Consumer innovativeness and opinion leadership: revisiting consumer characteristics in new product diffusion model

摘要

This study aims to examine new product adoption behaviours of consumers in the electronics sector. Past literature of new product and innovation diffusion research studied the characteristics of consumers who adopted the product in different time periods. These studies assumed that consumers adopted the product based on its utilitarian values alone. None of the studies include hedonic values. The objectives of this study are to extend the innovation diffusion model by applying the concept of consumer innovativeness; to classify groups of consumers based on their innovativeness; to compare this classification with the original categorisation by Rogers (1983); and to explore their opinion leadership role in the new product diffusion process. Managerial implications and limitations are suggested.