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The “Right” Consumers for the Best Concepts: Identifying and Using Emergent Consumers in Developing New Products

Donna L. Hoffman, Praveen K. Kopalle, and Thomas P. Novak, 2009 [09-106]

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Identifying the “right” consumer to engage in product concept development can be critical to marketplace success, especially for consumer goods. While much research has focused on new product development techniques, less research has focused on the traits and abilities of consumers who are best-suited to the process.

Here, authors Hoffman, Kopalle, and Novak suggest that some consumers are able to generate forward-focused ideas and to logically and analytically evaluate and refine concepts in a synergistic process. This unique capability, which they call “emergent nature,” allows consumers to envision how concepts might be developed for marketplace success.

Drawing on research on information processing styles, they develop and validate a scale to measure emergent nature. They find that individuals high in emergent nature exhibit significantly higher levels of experiential and rational thinking styles, as well as reflection, openness to new experience, and visual processing compared to consumers high in dispositional innovativeness or lead user status. To test their construct, the researchers conducted group and individual studies in two product categories (home delivery and oral care). Four groups—consumers high in emergent nature, lead users, consumers high in dispositional innovativeness, and average consumers—were asked to develop product concepts to appeal to mainstream consumers.

When the resulting product concepts were used to test market reaction with a large group of real-world consumers, those developed by consumers high in emergent nature were found to be significantly more appealing (and had a higher purchase likelihood) than those developed by the other groups.

This research complements current concept testing methods and could be used to improve their effectiveness. Identifying and employing “high emergent nature” consumers in the concept development process may act as an “early warning system” about product success or failure. This study may also assist firms striving to adopt a positive orientation toward emergent customers to identify this important segment.

About the authors

Donna L. Hoffman is the Chancellor’s Chair and Professor of Marketing at the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Riverside. Praveen K. Kopalle is Associate Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Thomas P. Novak is the Albert O. Steffey Professor of Marketing at the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Riverside.

Included in the following collections:
MSI Reports 2009

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