Self-monitoring tendency and fashion involvement: Antecedents and consequences of perceived relative value of mass-customized fashion products in a gift-giving context

The process of mass customizing a product online hugely eclipses with that of gift selection due to similarity in nature of both the processes where one would devote considerable time, effort, and financial resources as well as cognitive and/or emotional factors. Using the integrated Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) paradigm, this study aims to shed light on the impact of gift-givers’ personal traits on their value perceptions of and attitude toward gifting online mass-customized fashion products to their close family and friends. Using a quantitative approach and a purposive sample, usable responses from 388 Generation Z consumers were obtained. Structural equation modeling results demonstrated that gift-givers’ personal traits had significant impacts on their perception of mass-customized fashion product attributes as well as value perception of such products and, in turn, had an indirect impact on attitude toward purchasing such products as a gift for friends and family. We found that perceived salience of products attributes had the largest impact on the perceived relative value of mass-customized fashion products, which, in turn, positively influence their attitude toward giving online mass-customized fashion products to close family and friends.