User-Generated Systems of Signs and Meanings in product customization: Taxonomies and research directions

This paper focuses on User-Generated Content (UGC) in product customization by proposing two taxonomies of user-generated signs and meanings integrated into customizable products and shared on social media. The authors develop the two taxonomies combining visual semiotics with an inspection of customized t-shirts and validate the taxonomies applying visual content analysis on customized trolley- and pc-bags. The authors also outline future research directions concerning the relationships between the proposed taxonomies and the evaluations of customized products. This paper has implications for researchers aimed to understand the integration and sharing of user-generated signs and meanings in customization practices and for companies facing opportunities and challenges of such widespread phenomenon.