Purchase Intentions and the Dimensions of Innovation: An Exploratory Model

The ultimate success of new product R&D depends as much on customer acceptance as on technological breakthroughs. In this article, Susan Holak and Donald Lehmann focus on customer acceptance by exploring the manner in which the general attributes of Rogers (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, divisibility and communicability) plus perceived risk combine to form the intention to buy an innovation. Results demonstrate a causal structure among these attributes and lead to various implications for R&D guidelines and product design.