The Moderating Effects of Product and Consumer-Brand Relationship on Type of Rewards in Consumer Cocreation.

CUSTOMER cocreation; CONSUMERS; NEW product development; FACTORIAL experiment designs; CONSUMER goods

Purpose - The main objective of this paper is to examine the differential effectiveness of monetary and non-monetary rewards in motivating consumers to participate in cocreation during the process of new product development. Method - Three pre-tests and two experimental design studies were conducted to test the conceptual framework. Study 1 involves a 2 (reward type: monetary vs. non-monetary rewards) X 2 (product type: utilitarian vs. hedonic products) between-subject factorial design to test the moderating role of product type in reward type - WPCC (willingness to participate in consumer co-creation) relationship. Study 2 tests the moderating role of the consumer-brand relationship type in reward type - WPCC relationship. A 2 (reward type: monetary vs. non-monetary rewards) X 2 (consumer-brand relationship type: exchange relationship vs. communal relationship) between-subject factorial design is conducted. Findings - Results of our studies provide empirical evidence that the differential effectiveness of monetary and non-monetary rewards depends on product type and consumer-brand relationship type. Specifically, consumers are more motivated by monetary rewards when they are engaged in the co-creation of utilitarian products; consumers are more attracted by non-monetary rewards when helping develop hedonic products. Moreover, the relationships between consumers and products (in either an exchange relationship or a communal relationship) will also affect the effects of monetary vs. non-monetary rewards on consumer co-creation. In other words, monetary rewards work better in motivating consumers to participate in co-creation when there is an exchange relationship between consumers and products, while non-monetary rewards motivate consumers in a communal relationship better. Limitations - Since our research used student samples, future research could use nonstudent samples to corroborate the generalization of current research. Moreover, we only tested product type and consumer-brand relationship type as moderators. It is plausible that other relevant factors such as cultural differences may play a role in the link between reward type and consumer co-creation performance. Implications - Our research provides important practical implications to marketers and brands that both product type and consumer-brand relationship type should be taken into consideration when brands design their consumer co-creation rewarding mechanism. Companies should use different rewards to promote consumer participation in new product development. Companies, in addition, would benefit by knowing that their existing relationship type with a consumer (exchange or communal) affects the impact of monetary vs non-monetary rewards on consumer co-creation. Originality - This is the first research in marketing, as far as we know, that examines how the two novels but relevant constructs - product type and consumer-brand relationship - may moderate the effects of monetary vs. non-monetary rewards on consumers' willingness to participate in consumer co-creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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