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Jump on the innovator’s train: cognitive principles for creating appreciation in innovative product designs

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Abstract

In everyday life, we find shared preferences for idiosyncratic product features paradigmatically displayed by bestselling gadgets like Apples iPhone’s touch screen, which after gaining acceptance and appreciation are susceptible to being copied by competitors. Psychological research on the phenomenon of shared preferences for innovative design features and the probable benefit of copying them is still lacking. We tested gains of acceptance for imitators through an adaptation paradigm where typicality and liking of potentially innovative features were analysed dynamically. We found significant changes in typicality and liking for imitators being highly similar to the original. These adaptation processes in combination with transfer effects create the specific opportunity for imitators to jump on the innovator’s train by providing similar innovative features and thereby participating in the initial innovator’s success. Importantly, they participate best not by solely copying a specific novel feature, but by additionally generally looking very similar to the innovator.

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Notes

  1. None of the participants could assign the name, designer or brand name of the following models: Rocking Armchair “Rod” of Charles and Ray Eames, “Wassily No. B3” of Marcel Breuer, “DSW” of Charles and Ray Eames, “Aluminium Chair EA 105” of Charles and Ray Eames, “LC4” of Le Corbusier,“Chair Cesca B64” of Marcel Breuer, “Lounge Chair and Ottoman” of Charles and Ray Eames,“LC2” of Le Corbusier,“Joe” of Gionatan De Pas, Donatod’ Urbino and Paolo Lomazzi, “Hill House Chair” of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, “Panton Chair” of Verner Panton, “La Chaise” of Charles and Ray Eames, “Marshmallow Sofa” of George Nelson, “Barcelona chair No. MR90” of Mies van der Rohe, “Armchair No. MR20” of Mies van der Rohe, “Wiggle Side Chair” of Frank Gehry, “Rood blauwestoel” of Gerrit Rietveld, “Stuhl No. 14” of Michael Thonet, “W. W. Stool” of Philippe Starck,and “Tulip Chair” of Eero Saarinen.

  2. Participants rated the adaptation stimuli on the following 24 attributes in the first adaptation phase: appealing (ansprechend), carefully thought out (durchdacht), classic (klassisch), compact (kompakt), conventional (konventionell), durable (beständig), elegant (elegant), extravagant (extravagant), formal (förmlich), functional (funktionell), futuristic (futuristisch), inviting (einladend), neat (ordentlich), of high quality (hochwertig), embellished/playful (verspielt), overwhelming (erdrückend), pleasant (angenehm), dull (eintönig), regular (regelmäßig), restrained (dezent), rounded (abgerundet), solid (gediegen), tasteful (geschmackvoll) and stuffy (bieder). The second adaptation phase comprised the following 12 attributes: bulky (sperrig), clear (klar), comfortable (komfortabel), conservative (konservativ), well considered (überlegt), practicable (praktisch), luxurious (luxuriös), minimalist (schlicht), modern (modern), robust (robust), stylish (stilvoll) and inventive (phantasievoll).

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Andrea Lyman and Stefanie Wolz for proofreading the text and Sabine Albrecht, JörnFreese, Claudia Gorr, Sabine Kügel and David Winkelmann for conducting parts of the experimental work. Last but not the least, we wish to thank Yoram Reich and two anonymous reviewers for providing valuable comments and constructive criticism for an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Psychology and Methodology, University of Bamberg, 96047, Bamberg, Germany

    Stella J. Faerber & Claus-Christian Carbon

  2. University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

    Claus-Christian Carbon

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  1. Stella J. Faerber
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  2. Claus-Christian Carbon
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Correspondence to Stella J. Faerber.

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Faerber, S.J., Carbon, CC. Jump on the innovator’s train: cognitive principles for creating appreciation in innovative product designs. Res Eng Design 24, 313–319 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-012-0148-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-012-0148-7

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