass-customized products depends on consumer narcissism. Specifically, we demonstrate that (a) consumers higher in trait narcissism configure more unique products (while controlling for self-esteem and need for uniqueness) and (b) state narcissism can be primed via marketing communications to influence product uniqueness. Our findings suggest that firms should consider customers’ innate narcissistic tendencies, as well as the ability to influence their current states of mind, to exploit the largely untapped individualization potential of mass customization systems.
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Details
- Title
- The Influence of Trait and State Narcissism on the Uniqueness of Mass-Customized Products
- Creators
- Emanuel de Bellis - Center for Customer Insight, University of St. Gallen, 9000 St. Gallen, SwitzerlandDavid E Sprott - Carson College of Business, Washington State University, 99164 Pullman, WA, USAAndreas Herrmann - Center for Customer Insight, University of St. Gallen, 9000 St. Gallen, SwitzerlandHans-Werner Bierhoff - Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, GermanyElke Rohmann - Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
- Publication Details
- Journal of retailing, Vol.92(2), pp.162-172
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Identifiers
- 99900546714801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article