Factors Affecting the Intention to Participate in Apparel Crowdsourcing

Abstract

<p>Crowdsourcing has been broadly used by companies to harness the information, expertise, and collective intelligence of potential customers at different stages of the product life cycle to refine product offerings, and predict market preferences. The purpose of this study is to examine factors driving individuals to use a crowdsourcing platform for apparel from a perspective of their clothing interests (i.e., experiment with appearance and ability to express clothing preferences). Quantitative data were collected via an online survey distributed to female consumers across China. The results from structural equation modeling show that an individual's ability to express preferences is a crucial factor leading to perceived ease of use of a crowdsourcing platform, enjoyment, and preference fit. Perceived enjoyment and preference fit have positive and significant effects on intention to use the platform which in turn lead to willingness to pay a premium for products available from the crowdsourcing platform.</p>