Antecedents and consequences of innate willingness to pay for innovations: Understanding motivations and consumer preferences of prospective early adopters

Abstract

Managers use knowledge of innate consumer innovativeness (inherent interest in new products and services) to adapt the marketing mix to preferences of the consumers most likely to adopt new products/services. As mere interest in new products/services may not sufficiently characterize early adopters in contexts with price differences between established and innovative, new products/services, this article introduces the concept of innate willingness to pay for innovations (IWTPI). Based on data from Germany, Indonesia, Bolivia, USA, and Japan, it tests hypotheses about the antecedents to IWTPI, the moderating effects of IWTPI on the formation of customer satisfaction, and their differences between products and services. IWTPI tends to be positively influenced by income (satisfaction), financial expectations, and importance of status symbols and negatively influenced by female gender, savings orientation, and stress avoidance. These effects are moderated by cultural and economic factors. IWTPI positively moderates the effects of perceived quality (only for products, not services), competitive advantages, public brand image, and social recognition and negatively moderates the effect of perceived value on customer satisfaction. These results inform managers on how to adapt marketing strategy to early vs. late adopters in different country and industry contexts with price differences between established and innovative, new products/services.