Asymmetric consequences of radical innovations on category representations of competing brands

A cognitive level account of when and why radical innovations impact category representations of competing brands is developed and tested. The results suggest that competing brands are affected only when a dominant brand introduces a radical innovation that alters a core category attribute. Such an innovation leads consumers to see competing brands as less typical of the category with diminished evaluations. Crucially, neither core radical innovations introduced by a non‐dominant brand nor equally radical innovations that alter peripheral (non‐core) attributes have any impact on consumers' perceptions of competing brands. Implications for consumer preference formation and competition in the context of radical innovation are drawn.