Consumer Innovativeness for Fashion as a Second Order Construct: A Cross-Cultural Study

Abstract

Abstract Setting and changing prices is difficult for marketing managers, especially for new products. Consumer price sensitivity (how consumers react to prices or to price changes) makes a difference in the likelihood consumers will buy (Ainslie and Rossi 1998). For many new products, the reactions of the earliest buyers or innovative consumers are critical to success (e.g., Munnukka 2005). But how important is the price of new products to innovators? The answer to this question is of theoretical interest and of practical importance to marketers, especially when marketing new fashions, where innovators play a crucial role in consumer acceptance. Existing research shows that innovators are relatively less sensitive to prices of new products than are later adopters; that is, they are more willing to pay higher prices (Goldsmith 1996, 1999). However, the evidence in favor of the negative relationship between innovativeness and price sensitivity is based largely on studies that conceptualize and measure inno...