Adopt or Not: How Consumers’ Implicit Beliefs Influence Evaluations of Innovative Products

Abstract

We utilize the concept of implicit theories, or individuals’ lay beliefs about the malleability of human attributes, to illustrate how certain individuals can be dispositionally poised to resist (or seek) new and innovative products. We find that entity theorists, or those who believe in the fixedness of human traits, are relatively more likely to resist innovative new products, while incremental theorists, or those who believe in the malleability of human traits, are relatively more likely to seek out new products. We find this effect is bound by the perceived learning cost of the innovative product—such that low perceived learning costs reduce the differences in evaluations of new products between entity and incremental theorists. Several potential mechanisms for the effect are explored—most notably, the roles of fear of negative evaluation, negative effort beliefs, and need for cognition. Finally, we discuss theoretical and managerial implications and suggest avenues for future research.