The Role of Innate Consumer Innovativeness in New Product and Service Adoption Behavior: a Longitudinal Reexamination and Empirical Extension

ABSTRACT - Consumer innovativeness research has focused on examining variables useful for identifying innovators due to their significant roles in the diffusion and adoption of new products. Despite continuous efforts, empirical studies have provided mixed support on the relationship between innovative predispositions (called innate consumer innovativeness) and innovative adoption behavior. In order to explain the inconsistent support for the relationship, this study explores the following gaps: (1) are innovative predispositions and behaviors and their relationship persistent over time, (2) does vicarious innovativeness (i.e., communication factors such as advertising, word-of-mouth, and modeling) mediate this relationship, and (3) can we generalize the findings by extending the research into services? We used both longitudinal data (N=296) and cross-sectional data (N=147) from a panel of consumers to provide empirical evidence on these questions. Our study finds that innovative predisposition and adoption behavior did persist over time, while there exists no cross-leg effect between them. We indeed find mediating effects of vicarious innovativeness and the support of generalizability of our findings in services. One interesting finding is that personal communications (word-of-mouth and modeling) played a consistently strong mediating role in explaining the relationship between innovative predispositions and adoption behavior, while impersonal communications (advertising) did not.

Citation:

Subin Im, Charlotte H. Mason, and Mark B. Houston (2005) ,"The Role of Innate Consumer Innovativeness in New Product and Service Adoption Behavior: a Longitudinal Reexamination and Empirical Extension", in AP - Asia Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 6, eds. Yong-Uon Ha and Youjae Yi, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 309-310.

Asia Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 6, 2005      Pages 309-310

THE ROLE OF INNATE CONSUMER INNOVATIVENESS IN NEW PRODUCT AND SERVICE ADOPTION BEHAVIOR: A LONGITUDINAL REEXAMINATION AND EMPIRICAL EXTENSION

Subin Im, San Francisco State University, U.S.A.

Charlotte H. Mason, University of North Carolina, U.S.A.

Mark B. Houston, University of Missouri-Columbia, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT -

Consumer innovativeness research has focused on examining variables useful for identifying innovators due to their significant roles in the diffusion and adoption of new products. Despite continuous efforts, empirical studies have provided mixed support on the relationship between innovative predispositions (called innate consumer innovativeness) and innovative adoption behavior. In order to explain the inconsistent support for the relationship, this study explores the following gaps: (1) are innovative predispositions and behaviors and their relationship persistent over time, (2) does vicarious innovativeness (i.e., communication factors such as advertising, word-of-mouth, and modeling) mediate this relationship, and (3) can we generalize the findings by extending the research into services? We used both longitudinal data (N=296) and cross-sectional data (N=147) from a panel of consumers to provide empirical evidence on these questions. Our study finds that innovative predisposition and adoption behavior did persist over time, while there exists no cross-leg effect between them. We indeed find mediating effects of vicarious innovativeness and the support of generalizability of our findings in services. One interesting finding is that personal communications (word-of-mouth and modeling) played a consistently strong mediating role in explaining the relationship between innovative predispositions and adoption behavior, while impersonal communications (advertising) did not.

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