Characteristics of Adopters and Non-Adopters of Home Computers

Abstract

SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS This study investigated the profile of the adopter of a technological innovation, the home computer. The study used a simple trait + behavior model, whereas Rogers' diffusion model (Rogers 1962; Rogers and Shoemaker 1968) is a contingency model: trait + communication + behavior. While it is useful to examine the interaction be- tween traits and innovative characteristics, our approach only tests part of Rogers' model. To some extent, the adop- ter profile is similar to that of the adopter of many other types of innovations: middle-aged, higher income, more education, opinion leader, information seeker, and so on. On the other hand, the profile also suggests that the adopter is a logical introvert. This finding is not unexpected, given consideration of the complex, technological nature of the innovation. We suggest that the nature of the adopter of an innovation is partially a function of the characteristics of the innovation itself-viz., the complexity of the home computer, the familiarity required to be cognizant of its relative advantage, and the need for some other type of computer-oriented experiences before it can be perceived as compatible. We have used the concept of consumer creativity in an attempt to explain the differences between the adopter pro- file we found and that found in studies of symbolic inno- vations. Hirschman (1980b) presents a model showing the hypothesized relationship of consumer creativity to adop- tive i~novativeness; using Welsh's (1975) traits of origence and intellectence, we hypothesized that home computer adopters are more likely to exhibit characteristics typical of the low origenceihigh intellectence individual (introverted, rational, quantitatively oriented, unsocial). Our results pro- vide general support that adopters of home computers have a profile similar to that individual: they are homebodies who are interested neither in the arts nor in innovations that would enhance their ability to communicate. The hypoth- esis that the low origenceihigh intellectence individual is likely to be an early adopter of a technological innovation was tested in an indirect manner, by comparing the adopter profile to that found by Welsh (1975). Future research should direct measures of the dimensions in order to relate them to early adoption of technological pr~ducts.~ More-over, there is a clear need for research investigating the role that the two creativity dimensions play in the adoption of different types of innovations. Past consumption experiences play an integral part in Hirschman's (1980a, 1980b) conceptualization of consumer