服裝產品升級對顧客體驗的影響：基於調節聚焦理論視角

Abstract

The apparel industry is an important industry of China’s national economy, which is essential to the lives of the Chinese. China not only has a huge consumer market but also has a huge supply chain that supports the apparel industry. The apparel industry plays a pivotal role in economic development and the social well-being of China’s citizens. However, due to the low barriers to entry in the apparel industry, there are many apparel companies, which cause fierce competition in the industry, and serious product homogeneity. Furthermore, the industry has suffered from the negative impact of the epidemic in recent years. Therefore, how to differentiate its products in the red ocean is a concern of every apparel company. In this case, the apparel production renovation can bring new products to consumers, by doing so companies not only meet their market demands, but also make favorable impression to consumers. It is a magical weapon for apparel companies to gain competitive advantage. Nowadays, consumers’ demand for apparel products has become increasingly more diversified, personalized and fashionable, and the Chinese consumers accepts the idea of integrating the Chinese culture into fashion. Meanwhile, the China’s government encourages green development of the apparel industry, and the concept of eco-friendly manufacturing and products is widely accepted by the citizens. These changes of the external environment and the upgrade of consumer demand have expanded an unprecedented new era for apparel companies to innovate comprehensively and systematically in product development, design creativity, model innovation and other aspects. In this context, exploring the upgrade of apparel products has significant managerial implications.

This study aims to research the mechanisms about how the upgrade of apparel product is influencing the behavioral intention and experience of consumers from the perspective of Regulatory-Focus Theory, by applying both the qualitative and quantitative analysis. First of all, the literature review is conducted to investigate extant domestic and foreign research on product innovation and product upgrade, Regulatory-Focus Theory, and customer experience. Combining the theory of product innovation and the reality of the apparel industry, the upgrade of apparel products is divided into two dimensions, namely, functional upgrade and conceptual upgrade. Then, according to the classical division of the Regulatory-Focus Theory, the regulatory focus is divided into two perspectives: chronic focus and situational focus. Based on their nature, the chronic focus should be regarded as the moderator and the situational regulatory focus as the mediator. Hence, two conceptual models are derived. Model A uses apparel product upgrade as independent variable, customer experience as mediator, customer behavioral intention as dependent variable, and chronic focus as moderator. Accordingly, we hypothesized the positive effect of product upgrade on customer experience (H1), the positive main effect of product upgrade on customer behavioral intention (H2), the mediation effect of customer experience in the positive relationship between product upgrade and customer behavioral intention (H3), and the moderation effect of chronic focus between product upgrade and customer experience (H4). In addition, Model B adopts apparel product upgrade as independent variable, situational focus as mediator, and customer experience as dependent variable and brand strength as moderator. The corresponding hypotheses of two conceptual models are proposed as follows: the mediation effect of situational focus in the positive relationship between product upgrade and customer experience (H5), and the moderation effect of brand strength between product upgrade and situational focus (H6).

To test the hypotheses, three studies were conducted to collect empirical data. Study 1 collected data for Model A through online survey, in total 700 participants provided 638 valid questionnaires, and the hypotheses (H1-H4) were tested through descriptive statistical analysis, regression analysis, Bootstrap mediation and moderation effect analysis. Nextly, Study 2 and Study 3 collected data for Model B by conducting experiments. Specifically, in Study 2, 200 participants of two conditions (functional upgrade vs. conceptual upgrade) between subjects finish it for monetary reward, and the hypothesis (H5) was tested through descriptive statistical analysis, ANOVA, and Bootstrap mediation effect analysis. Study 3 adopted a between-subjects design of 2 (product upgrade strategy: functional upgrade vs. conceptual upgrade) *2 (brand strength: strong brand vs. weak brand) and collected data from a total of 320 samples. Descriptive statistical analysis, two-way ANOVA and Bootstrap analysis were conducted to test the main effect of apparel product upgrade on customer experience, the mediating effect of situational regulatory focus, and the moderating effect of brand strength (H6). In addition, Study 3 also adopted the pretest-posttest control group design and conducted three-way ANOVA analysis to explore the changes in customer experience and purchase intention before and after the apparel product upgrade.

The results of Study 1 show that apparel product upgrade has a significant positive impact on customer experience (H1). Specifically, functional upgrade has a greater effect on customer cognitive experience than emotional experience, and the impact of conceptual upgrade on customer emotional experience is greater than cognitive experience. Similarly, the positive main effect of apparel product upgrade on customer behavioral intention is significant (H2), and customer experience mediates the relationship between apparel product upgrade and customer behavioral intention (H3). Furthermore, chronic focus plays the moderating role in which the promotion focus strengthens the relationship between apparel product upgrade and customer experience (H4). The results of Study 2 demonstrate that apparel product upgrade has a significant positive impact on customer experience. Specifically, functional upgrade has a significant positive impact on customer cognitive experience, while conceptual upgrade has a significant positive impact on customer emotional experience. As we predicted, the situational focus mediates the relationship between apparel product upgrade and customer experience (H5). In particular, the functional upgrade influences customer cognitive experience through arousing situational prevention focus, while conceptual upgrade influences customer emotional experience through arousing promotion focus. Study 3 further verifies and expands the results of Study 2 and proves: (1) the main effect of functional upgrade on customer cognitive experience, the mediating effect of situational prevention focus for weak brand, and the moderating effect of brand strength (H6a); (2) the main effect of conceptual upgrade on customer emotional experience, the mediating effect of situational promotion focus for strong brand, and the moderating effect of brand strength (H6b). At the same time, Study 3 showed that the customer experience and purchase intention after the upgrade of apparel products were significantly higher than those before the upgrade. In a word, all of the hypotheses proposed in this study are all supported.

Finally, this work summarizes the research results, proposes theoretical contributions and managerial implications, and points out research limitations and future research avenues. This study innovatively divides apparel product upgrade into functional upgrade and conceptual upgrade, and then explores how different types of product upgrade strategies affect different dimensions of customer experience. Meanwhile, based on both chronic and situational regulatory focus perspectives, by using chronic focus as moderator and situational focus as mediator respectively in two conceptual models, this study extends the research on Regulatory-Focus Theory. Moreover, this study offers significant practical insights for apparel companies and brands to formulate product upgrade strategies and provides some suggestions for marketers to target and communicate with different customers.

Date of Award	1 Feb 2023
Original language	Chinese (Traditional)
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Chenting SU (Supervisor)