For various reasons consumers find some innovations undesirable. These are identified as resistant innovations or those innovations that consumers are unable or unwilling to…
Abstract
For various reasons consumers find some innovations undesirable. These are identified as resistant innovations or those innovations that consumers are unable or unwilling to readily embrace, such as screw caps on fine wines, hybrid automobiles and nanotechnology-based products. What makes these types of innovations undesirable to consumers? How should marketers introduce into the marketplace these types of innovations? These questions are the foundation of my ongoing research. In reflecting on my research decisions for the past ten years, I came upon my application for PhD programs. In 1997, I wrote:“The past ten years I have been focused on product development for telecom firms, including five years as an entrepreneur. As I've worked, questions have frequently surfaced about the slow acceptance in the marketplace of some telecommunication offerings; Why has ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) not taken off? Why did 30,000 perfectly functioning Newton PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) end up at the Los Angeles dump? Did AT&T misjudge the market timing for videophones? What role, if any, did marketing play in these product mis-launches?”…I have explored disruptive technologies with Christensen (1997), crossed the chasm with Moore (1991), searched for the sources of innovation with Von Hippel (1988), and evaluated Roger's diffusion theories (1995) looking for direction. These investigations have led to more questions.
Thomas Atkin, Linda Nowak and Rosanna Garcia
The purpose of this research is to examine gender differences in information search procedures and selection criteria relative to purchase situation and social and financial risk…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to examine gender differences in information search procedures and selection criteria relative to purchase situation and social and financial risk aversion.
Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire was completed by 497 males and 877 females in the USA. A total of 88 percent of the respondents stated that they drank wine at least once per week. Participants were obtained by sending e‐mails to customer lists provided by wine‐related organizations.
Findings
Findings suggest that, if a consumer is unsure about making a wine selection, women are more apt than men to seek information from store personnel, a server, sommelier, or winery personnel. Labels and shelf tags are also significantly more important for women. While winery region is very important to both men and women, women rely on medals and awards more than men.
Research limitations/implications
Consumers who are not necessarily comfortable with using the internet would not have had an opportunity to participate in this study.
Practical implications
The differences by gender in the importance of and the usage of various information sources could help retailers prioritize their communication methods in US stores. Store personnel, servers, sommeliers, and winery personnel should be well‐prepared to answer questions and make recommendations.
Originality/value
Women buy 80 percent of the wine sold in the USA. This study helps retailers understand their preferences and how to assist them more effectively in their purchase decisions.
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Destan Kandemir, Roger Calantone and Rosanna Garcia
This study surveys a broad spectrum of new product development (NPD) projects from the biochemistry industry in the USA, Canada, Germany, the UK, and Belgium with the purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study surveys a broad spectrum of new product development (NPD) projects from the biochemistry industry in the USA, Canada, Germany, the UK, and Belgium with the purpose of exploring the role of the organizational activity factors in the NPD success.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the resource‐based view of the firm, the authors present a set of hypotheses concerning the relationship between the people resources, development resources, testing resources, and launch resources committed to NPD projects and their financial success. In addition, the effect of the firm's international market involvement on the NPD project success is considered. In this study, testing of the hypothesized relationship is accomplished through linear probability model, binary probit model, and binary logit model.
Findings
Empirical results generally support the predictions from the theory. Specifically, the findings of this study show that: the involvement of a strong champion, use of a multi‐disciplinary team, and focus of a dedicated team are key factors for NPD project success among the people resources; the detailed market research has a significant impact on the project success in the development phase of the NPD process; the allocation of resources to the testing of the product with the final customer, market testing, and production start‐up positively influences the NPD project success; advertising quality plays a key role in the NPD project success during its launch; and the NPD project success is positively associated with the degree of a firm's diversification into international markets.
Originality/value
This study provides several guidelines for product managers seeking to launch new products. It offers critical insights into the identification of firm resources that influence the NPD project success. This study also has important implications for firms that consider diversifying or have already diversified into international markets. Understanding the role of market diversification in the NPD project success advances the ability of managers to direct their efforts in international market involvement.
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Rosanna Garcia and Destan Kandemir
This paper seeks to explore how moderation can and should be modeled in cross‐national/cultural contexts. A multi‐national study of consumer involvement is utilized to demonstrate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to explore how moderation can and should be modeled in cross‐national/cultural contexts. A multi‐national study of consumer involvement is utilized to demonstrate proper methods for modeling the different types of moderation.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from a consumer survey regarding wine purchasing preferences conducted in Australia, New Zealand and the USA, the paper demonstrates how to identify moderators of form and of strength. A form moderator is modeled using multiplicative interactions while a strength moderator is modeled using multi‐group analyses in structural equation modeling (SEM). Differences in consumers across the three countries are examined from the results.
Findings
This study suggests that search behavior is positively influenced by involvement in New Zealand and the USA but not in Australia. It also shows that perceived risk of occasion decreases involvement in all three countries, while partial support for the positive effects of importance of tradition on involvement is found. Furthermore, “perceived risk of occasion,” identified as a moderator of form, is found to significantly moderate the relationship between importance of tradition and involvement in the US sample only. Finally, the results demonstrate significant differences across the three samples in relationships among importance of tradition, perceived risk of occasion, involvement, and search behavior, indicating that the country variable has significant moderator effects.
Originality/value
Understanding form vs strength moderation is important when evaluating multi‐national/cultural differences so that proper methodology can be utilized. This paper provides international marketing researchers with guidelines on how to model interactions and multi‐group comparisons using SEM.
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This paper describes a comprehensive approach to examine how technological innovation contributes to the renewal of a firm’s competences through its dynamic and reciprocal…
Abstract
This paper describes a comprehensive approach to examine how technological innovation contributes to the renewal of a firm’s competences through its dynamic and reciprocal relationship with R&D and product commercialization. Three theories of technology and innovation (the R&D and technological knowledge concept, product‐process concept, technological interdependence concept) are used to relate technology and innovation to strategic management. Based on these theories, this paper attempts to identify the dynamic relationship between product innovation and process innovation using system dynamics by investigating that aspect of the dynamic changes in the closed feedback circulation structure in which R&D investments drive the accumulation of technological knowledge.
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Shiaw‐Wen Tien, Yi‐Chan Chung, Chih‐Hung Tsai and Chung‐Yun Dong
In the competitive global market, firms have to keep profit from innovation activities. A firm makes profits by offering products or services at a lower cost than its competitors…
Abstract
In the competitive global market, firms have to keep profit from innovation activities. A firm makes profits by offering products or services at a lower cost than its competitors or by offering differentiated products at premium prices that more than compensate for the extra cost of differentiation. The IC Package and Testing technology industries were the first high technological industry to build in Taiwan. The Package and Testing industries in Taiwan adopted competitive innovation activities to become stronger. In our study, we want to know how innovation activities influence a firm operating in the IC Package and Testing industries. Our study used a questionnaire and Likert five‐point scale to survey the innovation activities, customer and feedback in innovation performance in the IC Package and Testing industry. The wafer level chip size packing technology in our study indicates the innovation activities. Because we need to compare the difference between the wafer level chip size packing technology and wire bonding technology to recognize innovation and how the innovator and customer were influenced. Our conclusions are described below: (1) When the innovator adopts innovation activities that can be maintained using experiments and knowledge, using machine and decision variables more quickly will produce success; (2) Innovators should adopt innovation activities that focus on customers that use knowledge and experimentation, training time and cost. If an innovation forces customers to spend much time and cost to learn new technology or applications, the innovation will not be adopted; (3) Innovators that create innovation performance higher than his customers must also consider the impact upon their customers. We have to remind innovator to focus on why their customers have a different level of evolution in the same innovation activities.
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Sladjana Cabrilo, Rosanna Leung, Fu-Sheng Tsai and Sven Dahms
This study explores how customers' individual characteristics and perceptions affect acceptance of service robots as a hotel workforce. The Interactive Technology Acceptance Model…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores how customers' individual characteristics and perceptions affect acceptance of service robots as a hotel workforce. The Interactive Technology Acceptance Model (iTAM) has inspired us to investigate effects of customers' technological self-efficacy, perceived interactivity, sense of utility, and enjoyment-level of acceptance related to hotel-service robots as staff.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 224 customers via an online questionnaire conducted in the period April–June 2022 by convenience sampling, and then analyzed by using partial least squares – structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The findings show that customers' technological self-efficacy and perceived interactivity with service robots enhances perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment, serving as functional and emotional value components of service robots. They also demonstrate that robot's interactivity outweighs other robot's value components, such as perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment for acceptance of service robots as employees in hotels.
Originality/value
While empirically validating the iTAM, this study emphasizes service robot interactivity as the most important aspect for customers' acceptance, and it adds a new perspective regarding the underexplored role of the customer-robot interface. Combining specific dimensions from different technology acceptance models (functional/socio-emotional/relational; utilitarian/hedonic) the study contributes to the service robot literature currently missing a more holistic understanding of consumers' experience and adoption drivers, and it provides managerial guidance on how to successfully implement service robots in hotel environments.