Innovation resistance among mature consumers

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate innovation resistance among mature consumers in the mobile banking context. The reasons inhibiting mature consumers' mobile banking adoption were compared to those of younger consumers.Design/methodology/approachFollowing Ram and Sheth, resistance was measured with five barriers namely Usage, Value, Risk, Tradition and Image barriers. An extensive internet survey was implemented and 1,525 usable responses were collected, of which 370 respondents (24.3 percent) represented the mature consumer segment (age over 55) and 1,155 respondents (75.7 percent) represented the younger consumers.FindingsThe empirical findings indicate that the value barrier is the most intense barrier to mobile banking adoption among both mature and younger consumers. However, aging appears to be related especially to the risk and image barriers; the most significant differences between mature and younger consumers' perceptions of mobile banking were related to input and output mechanisms of information, the battery life of a mobile phone, a fear that the list of PIN codes would be lost and end up in the wrong hands and the usefulness of new technology in general.Practical implicationsThe study has practical implications to marketers in different fields in that strategies to overcome resistance to innovations like mobile banking are discussed.Originality/valueInnovation resistance can be seen as a less developed concept in adoption research. While the majority of studies have focused on the success of innovations and reasons to adopt, this study empirically investigates the reasons preventing innovation adoption.

Mobile banking adoption: A literature review

“…A common interest in the studies included in this review is the analysis of user demographics (e.g., Laukkanen et al, 2007;Lee et al, 2005), including age, gender, and education, to predict m-banking adoption. The impact of demographics on the adoption of various electronic devices also has been extensively studied (Laukkanen and Cruz, 2012).…”

Consumers’ Resistance to Using Mobile Banking: Evidence From Thailand and Taiwan

“…Although consumers' resistance to adopt innovative products or services has been noted over 30 years 1,2,3 and illustrated in many real cases 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 , companies still often overlook consumer resistance behavioral responses when developing launch strategies for new products or services 9,11 . The reason might be because current research typically adopted the perspective of consumer innovation adoption (PCIA), which assumes that consumers will gradually accept new products or services with time.…”

Technophobia: Gender differences in the adoption of high-technology consumer products

“…According to Laukkanen et al (2007), communication strategies that include word-of-mouth and intense information-filled advertising, are more effective when consumers perceive a psychological risk in the product's adoption. When introducing new technology innovations, managers are encouraged to tailor their advertising, brochures, catalogues and manuals with information that reduces perceived risk for female consumers.…”