infonet-economy

Kausalmodelle haben in der betriebswirtschaftlichen Forschung eine weite Verbreitung gefunden. Jedoch ignorieren viele Autoren die zwischen latenten unabhängigen Variablen existierenden Interaktionseffekte. Da diese für die Erklärung der Zielgrösse zumeist bedeutsam sind, liefert dieser Beitrag einen Überblick über Methoden zur Erfassung von Interaktionstermen bei der Kausalmodellierung. In Abhängigkeit ausgewählter Kriterien lassen sich die verschiedenen Verfahren vergleichen und Anwendungsempfehlungen geben.

Since more than a decade structural equation models have gained great attention in management science. However, interaction effects between independent latent variables are often ignored. Since interactions play an important role in explaining various phenomenons, this contribution offers an overview of the most widely used estimation techniques. Based on relevant criteria these techniques are compared and recommendations for their application are given.

An abstract of the study "Taking the Complexity Out of Complex Product Customization Decisions," by Christian Hildebrand, Jan R. Landwehr, Andreas Hermann and Gerald Häubl is presented.

We propose a two-step product customization mode by which consumers first select one of a small number of presented prototypes, and then customize their final product by refining their initial choice. Evidence from three experiments shows that this customization mode is superior to previously proposed customization modes on various dimensions.

Mass Customization technologies are increasingly becoming social and allow for inter-individual exchange processes such as community-based configuration systems online. But while companies foster community interactions and open their configuration systems, it is not clear (1.) how virtual interactions influence individuals' subjective product satisfaction, since their final decision may not be based on their own exclusive preferences, and (2.) how these usually anonymous feedback processes may directly affect individuals' perception of their own selves. We applied an experimental research design in a virtual community environment and provide evidence that anonymous feedback significantly influences consumers' decision behavior and that increased deviations from an initial decision negatively affects individual product satisfaction. Moreover, we revealed new theoretical and practical insight that feedback effects can directly and negatively influence individuals' perception of self-worth and that common affirmation strategies may backfire and finally result in considerably lower self-esteem and satisfaction.

Enabling consumers to self-design unique products that match their idiosyncratic preferences is the key value driver of modern mass customization systems. These systems are increasingly becoming "social," allowing for consumer-to-consumer interactions such as commenting on each other's self-designed products. The present research examines how receiving others' feedback on initial product configurations affects consumers' ultimate product designs and their satisfaction with these self-designed products. Evidence from a field study in a European car manufacturer's brand community and from two follow-up experiments reveals that receiving feedback from other community members on initial self-designs leads to less unique final self-designs, lower satisfaction with self-designed products, lower product usage frequency, and lower monetary product valuations. We provide evidence that the negative influence of feedback on consumers' satisfaction with self-designed products is mediated by an increase in decision uncertainty and perceived process complexity. The implications of socially enriched mass customization systems for both consumer welfare and seller profitability are discussed.

Over the past decade, companies have begun using online ordering capabilities to develop a powerful marketing tool-"mass customization" systems that let customers design their own products. For example, Nike, Lego, Threadless, Porsche, and Ford all give consumers the ability to choose colors and other options. Research shows that consumers value self-created products more than ready-made ones. (As a result, some companies charge more for do-it-yourself, or DIY, designs.) Companies have recently started encouraging consumers to use social media to "share" prototypes of their self-designed products with friends before finalizing their choices.

Our research examines the effects of social media sharing on mass customization. How does feedback affect a consumer's design choices? How does it affect his or her satisfaction with the end product?

his research investigates consumer preferences for different multi-dimensional price profiles. Drawing on research on price affect, we investigate whether consumers prefer descending monthly installments (e.g., 40, 30, 20, 10) over constant (e.g., 25, 25, 25, 25), or ascending ones (e.g., 10, 20, 30, 40). Results of a field experiment with a sample of 1,628 German car buyers corroborate the hypothesized profile effect. In the experiment, participants were asked to evaluate different finance offers for a new car that all had the same present value but differed in terms of how the installments unfolded over time. Consistent with the hypotheses, decreasing monthly installments are evaluated more favorably than constant installments, which, in turn are evaluated more favorably than ascending installments. Furthermore, the results provide evidence for the underlying process by showing that the impact of different MDP profiles is mediated by positive affect. Finally, it was hypothesized that consumers' individual differences (i.e., debt aversion, financial expectations, and product category knowledge) would exert a moderating influence on evaluations of different price profiles; these hypotheses, however, were only partially confirmed. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.