Passive innovation resistance – a conservative consumer perspective

Abstract

Purpose

More research is required into the underlying reasons for passive innovation resistance. This paper aims to propose that consumers who passively resist innovation may merely be conservative in nature and explore a conceptual framework that could explain and predict such behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

Theories from the political sciences, social psychology and marketing were studied in trying to understand why some consumers are more conservative in nature and how their attitudes may affect their thoughts, feelings and actions in the marketplace.

Findings

Consumers may develop conservative attitudes, such as a need for cognitive closure, nostalgia, authoritarianism, a social dominance orientation, ethnocentrism and an anti-hedonic approach towards life to combat their fear of ambiguous situations and chaos associated with deviance from in-group values. Ultimately, these attitudes may influence consumer behaviour, such as being brand loyal, unwilling to try new options and preferring nostalgic products that would lead to lower levels of ambiguity and less disruption of the status quo. Conservative consumers may also act as authoritarian parents, prefer to purchase durable materialistic products, support locally manufactured goods and refrain from purchasing products for purely hedonic pleasure in an attempt to preserve their in-group values.

Originality/value

The proposed framework offers more insight into the nature and consequences of passive innovation resistance and may serve as a starting point for further exploration on the fundamental characteristics of conservative consumers. The research findings may also assist marketers in managing their new product innovations strategies more successfully.

Citation

Van Tonder, E. (2017), "Passive innovation resistance – a conservative consumer perspective", European Business Review, Vol. 29 No. 6, pp. 642-663. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-09-2016-0126