Article: Why Consumers Resist Innovation – part one

Author: KISS Communications
Date: KISS Communications

There has been a lot of research into why people choose particular products, however there is considerably less information surrounding the reasons why people reject certain products or services. When you look at how often new products, especially ones that contain radical innovation fail, it becomes very pertinent for businesses to understand the concept of innovation resistance and how best to overcome it.

There are two types of innovation resistance – active and passive. This article will explore the reasons behind active resistance, the next part will cover passive resistance and the third, and final, article will explore ways that resistance can be overcome.

Active resistance comes into play when consumers believe that there is a difference between the perceived attributes of a product and the actual attributes of a product. This can be a particular problem within the technology sector which can contain radical innovation.

There are three main barriers that will form part of active resistance:

Value barrier: This occurs when the perceived value of a product does not match the expected performance of a product. For a consumer to adopt something new, it must represent (to them) an advantage over existing items. In the introductory phases of a product, consumers may choose to wait until it reaches maturity to better establish the performance of a product.

Usage barrier: The usage barrier arises when a product requires a change in behaviour from the consumer. As a rule, consumers will tend to favour the status quo, therefore new products that require radical changes in behaviour or require consumers to learn how to use them, will face resistance to adoption.

Risk Barrier: The risk barrier is normally a factor that affects new products, as consumers question whether the product will be as advertised or whether the perceived high price is worth the adoption. This can be made worse by consumers not understanding the features of a product.

The barriers listed above are usually encountered early in the decision making process. In order to fully understand the concept of innovation resistance, return for part two of ‘Why Consumers Resist Innovation’ where Daniela will be discussing passive innovation resistance.

This article was originally written as part of Daniela’s thesis for her MSc in Marketing

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