Why Do They Lag and Why Should We Care?

Abstract

A vast amount of attention has been paid to ‘Innovators’ and ‘Early Adopters’. Firms need them, marketers love them, and they are typically respected and even envied. You can see people gather around the person who brought to work the newest generation mp4 player, who bought the latest GPS navigator, or who was first to install Windows Vista. People draw close with admiration, as if they were witnessing the invention of fire. Without them, firms would probably have difficult times in surviving, because if they do not adopt first, the mass market will likely not either. Some argue that Innovators are not very smart consumers: they buy a very expensive version of a new product, the product they buy still has many problems and bugs, and they will probably have to purchase a different version once a dominant design is introduced. Nevertheless, it is clear that they are prime in the social process of innovation adoption.