The Phase 2 Interview Results - part 6

The outcome for the utilitarian need was quite low in the questionnaires, but this changed for the interviews where participants said that it was very important for them that the product would be to their preferences. However, this is also the nature of mass customised products and therefore people might expect the products to be the right fit. Some participants also concluded that if a product is unique and based on their preferences, it should be the right fit. Therefore, uniqueness was always ranked as very high. In connection to the willingness to pay research it should be added here that the results from this study also showed that the uniqueness of the product was the most important reason for people to pay for mass customised products, which confirmed Hunt’s (2006) and Schreier’s (2006) findings that people perceived mass customised products as greater in value.

However, on a more direct inquiry it was not the need for uniqueness that ranked as the most important motive. When people were asked whether uniqueness or the functional fit was most important to them, all participants ranked Utilitarianism first, followed by uniqueness. This finding confirmed Franke and Schreier’s results (2008) of the functional fit being most important in value creation for Mass Customisation, followed by the uniqueness of the product.