Judging by the volume of marketplace failures, it seems that consumer innovators make biased assessments about the value of the innovativeness of new products (Gourville, 2006; Mugge & Dahl, 2013). Research suggests that consumer evaluate offerings based on form (i.e. visual appeal) and function (i.e. utilitarian appeal) (Gourville, 2006; Talke, Salomo, Weiringa & Lutz, 2009; Mugge & Dahl, 2013). In relation to innovative new products, the consumer decision-making path is unclear and the optimal mix of continuity and discontinuity across form and function is unknown. The lack of information regarding how marketers should appropriate resources to maximise returns thus, is an issue that requires resolution. To help resolve this gap, we seek to address two important practical marketing questions in the context of innovative new product introductions: (Q1) What is the impact that discontinuity and continuity across form and function have on new product adoption, and (Q2) What if any, are the underlying mediating mechanisms for different markets? To address these, we collected data from participants based in the United States of America through an online experiment. The participants were presented with four products, comprising variations of a digital camera based of continuity and discontinuity across form and function. The findings revealed that the same product could lead to differing perception of value based on the participant being an innovator or an adapter. The differing perceptions were explained by differences in assessments of potential costs and benefits from the product. Based on the findings of the study managerial recommendations on targeting the right segment for the right product were offered.

Prior research found a firm’s strategic orientation has a key impact on product innovativeness performance (Ozkaya et al., 2015). Both marketing orientation and learning orientation help firms to develop new product designs, generate innovative ideas, and achieve a better business performance (Narver & Stanley, 1990; Chuang, Morgan & Robson, 2015; Calantone et al, 2002). In line with prior studies, the purpose of this research is to investigate the mediating role of absorptive capacity (ACAP) (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990) on the effect of a firm’s strategic orientation (i.e., marketing orientation and learning orientation) on product innovativeness. We further investigated how environmental uncertainty moderates the effects of market orientation and learning orientation on product innovativeness. Survey method is adopted to collect data from Chinese manufacturer SMEs in the IT industry. 318 questionnaires were collected and analysed. CFA result shows that all constructs meet minimum requirements for reliability and discriminant validity test. Structural Equation Model (SEM) test reveals that both learning orientation and competitor orientation have significant impacts on product innovativeness, and ACAP plays partial meditation roles to effects from learning orientation to product innovativeness, and competitor orientation to product innovativeness. Customer orientation does not show a direct effect on product innovativeness, but is fully mediated by ACAP. We further tested whether the model is moderated by environmental uncertainty (EU) and result shows that EU only moderates the impact from learning orientation to product innovativeness. By developing a model of strategic orientation– absorptive capacity- product innovativeness, we contribute to the extant literature in strategic marketing.

Customers are regarded as the key intangible assets of a company. It is necessary to have the capability to anticipate customer value. The study discusses the relationship among customer value anticipation, product innovativeness, and customer lifetime value from customer perspective. 178 MBA students were surveyed by questionnaire in this study. The results show that customer perceived customer value anticipation can significantly influence product innovativeness. Product innovativeness not only positively affects customer lifetime value, but also plays a partial mediating role between customer value anticipation and customer lifetime value. Both functional and emotional advertising can play a moderating role on the relationship between product innovativeness and customer lifetime value. At the end, managerial implications are discussed.

Vertical alliances for collaborative new product development in interfirm relationship have been an ongoing theme of strategy and marketing research to cope with fast changing environments, and to continuously innovate in the marketplace. However, no study has yet examind both direct and indirect effects of vertical alliances on new product performance under high technology turbulence. As alliance partners seek to enhance their collaboration and performance, the relational nature of business relationships and structural network positions can influence firm innovativeness and subsequent new product performance. Using survey data of 146 firms collected in Turkey, this study shows that while firms form stronger cooperation under conditions of high technology turbulence, the impact on firm innovativeness and new product performance is contingent upon network positions and information exchange. The findings indicate that indirect effects of vertical alliance portfolio and information exchange enhance new product performance through firm innovativeness. Vertical relationship structures facilitate firm innovativeness with enhanced exploration but may not have a positive direct effect on new product performance. Furthermore, the effect of information exchange on new product performance is contingent upon information exchange which enhances firm innovativeness.