The role of tam, risk and trust on web based customization: An investigation on product value and purchase intention

Passive consumers located in the focus of modern marketing begin to participate in the production processes by taking an active role in the postmodern marketing era. Postmodern consumers are able to satisfy their being unique and different needs with the help of advanced Information Technologies and e-customization applications. Customization which happens in the virtual environment is worth to be investigated because of the unique characteristics of this environment. In this study, consumers' participation to web based customization applications is assessed in the context of e-retailer trust and perceived risk. In the research model, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is discussed as an antecedent of trust, and the effects of trust and risk on participation to customization process has been investigated. After that, reflections of these effects to customized product value observed, and it has been investigated that whether this reflection encourages consumers to purchase or not. A questionnaire is generated in order to test the proposed model and performed to consumers. After data collection totally 312 questionnaire is analyzed. The structural equation model has been tested by making descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability analysis. When the research findings are evaluated it is concluded that TAM is an antecedent of e-retailer trust, trust and perceived risk significantly affect the participation of consumers to e-customization process. It is also revealed that, this interaction increases product value and this increase orients consumers to purchase the customized products. Consequently, trust and risk perceptions are significant determinants of e-customization process as in all online transactions. Web based customization is seen in a prominent position to satisfy the needs of postmodern consumers who are in a constant interaction with information technologies.