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The Influence of Communication Source and Mode on Consumer Adoption of Technological Innovations
Author(s) -
LEE EUNJU,
LEE JINKOOK,
SCHUMANN DAVID W.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of consumer affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1745-6606
pISSN - 0022-0078
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6606.2002.tb00418.x
Subject(s) - typology , business , marketing , consumer behaviour , diffusion of innovations , information and communications technology , early adopter , consumer demand , modality (human–computer interaction) , innovation diffusion , industrial organization , economics , microeconomics , computer science , sociology , human–computer interaction , world wide web , anthropology
Communication is the critical process of diffusion of technological innovations, yet there is little research in the consumer behavior literature investigating how communication affects consumers’ decision to adopt technological innovations. This paper examines the effects of communication source and modality on consumers’ adoption of technological innovations using the 1999 University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers data. Specifically, a typology of communication sources and modality is presented, and the respective and interrelated influences of source and mode on consumers’ adoption of electronic banking are examined. The results demonstrate that communication factors can serve as significant predictors of consumer adoption of technological innovations and that consumer preferences for communication source and modality vary for different segments of adopters. In addition, we find information gaps between consumer segments high and low in socioeconomic status. Finally, implications for the diffusion of technological innovations and future research directions are discussed.