Consumers' adoption of new technology products : the role of coping strategies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how accelerated technology innovations lead to shorter product lifecycles, and consumers often face the dilemma of choosing between keeping the existing product and upgrading to a new version. They may enact certain coping strategies to deal with the stress and uncertainty. Based on the work of Mick and Fournier, this study aims to propose a set of coping strategies, which include refusal, delay, extended decision‐making, and pretest. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a survey of consumers regarding the 3G mobile phones, the authors test the effects of coping strategies within the framework of the technology acceptance model. Findings – The results of canonical analyses suggest that coping strategies have significant influence on consumers' product beliefs, which in turn mediate the effects of coping strategies on consumers' attitude toward adoption and their purchase intention. Research limitations/implications – Coping strategies help better understand consumers' adoption of new technology products and furnish meaningful implications for marketing technology products to today's tech‐savvy consumers. Originality/value – This study develops measures of coping strategies and provides an empirical test of their effect on product beliefs and behavioral intentions with respect to consumers' decision whether to upgrade to a new technology product.