An exploration of consumer resistance to innovation and its antecedents

Mirella Kleijen, Nick J. Lee, Martin Wetzels

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Although firms are faced by a large number of market introduction failures, research into a major driver of these failures, customer resistance to innovation, is surprisingly scarce. While most authors have investigated positive adoption decisions, this paper focuses instead on consumer resistance to innovation. The current study presents a conceptual framework which explicates the major components of consumer resistance: (1) rejection, (2) postponement, and (3) opposition, and discusses two main groups of antecedents to consumer resistance: (1) degree of change required and (2) conflicts with the consumer’s prior belief structure. This framework is explored with both a literature review and a qualitative focus group study. These joint efforts result in the formulation of a model of consumer resistance. Finally, the authors discuss several relevant theoretical and strategic implications, and point out directions for future research.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)344-357
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Economic Psychology
Volume30
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2009

Keywords

  • innovation
  • consumer resistance
  • focus groups

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