Innovativeness and newness in high‐tech consumer durables
| Pages | 415-429 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/10610429910296028 |
| Published date | 01 October 1999 |
| Date | 01 October 1999 |
| Author | Jim Blythe |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
Innovativeness and newness in
high-tech consumer durables
Jim Blythe
Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of Glamorgan Business
School, Treforest, Wales, UK
Keywords Innovation, Product innovation, Product management, Consumer behaviour
Abstract This study concerns consumer responses to new product offerings in the
category of high-tech audio equipment. For the purposes of the study, consumers were
categorised as high-innovators or non-innovators. The general objective of the research
was to determine how differing groups of consumers view innovativeness, and how
innovativeness is assessed, with particular reference to high-tech product offerings. The
research was carried out in two stages; a series of focus groups was run to determine the
dimensions of the problem, and a questionnaire derived from this. The questionnaire was
then administered to visitors at a consumer-oriented trade show. Statistical analysis of
the questionnaire revealed that there are significant differences between groups of
consumers regarding the relative importance of various factors in the process of
assessing innovativeness.
Introduction
A large part of the focus in the literature on innovation has been directed
towards identifying more effective ways of developing new products which
will succeed in the marketplace. Much of the research (Johne and Snelson,
1990; Peters and Waterman, 1982; O'Hare, 1988; Johne and Snelson, 1988)
has taken the approach of looking at firms which are successful innovators,
and examining what systems and procedures these firms have adopted for
developing and screening new ideas.
Parallel to this process-oriented approach, a number of empirical studies
have been carried out in an attempt to determine which product features are
likely to lead to success in the marketplace, or what is the most effective
NPD strategy for the firm. Some of these used definitions of innovativeness
derived from consumer perceptions (e.g. Robertson, 1967), while others
derived these definitions from the producer's viewpoint (Calantone and
Cooper, 1981).
However, marketing is about meeting the needs of consumers, and the
studies reported above take scant account of consumers' views on the
newness of products. Most of the literature refers to products as if they were
either new or not new, with only a few researchers considering degrees of
newness, or indeed what it is about products that makes them new.
This paper is concerned with innovation from the viewpoint of the consumer,
in particular with the ways consumers have of assessing the degree of
newness a product possesses. The research is based on focus group
interviews and on a questionnaire survey carried out among audiophiles who
were visitors at the Sound and Vision Exhibition, a consumer exhibition held
annually in Bristol. This exhibition is the UK's leading consumer exhibition
for hi-fi and video equipment, and attracts all the major manufacturers and
suppliers of consumer electronics. The visitors to the exhibition are mainly
hi-fi enthusiasts (audiophiles), with some TV enthusiasts.
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Looking at successful
innovators
Viewpoint of consumer
JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 8 NO. 5 1999, pp. 415-429, #MCB UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1061-0421 415
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