Abstract

Forced adoption is becoming a common marketing tactic to ensure that the introduction of new products is successful, but little is known about how consumers evaluate the new products in this circumstance. Because new products are appealing to consumers by virtue of their more powerful functions or more friendly interfaces, capability and usability are the two key determinants of whether a new product will be adopted or purchased. Research based on construal-level theory indicates that consumers give more weight to capability before first use (distant future) and more weight to usability after first use (near future). However, forced adoption can trigger choice conflict, which causes preference reversals. According to a reasons-based approach, when consumers face a difficult decision they give more weight to the inferior attributes of a product, as these attributes provide a good reason to make a particular choice and thus resolve the difficulty. Therefore, usability is more important before a new product is first used, whereas capability is more important after first use. In this study, a structural model was constructed that contributes to the understanding of consumers’ behavioral intentions when they are forced to adopt a new product. We further explore the distinction between usage before and after adoption of the product. The study provides insight into the inconsistency of preferences as a function of temporal distance when consumers are forced to adopt a new product.

Keywords: Forced adoption; New products; Capability; Usability