Influencing and being influenced: effects of individual influence and susceptibility on new product adoption

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of opinion leadership on individuals’ susceptibility to social influence, which eventually affects their adoption behavior and assess how these relationships vary with gender in new product adoption. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected based on a survey of young consumers regarding the adoption of new consumer electronics. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and multiple sample analyses. Findings The study finds that opinion leaders are more sensitive to influence from others when the mechanism of status competition is at work. Although consumers who are more susceptible to normative influence tend to adopt new products later than others, those who are more susceptible to status competition are more likely to adopt earlier. The results also provide evidence for gender differences. Female leaders are more susceptible to status competition, whereas male leaders are less sensitive to informational influence. The effects of susceptibility to normative influence and status competition on adoption behavior are stronger for female than for male consumers. Originality/value The overall structural model predicts an interesting relationship between individual influence and susceptibility, as well as the effects of these factors on adoption behavior. This study also provides deeper insights into the dynamics of the social influence mechanisms at work for each gender in new product adoption.

Revisiting consumer responses in situational animosity: a reference group perspective

“…The findings illuminate the notion that consumers actively conform to societal expectations by using purchase avoidance as a strategic tool to alleviate the normative pressure exerted by proximal groups. The results support the notion that normative pressure is a significant explanatory factor in understanding consumers’ decision-making processes (Ruane and Wallace, 2015; Zhang and Gong, 2022), in the particular context of situational animosity.…”

Give me the newest! Effect of social exclusion on new products adoption

“…Conversely, the present study extended prior research by investigating how social exclusion influences RNP and INP adoption intentions. In addition, previous studies on new product adoption intention have also mainly focused on product characteristics (Fuerst et al, 2023; Kovalenko et al, 2022), individual traits (Herzenstein et al, 2007; Ma et al, 2014; Seyed Esfahani & Reynolds, 2021), and the marketing context (Jiang et al, 2023a; Wang et al, 2023; Zhang & Gong, 2022). Our study confirmed that, within an individual's social relationship, new product adoption can be affected by social exclusion.…”

“…More importantly, the way information about a new product is communicated to consumers can significantly impact its adoption. Scholars explored various marketing communication strategies, such as online reviews (Sun et al, 2023), recency heuristic (Min, 2023), advertising message framing (Niu et al, 2022), creative advertisement (Jiang et al, 2023a), and influencer and opinion leaders marketing (Wang et al, 2023; Zhang & Gong, 2022). However, many previous studies have concentrated on product characteristics, personality traits, and marketing communication strategies, and few have focused on consumers' social relationships.…”

“…New products are considered unconventional choices and symbols of uniqueness (Min, 2023), which may also be associated with socially excluded individuals. They can satisfy individuals' various needs, such as the need to exhibit uniqueness and enhance social status and self‐esteem (Zhang & Gong, 2022). Depending on new products' innovation newness levels, they can be divided into two categories (Hoeffler, 2003).…”

Pengaruh Brand Love Pada Brand Loyalty Serta Peran Self-Esteem, Dan Susceptibility to Normatif Influence

“…Pengaruh orang lain memberikan kontribusi signifikan terhadap keterlibatan pelanggan dalam mengambil keputusan akan pembelian dan loyalitas kepada merek (Le, 2020). Susceptibility to normative influence akan mengacu pada keterlibatan orang lain, teman, dan keluarga dalam memilih merek yang sesuai dengan selera konsumen (Zhang, 2022). Susceptibility to normative influence merupakan kecenderungan seseorang untuk mematuhi harapan orang lain untuk terhindar hukuman (Zhang & Gong, 2021).…”