Chapter 15
Consumer Influence and the
Diffusion of Innovations
Opinion
Leadership
The process by which one
person (the opinion leader)
informally influences the
consumption actions or
attitudes of others who may
be opinion seekers or
opinion recipients.
©2000 Prentice Hall
What is Opinion Leadership?
Opinion
Leader
Opinion
Receiver
Opinion
Seeker
©2000 Prentice Hall
Opinion
Leader
A person who informally
gives product information
and advice to others.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Opinion
Seeker
An individual who either
actively seeks product
information from others or
receives unsolicited
information.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Opinion
Receiver
The person who receives an
opinion offered by another
person.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Reasons for the Effectiveness of
Opinion Leadership
• Credibility
• Positive and Negative
Product Information
• Information and Advice
• Opinion Leadership Is
Category-Specific
• Opinion Leadership Is a Twoway Street
©2000 Prentice Hall
Motivations Behind Opinion Leadership
• The Needs of Opinion Leaders
–
–
–
–
Self involvement
Social involvement
Product involvement
Message involvement
• The Needs of Opinion Receivers
–
–
–
–
New-product or new usage information
Reduction of perceived risk
Reduction of search time
Receiving the approval of the opinion leader
• Purchase Pals
• Surrogate Buyers Versus Opinion Leaders
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.1 A Comparison of the Motivations of
Opinion Leaders and Opinion Receivers
OPINION LEADERS
SELF-IMPROVEMENT MOTIVATIONS
• Reduce postpurchase uncertainty or
dissonance
• Gain attention or status
• Assert superiority and expertise
• Feel like an adventurer
• Experience the power of “converting” others
PRODUCT-INVOLVEMENT
MOTIVATIONS
• Express satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a
product or service
• Learn what products are new in the
marketplace
OPINION RECEIVERS
• Reduce the risk of making a purchase
commitment
• Reduce search time
• Learn how to use or consume a product
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.1 continued
OPINION LEADERS
SOCIAL-INVOLVEMENT
MOTIVATIONS
• Express neighborliness and friendship
by discussing products or services that
may be useful to others
OPINION RECEIVERS
• Buy products that have the approval of
others, thereby ensuring acceptance
MESSAGE-INVOLVEMENT
MOTIVATIONS
• Express one’s reaction to a stimulating
advertisement by telling others about it
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.2 Key Differences Between
Opinion Leaders and Surrogate Buyers
OPINION LEADER
1. Informal relationship with end-users
2. Information exchange occurs in the context of a casual
interaction
3. Homophilous (to a certain extent) to end-users
4. Does not get paid for advice
5. Usually socially more active than end-users
6. Accountability limited regarding the outcome of advice
7. As accountability limited, rigor in search ad screening o
alternatives low
8. Likely to have used the product personally
9. More than one can be consulted before making a final decision
10. Same person can be an opinion leader for a variety of related
product categories
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.2 Key Differences Between
Opinion Leaders and Surrogate Buyers
SURROGATE BUYER
1. Formal relationship; occupation-related status
2. Information exchange in the form of formal
instructions/advice
3. Heterophilus to end users (that is, is the source of power)
4. Usually hired, therefore gets paid
5. Not necessarily socially more active than end-users
6. High level of accountability
7. Search and screening of alternatives more rigorous
8. May not have used the product for personal consumption
9. Second opinion taken on rare occasions
10. Usually specializes for a specific product/service category
©2000 Prentice Hall
Measurement of Opinion Leadership
•
•
•
•
Self-Designating Method
Sociometric Method
Key Informant Method
Objective Method
©2000 Prentice Hall
Figure 15.1 Self-Designating Questions
for Measuring Opinion Leadership
SINGLE-QUESTION APPROACH:
1. In the last 6 months have you been asked your advice or opinion about golf
equipment?
Yes___ No___
MULTIPLE-QUESTION APPROACH:
(Measured on a 5-point bipolar “Agree/Disagree” scale)
1. Friends and neighbors frequently ask my advice about golf equipment.
2. I sometimes influence the types of golf equipment friends buy.
3. My friends come to me more often than I go to them about golf equipment.
4. I feel that I am generally regarded by my friends as a good source of advice
about golf equipment.
5. I can think of at least three people whom I have spoken to about golf
equipment in the past six months.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.3 Methods of Measuring Opinion
Leadership: Advantages and Limitations
OPINION
LEADERSHIP
MEASUREMENT
METHOD
SELFDESIGNATING
METHOD
DESCRIPTION
OF METHOD
Each
respondent is
asked a series
of questions to
determine the
degree to
which he or she
perceives
himself or
herself to be an
opinion leader.
SAMPLE
QUESTIONS
ASKED
“Do you
influence
other people
in their
selection of
products?”
ADVANTAGES
LIMITATIONS
Measures the
individual’s
own
perceptions of
his or her
opinion
leadership.
Depends on the
objectivity with
which
respondents
can identify
and report their
personal
influence.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.3 continued
OPINION
LEADERSHIP
MEASUREMENT
METHOD
SOCIOMETRIC
METHOD
DESCRIPTION
OF METHOD
Members of a
social system
are asked to
identify to
whom they
give advice and
to whom they
go for advice
and
information
about a product
category.
SAMPLE
QUESTIONS
ASKED
“Whom do
you ask?”
“Who asks
you for
information
about that
product
category?”
ADVANTAGES
LIMITATIONS
Sociometric
questions have
the greatest
degree of
validity and are
easy to
administer.
It is very costly
and analysis
often is very
complex.
Requires a
large number
of respondents.
Not suitable for
sample design
where only a
portion of the
social system is
interviewed.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.3 continued
OPINION
LEADERSHIP
MEASUREMENT
METHOD
KEY
INFORMANT
METHOD
DESCRIPTION
OF METHOD
Carefully
selected key
informants in a
social system
are asked to
designate
opinion
leaders.
SAMPLE
QUESTIONS
ASKED
“Who are
the most
influential
people in the
group?”
ADVANTAGES
LIMITATIONS
Relatively
inexpensive
and less time
consuming
than the
sociometric
method.
Informants who
are not
thoroughly
familiar with
the social
system are
likely to
provide invalid
information.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.3 continued
OPINION
LEADERSHIP
MEASUREMENT
METHOD
OBJECTIVE
METHOD
DESCRIPTION
OF METHOD
SAMPLE
QUESTIONS
ASKED
Artificially
“Have you
places
tried the
individuals in a product?
position to act
as opinion
leaders and
measures
results of their
efforts.
ADVANTAGES
LIMITATIONS
Measures
individual’s
ability to
influence
others under
controlled
circumstances.
Requires the
establishment
of an
experimental
design and the
tracking of the
resulting
impact on the
participants.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.4 Profile of Opinion Leaders
GENERALIZED
ATTRIBTES ACROSS
PRODUCT CATEGORIES
Innovativeness
Willingness to talk
Self-confidence
Gregariousness
Cognitive differentiation
CATEGORY-SPECIFIC
ATTRIUTES
Interest
Knowledge
Special-interest media exposure
Same age
Same social status
Social exposure outside group
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.5 Car and Driver Research
Supporting Subscribers Are Opinion Leaders
AVERAGE
NO. OF
PEOPLE
ADVISED*
AVERAGE NO.
WHO
FOLLOWED
SUBSCRIBERS’
ADVICE
AVERAGE NO.
WHO
SUBSEQUENTLY
BOUGHT*
53%
7.8
2.7
3.2
Pickups,
SUVs, Vans
31%
4.5
1.2
1.5
Automotive
parts
24%
20.5
17.2
18.3
AREA OF
OPINION
LEADERSHIP
Gave advice
in past year
Passenger car
GIVEN
ADVICE
PAST 12
MONTHS
69%
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.5 continued
AREA OF
OPINION
LEADERSHIP
GIVEN
ADVICE
PAST 12
MONTHS
AVERAGE
NO. OF
PEOPLE
ADVISED*
AVERAGE NO.
WHO
FOLLOWED
SUBSCRIBERS’
ADVICE
AVERAGE NO.
WHO
SUBSEQUENTLY
BOUGHT*
Maintenance/
appearance
products
28%
18.2
14.8
15.8
Tires
32%
8.3
6.7
70
Auto sound
equipment
17%
8.2
3.7
4.0
Other
electronic
accessories
24%
6.2
3.1
3.4
*Among those who gave advice (i.e., 69%). Base: Total subscribers (multiple
responses).
©2000 Prentice Hall
Market
Maven
Individuals whose influence
stems from a general
knowledge or market
expertise that leads to an
early awareness of new
products and services.
©2000 Prentice Hall
The Interpersonal Flow of
Communication
• Two-Step Flow
– Views opinion leader as a middleman between
the impersonal mass media and the majority of
society
• Multistep Flow
– Takes into account the fact that information and
influence often are two-way processes
©2000 Prentice Hall
Two-Step
Flow of
Communication
Theory
A communication model that
portrays opinion leaders as
direct receivers of
information from mass
media sources who, in turn,
interpret and transmit this
information.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Figure 15.2 Two-Step Flow of
Communication Theory
Mass Media
Step 1
Opinion
Leaders
Step 2
Opinion
Receivers
(the masses)
©2000 Prentice Hall
Multistep
Flow of
Communication
Theory
A revision of the traditional
two-step theory that shows
multiple communication
flows: from the mass media
simultaneously to opinion
leaders, opinion receivers,
and information receivers;
from opinion leaders to
opinion receivers; and from
opinion receivers to opinion
leaders.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Figure 15.3 Multistep Flow of
Communication Theory
Step 2
Mass Media
Step 1a
Step 1b
Opinion
Leaders
Step 3
Opinion
Receiver/
Seekers
Information
Receivers
©2000 Prentice Hall
Issues In Opinion Leadership and
Marketing Strategy
• Programs Designed to Stimulate
Opinion Leadership
• Advertisements Simulating
Opinion Leadership
• Word of Mouth May Be
Uncontrollable
• Creation of Opinion Leaders
©2000 Prentice Hall
Diffusion
Process
The process by which the
acceptance of an innovation
is spread by communication
to members of social system
over a period of time.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Adoption
Process
The stages through which an
individual consumer passes
in arriving at a decision to
try (or not to try), to
continue using (or
discontinue using) a new
product. The five stags of the
traditional adoption process
are awareness, interest,
evaluation, trial, and
adoption.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Elements of the Diffusion Process
•
•
•
•
The Innovation
The Channels of Communication
The Social System
Time
©2000 Prentice Hall
Defining Innovations
•
•
•
•
Firm-oriented definitions
Product-oriented definitions
Market-oriented definitions
Consumer-oriented definitions
©2000 Prentice Hall
Product-Oriented Definitions
Continuous
Innovation
Dynamically
Continuous
Innovation
Discontinuous
Innovation
©2000 Prentice Hall
Continuous
Innovation
A new product entry that is
an improved or modified
version of an existing
product rather than a totally
new product. A continuous
innovation has the least
disruptive influence on
established consumption
patterns.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Dynamically
Continuous
Innovation
A new product entry that is
sufficiently innovative to
have some disruptive effects
on established consumption
practices.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Discontinuous
Innovation
A dramatically new product
entry that requires the
establishment of new
consumption practices.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Figure 15.5 The Telephone Has Led to Related
Innovations
Discontinuous
Innovations
Telephone
Pager
Fax Machine
Dynamically Continuous
Innovations
Continuous
Innovations
Telephone answering machines
Call forwarding
Call waiting
Caller ID
Banking by telephone
Call-prompting systems
Hold button
Line-in-use indicator
Redial button
Auto dialing feature
Touch-tone service
800 Numbers
900 Numbers
Nationwide paging service
Stock market quotation devices
Sports scores delivery
Two-way paging
Pager watch
Silent alert
Message displays
Build-in alarm clock
Interchangeable fashion
color cases
Fax modem
Mobile fax machines
Home office systems
(combined fax, copier,
computer printer)
Plain paper fax
Speed dial buttons
Delayed send
Copy function
Paper cutter
©2000 Prentice Hall
Product Characteristics That Influence
Diffusion
•
•
•
•
•
Relative Advantage
Compatibility
Complexity
Trialability
Observability
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.6 Product Characteristics That
Influence Diffusion
CHARACTERISTICS
Relative Advantage
Compatibility
Complexity
DEFINITION
EXAMPLES
The degree to which
potential consumers
perceive a new product
as superior to existing
substitutes
The degree to which
potential consumers
feel a new product is
consistent with their
present needs, values,
and practices
Air travel over train travel,
cordless phones over
corded telephones
Gillette MACH3 over
disposable razors, digital
telephone answering
machines over machines
using tape to make
recordings
The degree to which a Products low in
new product is difficult complexity include frozen
to understand or use
TV dinners, electric
shavers, instant puddings
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.6 continued
CHARACTERISTICS
DEFINITION
EXAMPLES
Trialability
The degree to which a
new product is capable
of being tried on a
limited basis
Trial size jars and bottles
of new products, free trials
of software, free samples,
cents-off coupons
Observability
The degree to which a
product’s benefits or
attributes can be
observed, imagined, or
described to potential
customers
Clothing, such as a new
Tommy Hilfiger jacket, a
car, wristwatches,
eyeglasses
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.7 Barriers to Diffusion of an
Innovation--On-Line Banking
TYPES OF BARRIERS
DEFINTIONS AND EXAMPLES
FUNCTIONAL BARRIERS
Usage
• Initial use requires a great deal of consumer learning
• Continuing use requires total commitment of system
• Partial or inconsistent use results in incorrect account balances
Value barriers
• Requires purchase of software and supplies
• Generally has additional monthly fee
Risk barriers
• Performance risk is high
• Economic risk is moderate
• Social risk is low
PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS
Traditional barriers
• Not the way the consumer is accustomed to paying bills, etc.
Image barriers
• Negative (“hard to use”) image of personal computers in
general and on-line banking in particular
©2000 Prentice Hall
Time and Diffusion
• Purchase Time
• Adopter Categories
• Rate of Adoption
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.8 Time Line for Selecting a New
Large-Screen TV Set
WEEK PRECIPITATING SITUATIONS/FACTORS
0
Current family room 19-inch TV set works fine but is 10 years old and
cannot access a number of the cable channels. The wife has recently
purchased a new sofa and new carpeting for the family room, and she
and her husband have spoken about possibly having a cabinet built for
the wall opposite the sofa that would contain the TV, stereo, tape deck,
CD player, and VCR. Several friends have purchased large-screen TVs
and have turned their family rooms into home entertainment centers.
Couple decides, therefore, to also look at projection TVs.
1-4
DECISION PROCESS BEGINS
Consumer senses a need to learn more about the features and
availability of large-screen TVs, both those with conventional tubes
and projection TVs.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.8 continued
WEEK THE TV IS OUT OF MIND
5-8
The transmission in the older of the couple’s two cars, a 1987 Honda,
begins to shift erratically. Because of the expense of this repair (the
transmission had to be replaced), the hunt for a new TV is put on the
back burner.
9
INTEREST IS RETRIGGERED
The wife reads a article in one of the magazines hat she periodically
buys at the supermarket about a family that purchased a Zenith 52-inch
projection TV for their family room and created a home entertainment
center. She shows the article to her husband.
CONSUMER ACQUIRES A MENTOR (OPINION LEADER)
The husband asks a neighbor to serve as a mentor (opinion leader) with
regard to home entertainment centers. He agrees.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.8 continued
WEEK FEATURES AND BRAND OPTIONS ARE REVIEWED
10
With the advice of the mentor, the decision is made to use a projection
TV in the 46- to 50-inch range as the nucleus of the home
entertainment center. The couple visits several department store and
appliance store TV departments and narrows down the choices to
projection units from Pioneer, Sony, and Zenith.
11-12
OBTAINING MORE FOCUSED INFO ABOUT OPTIONS
The toll-free 800 numbers of the three TV manufacturers (which were
featured in ads) are called to request additional detailed information
(brochures and booklets).
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.8 continued
WEEK PERIOD OF SELF-STUDY
13-14
After reading the brochures and discussing the pros and cons of the
alternatives with their mentor (comparing models with regard to
features such as picture-in-picture and surround sound capability), a
decision is made.
The 46-inch Sony is selected because of a magazine review that give it
very high marks in terms of its screen brightness and sharpness, and
because it offered colored picture-in-picture.
ORDERING THE TV
Sunday’s newspaper contains an advertisement from a local appliance
store chain stating that any projection TV purchased within the next
week can be paid for with 6 monthly payments, at no interest charge-the first payment beginning 6 months after the TV is installed. The
couple decides to drive to the store and talk to a salesperson about the
deal. When the salesperson agrees to lower the price of the Sony 46inch set to match the lowest price the couple had been quoted, they
decide to make the purchase. The TV arrives in the appliance dealer’s
truck and is installed in the couple’s family room.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Adopter
Categories
A sequence of categories that
describes how early (or late)
a consumer adopts a new
product in relation to other
adopters. The five typical
adopter categories are
innovators, early adopters,
early majority, late majority,
and laggards.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Figure 15.10 Adopter Categories
Early
Adopters
13.5%
Innovators
2.5%
Laggards
Early
Majority
34%
Late
Majority
34%
16%
Percentage of Adopters by Category Sequence
©2000 Prentice Hall
Innovators: Description
• 2.5% of population
• Venturesome
• Very eager to try new ideas
• Acceptable if risk is daring
• More cosmopolite social relationships
• Communicates with other innovators
©2000 Prentice Hall
Early Adopters: Description
• 13.5% of population
• Respected
• More integrated into the local social system
• The persons to check with before adopting a
new idea
• Category contains greatest number of
opinion leaders
• Are role models
©2000 Prentice Hall
Early Majority: Description
• 34.0% of population
• Deliberate
• Adopt new ideas just prior to the average
time
• Seldom hold leadership positions
• Deliberate for some time before adopting
©2000 Prentice Hall
Late Majority: Description
• 34% of population
• Skeptical
• Adopt new ideas just after the average
time
• Adopting may be both an economic
necessity and a reaction to peer pressures
• Innovations approached cautiously
©2000 Prentice Hall
Laggards: Description
• 16% of population
• Traditional
• The last people to adopt an innovation
• Most “localite” in outlook
• Oriented to the past
• Suspicious of the new
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.10 The Importance of Time in the
Diffusion Process
TYPE OF
TIME
MEANING
EXAMPLES
Purchase
time
I you look at your car’s gas gauge and it
reads “empty,” you stop at the next gas
station you come to. If you’re shopping or
Time between awareness
an additional VCR for your home, you
and purchase
may take quite a while to make a
purchase, as long as your present VCR is
working properly.
Adopter
categories
A classification scheme
that indicates where a
consumer stands, in
relation to others, when
adopting a new product.
Innovators are the first to adopt a new
product, and laggards are the last.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.10 continued
TYPE OF
TIME
Rate of
adoption
MEANING
EXAMPLES
How long it takes a new
product or service to be
adopted by members of
a social system
Black-and-white TVs were adopted by
consumers much more quickly than their
manufacturers had envisioned; in contrast,
trash compactors have never been widely
adopted
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.11 The Stages in the Adoption
Process
NAME
OF
STAGE
Awareness
Interest
Evaluation
WHAT HAPPENS
DURING THIS
STAGE
Consumer is first
exposed to the product
innovation.
Consumer is interested
in the product and
searches for additional
information.
Consumer decides
whether or not to believe
that this product or
service will satisfy the
need--a kind of “mental
trial.”
EXAMPLE
David sees an ad for a new digital camera
in the newspaper.
David reads about the camera on the
manufacturer’s Web site, ad then goes to a
camera store near his office and has a
salesman show him the camera.
After talking with a knowledgeable
friend, David decides that his camera
should be able to provide him with the
photos he needs to use in PowerPoint
presentations. He also likes the fact that it
uses “standard” floppy disks for storage.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.11 The Stages in the Adoption
Process
NAME
OF
STAGE
Trial
WHAT HAPPENS
DURING THIS
STAGE
Consumer uses the
product on a limited
basis
EXAMPLE
Since camera cannot be “tried” like a
small bottle of a new shampoo, David
buys the camera from a dealer offering a
14-day full refund policy.
If trial is favorable,
David finds that the camera is easy to use
consumer decides to use and the results are excellent;
the product on a full,
consequently, he keeps the digital camera.
Adoption
rather than a limited
(Rejection)
basis--if unfavorable, the
consumer decides o
reject it.
©2000 Prentice Hall
Figure 15.11 An Enhanced Adoption
Process Model
Discontinuation or
Rejection
Rejection
Evaluation
Pre-existing
problem or
Need
Awareness
Interest
Evaluation
Adoption or Rejection
Trial
Adoption
or
Rejection
Postadoption or
Postpurchase
Evaluation
Discontinuation
©2000 Prentice Hall
Figure 15.12 The Relative Importance of
Different Types of Information Sources in the
Adoption Process
High
Personal and
interpersonal
sources
Importance
Impersonal
mass-media
sources
Adoption
Trial
Evaluation
Interest
Awareness
Low
©2000 Prentice Hall
Issues in Profiling Consumer Innovators
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Defining the Consumer Innovator
Interest in the Product Category
The Innovator Is an Opinion Leader
Personality Traits
Media Habits
Social Characteristics
Demographic Characteristics
Are There Generalized Consumer Innovators?
©2000 Prentice Hall
Figure 15.13 The Innovator Buying
Cycle
EMBRACING INNOVATIONS
Chasing the Advances
Innovation Fascination
INNOVATION SATIATION
Product Accumulation in the Closet
Cumulative Innovation Disappointment
Pace of Innovation Slows Down
INNOVATOR NO MORE
What I’ve Got is Good Enough Now
Innovator Becomes Extremely Cautious, Careful Buyer
Moving On
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.12 Comparative Profiles of the
Consumer Innovator and the Noninnovator or
Later Adopter
INNOVATOR
NONINNOVATOR
(OR LATE ADOPTER)
Product interest
More
Less
Opinion Leadership
More
Less
Open-minded
Closed-minded
Higher
Lower
Inner-directed
Other-directed
Optimum stimulation level
Higher
Lower
Variety seeking
Higher
Lower
Perceived risk
Less
More
Venturesomeness
More
Less
CHARACTERISTIC
Personality
Dogmatism
Need for uniqueness
Social character
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.12 continued
INNOVATOR
NONINNOVATOR
(OR LATE ADOPTER)
Purchase & Consumption
Traits
Brand Loyalty
Less
More
Deal proneness
More
Less
Usage
More
Less
Total magazine exposure
More
Less
Special-interest magazines
More
Less
Television
Less
More
CHARACTERISTIC
Media Habits
©2000 Prentice Hall
Table 15.12 continued
INNOVATOR
NONINNOVATOR
(OR LATE ADOPTER)
Social integration
More
Less
Social striving
More
Less
Group Memberships
More
Less
Younger
Older
Higher
Lower
More
Less
Higher
Lower
CHARACTERISTIC
Social Characteristics
Demographic
Characteristics
Age
Income
Education
Occupational status
©2000 Prentice Hall