Psychogenic antecedents and apparel customization: moderating effects of gender

Abstract The impact of gender is critical in consumer behavior; however, gender differences have been overlooked in consumer studies. The purpose of this study is to examine how behavior-inducing psychogenic needs (i.e., need for uniqueness, self-promotion, and social identity) influence the way individuals perceive apparel customization, leading to buying intention of customized apparel products. Further, to identify whether gender plays a moderating role in the relationships between those psychogenic needs and the perception of apparel customization. The conceptual model was tested by conducting an online survey of 338 samples from college students in the United States. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized for hypotheses testing. The structural multi-group model was conducted and path coefficient comparisons were made to test the moderating effects of gender. The results indicated that need for uniqueness and social identity are strong determinant factors in eliciting positive perceptions of customization, ultimately resulting in buying intention of customized apparel products; however, the effects of self-promotion was not significant. The results also illustrated that differences exist in antecedents toward customization perception between genders. Both genders are commonly motivated by need for uniqueness. However, males are more driven by social identity and need for uniqueness, whereas females are more inspired by self-promotion. The results offer managerial implications by providing retailers with consumers’ behavior toward fashion customization based on gender differences.