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People experiencing homelessness are high-users of hospital care in Canada. To better understand the scope of the issue, and how these patients are discharged from hospital, a national survey of key stakeholders was conducted in 2017. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness distributed an online survey to their network of members through e-mail and social media. A sample of 660 stakeholders completed the mixed-methods survey, including those in health care, non-profit, government, law enforcement and academia.

Results indicate that hospitals and homelessness sector agencies often struggle to coordinate care. The result is that these patients are usually discharged to the streets or shelters and not into housing or housing with supports. The health care and homelessness sectors in Canada are currently structured in a way that hinders collaborative transfers of patient care. The three primary and inter-related gaps raised by survey participants were: communication, privacy and systems pressures.

The findings are limited to those who voluntarily completed the survey and may indicate self-selection bias. Results are limited to professional stakeholders and do not reflect patient views.

Identifying systems gaps from the perspective of those who work within health care and homelessness sectors is important for supporting system reforms.

This survey was the first to collect nationwide stakeholder data on homelessness and hospital discharge in Canada. The findings help inform policy recommendations for more effective systems alignment within Canada and internationally.

Consumers are sometimes unexpectedly resistant toward radically innovative product concepts, and it is often argued that this is due to their difficulties in understanding the novel products. Thus, marketing research has focused on new ways to make consumers familiar with new product concepts. The purpose of this study is to present the argument that educating consumers may not solve all problems, and may sometimes even address the wrong question.

The authors' previous research on consumer responses to new product concepts for the purchasing and consumption of food is drawn upon to explore the reasons for consumers' acceptance of and resistance to radical product innovations.

Ignorance about radical product concepts is not the sole reason for consumers' resistance to novelties. In many cases, consumers understand the product concepts fairly well. Their lack of enthusiasm stems from other reasons, including the innovation's instrumentalism, its impact on consumers' autonomy, as well as its organizational complexity and systemic effects.

The findings suggest that companies introducing new product innovations may need to take consumers' resistance more seriously. They might need to reconsider the acceptability of new product innovations, and integrate these considerations at earlier stages of the innovation cycle. A more open‐ended approach to concept testing is suggested, encouraging users to evaluate concepts more critically. Concept testing should not be used as a pass/fail screen, but as an opportunity to learn more about potential impacts of the innovation on everyday life and society.

The paper reconsiders resistance to innovations, and demonstrates the value of consumer research for product development.