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A Lot of Work or a Work of Art: How the Structure of a Customized Assembly Task Determines the Utility Derived from Assembly Effort

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  • Eva C. Buechel
  • Chris Janiszewski

Abstract

Customized assembly occurs when a consumer makes customization decisions and participates in the construction or modification of a product. While customization increases satisfaction with the end-product, less is known about the utility derived from the assembly effort. Three studies show that the structure of the customized assembly task determines whether consumers derive negative or positive utility from the assembly effort. When customization decisions and assembly processes are segregated, consumers find the assembly process disagreeable. Consequently, more assembly effort leads to a lesser appreciation for the assembly experience. When customization decisions and assembly processes are integrated, consumers become creatively engaged in the assembly process. Consequently, more assembly effort leads to a greater appreciation for the assembly experience. In each case, the assembly experience influences the value of the materials that afforded the experience (i.e., the to-be-assembled product). The results have implications for repeat purchasing in product categories that allow for coproduction.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva C. Buechel & Chris Janiszewski, 2014. "A Lot of Work or a Work of Art: How the Structure of a Customized Assembly Task Determines the Utility Derived from Assembly Effort," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(5), pages 960-972.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/673846
    DOI: 10.1086/673846
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jennifer K D’Angelo & Kristin Diehl & Lisa A Cavanaugh, 2019. "Lead by Example? Custom-Made Examples Created by Close Others Lead Consumers to Make Dissimilar Choices," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 46(4), pages 750-773.
    2. Brunner, Fabian & Gamm, Fabian & Mill, Wladislaw, 2023. "MyPortfolio: The IKEA effect in financial investment decisions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    3. Agnieszka Izabela Baruk & Mateusz Grzesiak, 2020. "Cooperation between Final Purchasers and Offerors in the Online and Offline Environments vs. the Benefits Derived by Active Purchasers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-23, December.
    4. Benedict G. C. Dellaert, 2019. "The consumer production journey: marketing to consumers as co-producers in the sharing economy," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 238-254, March.
    5. Besharat, Ali & Romero, Marisabel & Haws, Kelly, 2021. "Customizing calories: How rejecting (vs. selecting) ingredients leads to lower calorie estimation and unhealthier food choices," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 424-438.
    6. Atakan, S. Sinem & Bagozzi, Richard P. & Yoon, Carolyn, 2014. "Consumer participation in the design and realization stages of production: How self-production shapes consumer evaluations and relationships to products," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 395-408.
    7. Ilyuk, Veronika, 2018. "Like throwing a piece of me away: How online and in-store grocery purchase channels affect consumers’ food waste," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 20-30.
    8. Pascal Güntürkün & Till Haumann & Laura Marie Edinger-Schons & Jan Wieseke, 2023. "How attributions of coproduction motives shape customer relationships over time," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(5), pages 990-1018, September.
    9. Anna S. Cui & Fang Wu, 2016. "Utilizing customer knowledge in innovation: antecedents and impact of customer involvement on new product performance," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 516-538, July.
    10. Kristen A. Ferguson & Kelly B. Herd, 2024. "Don't get embarrassed, get creative! How creative thinking helps mitigate consumer embarrassment," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 519-531, December.

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