A Structural Look at Consumer Innovativeness and Self-Congruence in New Product Purchases

摘要

Consumer innovativeness and new product purchasing literaturesare replete with solid yet unrelated theories that have not been con-sidered simultaneously as part of a larger psychological framework.This oversight limits the ability of practitioners to effectively targetthe valuable consumer innovators market segment. In this study,anapproach/avoidance framework of new product purchase intentionsis discussed and empirically tested via structural equation modeling.Consumer innovativeness, self-congruence, and satisfaction play therole of approach mechanisms, while perceived risk acts as an avoid-ance mechanism. The authors combine a set of related yet discon-nected theories, while suggesting a means of appealing to consumerinnovators through a specific form of self-congruence. A sample of741 students is employed to examine these issues. Several notablefindings are highlighted, including verification of indirect relation-ships between the independent variables and behavioral intent.Model fit is excellent and results are consistent across the handhelddevices, home entertainment, and music industries.