How and Why Self-Production Affects Product Evaluations: The Role of Process Valence and Involvement in Shaping Evaluation of, Attachment to, and Identification with Self-Made Products.

Abstract

Previous literature indicates that participating in the production process of products (self-production), as opposed to simply purchasing the products off-the-shelf, may create additional value for consumers and enhance consumption experience. However, we do not know why and how self-production affects the evaluation of self-made products and shape how consumers relate to self-made products. I use an experimental approach to develop and extend our understanding of self-production processes, how they change meaning of products and create value for consumers. The dissertation is composed of two essays. The first essay explores how production process valence affects the person-object relationship. Three studies reveal that process valence differentially affect evaluation of, identification with (hypothesized to be the cognitive dimension of person-object relationship) and attachment to (hypothesized to be the affective dimension of person-object relationship) the products differentially, depending on who makes the product (self versus another person). Only positive self-production experiences enhance evaluation of self-made products. Moreover, the results show that identification and attachment explain why self-made products are evaluated more favorably than off-the-shelf products. The second essay focuses on two distinct types of involvement (physical and intellectual) in the production process. It investigates how the person-object relationship changes depending on whether consumers use mere physical effort, intellectual effort, or both during the production of the product. Three studies reveal that even low levels of physical and/or intellectual involvement in the production process enhance attachment with the product. However, only intellectual involvement increases identification with the product. Moreover, results indicate that combining physical and intellectual involvement in the production process does not enhance product evaluations more than physical or intellectual involvement alone. This dissertation contributes to self-production, self-design, co-creation, and extended self literatures. It shows production process valence and type of involvement in the production process affect whether consumers derive value from participating in the production process. Moreover, it identifies identification with and attachment to the self-made products as two distinct but highly correlated aspects of object-person relationship, and operationalizes these concepts in measurable terms. It provides evidence that fit between preferences and self-made products cannot fully explain why self-production creates value for consumers.