Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 27, 2025

Applying an eMASS Customization Program as a Research Tool to Evaluate Consumer Benefits
Published on: September 27, 2019
The complexities of consumer empowerment in the modern consumption environment
Jerry J Han1, Susan M Broniarczyk2
1Sungkyunkwan University Business School, 25-2 Sungkyunkwan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
The modern consumption environment has significantly expanded opportunities for consumer empowerment, yet such empowerment hinges on specific conditions and contexts. We discuss the complexities of consumer empowerment in the modern consumption environment across four domains of empowerment: consumer choice, access to marketplace information, consumer voice, and consumer experience. Through this lens, we examine how and when evolving marketplace offerings (e.g., sharing economy, consumer co-creation), technologies (e.g., product customization, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality), communication platforms (e.g., user-generated content, social media, on-line word of mouth), and consumption trends (e.g., multitasking) may have beneficial or detrimental effects on consumer empowerment.
Related Concept Videos
Routes of Persuasion
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Social Exchange Theory
Sources of Self-Esteem II: Performance Feedback
Self-Awareness and Its Effects

