The psychological and behavioral consequences of customer empowerment in new product development: Situational framework, review, and research agenda

In search of innovation and market success, firms empower customers in new product development (NPD), leading to significant behavioral and psychological consequences. However, the literature lacks a comprehensive conceptualization and empirical overview, neglecting the situational nature of customer empowerment and the divergent effects on participating versus observing customers. This review systematically analyzes the literature and develops a conceptual framework integrating different customer empowerment situations and their psychological (e.g., firm perceptions, feelings of empowerment) and behavioral (e.g., product preferences, willingness-to-pay) consequences. The framework structures previous research, highlights similarities and differences, and sets the stage for future research, advancing understanding of why some customer empowerment strategies are more successful than others.

Lukas Maier, Christian V. Baccarella