Applying Complexity Theory To Understand Chinese Consumers’ Decision-Making In Innovative Products

Abstract

This study is the first to apply complexity theory to identify antecedent paths, involving perceived risks (functional risk and emotional risk), innate consumer innovativeness, and consumers’ demographics related to information search (ongoing search and pre-purchase search), in the innovative products context. This study contributes a new perspective to Chinese innovation literature, using a configurational analysis, namely, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), which is based on an asymmetrical mode of thinking about the relationships among variables. The findings demonstrate the tenets (equifinality, complexity, and asymmetry) of configurational analysis and reveal configurations of antecedents that are sufficient for consistently predicting the conditions when perceived risk associates with information search in the innovative products context. Namely, perceived risk (functional risk and emotional risk) in recipes with innate consumer innovativeness and/or demographic antecedents are sufficient in predicting a high or low level of ongoing and pre-purchase information search. This research contributes to the literature on perceived risk, information search, and innovation management, particularly in the context of Chinese innovation.