Aurelie Merle - Faculty - Grenoble Business School, French Management School(MBA, MIB)

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Aurelie Merle

Français

France

Associate Professor, Marketing

Areas of expertise

Consumer Behavior, Mass Customization, Local food and localized systems of food provision

Contact

+33 4 76 70 65 72 - Office F704

Overview
Research
Teaching

Aurélie Merle (PhD) is associate professor of Marketing at Grenoble Ecole de Management. Her research interests include two domains: (a) Mass customization and personalization from the consumer viewpoint. Her work on this topic has appeared in journals such as Production & Operations Management, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Recherche et Applications en Marketing and has been presented in numerous international conferences. (b) Local food and short food supply chains from the consumer viewpoint. She is currently participating in a national research project on this topic (PSDR-Liproco) and is working on consumer perceptions regarding local food and short food supply chains in terms of motivation as well as proximity perceptions.

Academic Research

Articles in Refeered Journals
Chapters in Books
Papers in Refereed Conference Proceedings

Applied Research

Case Studies
Professional Press
Applied Research Reports

Articles in Refeered Journals

Lack of direct experiential information is part of the explanation as to why only a small portion of apparel sales are performed online. To alleviate this problem, there are several forms of virtual experience that assist consumers in evaluating apparel online. Particularly significant among such virtual experiences are those facilitated by Image Interactivity Technology (IIT). This paper focuses on one form of IIT, the “Virtual Try-On” (VTO), and analyzes whether and how using a virtual 3D model to try on clothes influences cognitive, affective and conative responses toward a retail website. Our comparison of personalized VTO with non-personalized VTO and Mix-and-Match technology in a laboratory controlled environment shows that VTO does not lead to greater influence over consumer responses per se. We underline the utmost importance of model self-congruity and body-esteem in increasing the impact of VTO on these responses. Hence, apparel websites proposing VTO, as well as companies providing these solutions, need to focus on ways to efficiently maximize the perceived resemblance between the consumer and her model. By introducing body related constructs such as body-esteem and perceived model self-congruity, this study augment prior research on IIT by proposing and validating the underlying mechanism by which VTO influence consumer responses.

This research analyses the concept of proximity perceived by consumers when they buy their food products in a specific form of short food supply chain: the farm shop. In line with Bergadaà and Del Buccia (2009) and based on a qualitative and a quantitative study, we identify four dimensions of proximity perceived by consumers: the “access proximity”, the “identity proximity”, the “relational proximity”, and the “process proximity” The authors also confirm the influence of the last three ones on the building of trust in farms shops. Finally they conclude by highlighting the managerial interest of the approach.

This paper highlights local food consumption which was favoured by 83% of French people in 2010. After defining the concept, the consumer perspective and the positioning strategies on this market are developed around four motivations: reduction of health risks, rediscovery of taste, the desire for sustainable consumption and the search for social relationships. The analysis is based on a qualitative study conducted among 52 local food buyers in different channels. Finally, three key managerial implications are emphasized.

The operations management literature on mass customization mainly focuses on the questions of whether and how manufacturers can efficiently deliver customization. Researchers have analyzed the trade-offs between customization and dimensions of operational performance such as delivery times, quality, and costs. However, we argue that providing efficient customization is not sufficient per se to assess the value of mass customization. From this perspective, this paper focuses on complementary mechanisms for creating value: the benefits perceived by individual consumers. Two global components of perceived value within the context of mass customization are identified: mass-customized product, with three dimensions, and mass customization experience, with two dimensions. The Consumer Perceived Value Tool (CPVT) is proposed to empirically measure the five perceived benefits related to the mass-customized product and to the co-design process from the consumer viewpoint. The psychometric properties of the CPVT are assessed using three samples. The implications of this approach are discussed, along with directions for further research.

Mass customization (MC) leads to success and failures. In this context, this article aims at identifying ways to improve its commercial success. First we define the concept of MC to differentiate this strategy from other personalization strategies. Second, we identify perceived benefits and costs of MC. Then, we suggest ways of increasing this value by focusing on the management of the co-design experience. Finally, four marketing steps are proposed to help managers develop their MC offerings.

Research on mass-customization suggests that this type of offer delivers more value to the customer. However, the failures of mass-customization programs tend to prove the contrary. This article provides answers to the following research questions: (1) Why and on what dimensions do consumers value mass-customization? (2) How and under what conditions do these sources influence global (i.e., total) perceived value? Two components of perceived value are differentiated: (1) mass-customized product value, which is reflected in three dimensions: utilitarian, uniqueness and self-expressiveness value, and (2) experiential co-design value, which is reflected in two dimensions: hedonic and creative achievement value. Furthermore, our results underline the indirect impact of the experiential value of co-design on total perceived value, through mediation of mass-customized product value.

Chapters in Books

The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we propose to divide the concept of perceived value of mass customization into two components: 1) mass-customized product value and 2) mass customization experience. Second, we test an integrative framework that brings together value components and willingness to pay for mass-customized products. In contrast with previous research, the findings show an indirect effect of the mass customization experience on consumer willingness to pay. Furthermore, no direct effect is found.

The literature has demonstrated that sorting through the mass of information available on the Internet is time consuming and sometimes imparts misinformation. In this context, the tendency to customize the content of web pages by interactive tools will soon become a standard in the development of retailer websites. A new form of customization of the information is emerging in the apparel industry: an avatar (i.e. virtual model) that reflects the consumer’s body. We refer to this as a personalized avatar. The goal of this research is to determine the influence of a personalized avatar on perceived website quality, attitude and stickiness. In addition, since the issue of information level is important on the Internet, we decided to examine these relationships according to the level of assortment provided on the website. A 2 (use of a personalized avatar: personalized avatar proposed or not) x 3 (level of assortment: 10, 20 or 30 blouses) between-subject experimental design is used to test the hypotheses. Our findings support that using a personalized avatar has a significant influence on website perceived quality and on stickiness. Moreover, in some cases the degree of this influence depends on the level of assortment proposed.

Papers in Refereed Conference Proceedings

(Only the 10 latest publications are displayed)

This paper tests an integrative framework bringing together mass-customization (MC) perceived value and willingness to pay for such an offer. First we conceptualize the value of MC as having two components, one related to the mass-customized product and the other related to the MC experience. They are defined as second-order factors with several dimensions: utilitarian, uniqueness and self-expressiveness values for the product, hedonic and creative achievement values for the experience. Second, we test the influence of these components on willingness to pay for MC. We show an indirect effect of MC experience on consumer willingness to pay. In addition, the impact of each dimension is examined.