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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the environment of the online shopping process for mass customization (MC) in long‐term relationships (LTRs) between a firm and its customers. Specifically investigated is why some consumers are initially willing to purchase MC products online and what makes them purchase again. Conversely, the paper looks at why some are not interested in purchasing MC products again.Design/methodology/approachThis paper utilizes a qualitative research method. In‐depth interviews were conducted to reveal information about the relationship between a firm and its consumers. In total, 20 participants evaluated the online shopping process, the firm's web site, the products they received and their overall shopping experience.FindingsThe major findings provide interesting evidence regarding consumer behaviors in the online shopping process for MC products. Three types of customers were identified: apathetic consumers who are not interested in purchasing MC products again; ardent consumers who are interested in purchasing MC products as well as mass‐produced products; and holistic consumers who have essential needs that can be addressed with MC products.Practical implicationsThe findings give valuable insights to firms which are interested in providing MC products and establishing LTRs with their customers.Originality/valueThis study identifies ideal potential customers and their needs for MC products in the context of online shopping in LTRs, and utilizes a new approach by combining in‐depth interviews with the valuation of the genuine MC products that participants were able to order. No previous research was found that used this approach to investigate consumer behavior regarding MC.

Purpose -To investigate consumers' characteristics during internet shopping for customized products in order to reduce the distance between a manufacturer and consumers. Design/methodology/approach -Qualitative methods were conducted with longitudinal interviewing with 20 participants. For the shopping experiment, a web site was used by participants to order two pair of customized shoes based on each participant's needs. Findings -Four groups were identified during the shopping experiments. The result suggested that each group of participants had different priorities for a satisfying shopping experience in terms of customized products. Originality/value -This paper identified the relationship between a manufacturer and consumers by ordering customized products through online.

On the basis of data collected from an online survey, we used regression analysis to empirically identify the key factors leading to consumers' adoption intentions toward a new service, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in the United States. This study makes the following contributions to the literature: 1) Our results suggest that the influence of strong ties (i.e., family and friends) has a more significant impact on consumers' adoption intentions for a new service than that from weak ties. 2) We also find that, for a really new product/service category, such as VoIP service, consumers' trust toward technology (or the product category itself) matters more than their trust toward the sponsoring company. 3) Consumers' trust also has a moderating impact on perceived performance and perceived effort level. C 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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