Values and adoption of innovations: a cross‐cultural study

The adoption process for new products varies from one individual to another according to socio‐economic and demographic characteristics. This article focuses on cultural values because an individual’s inclination to adopt a new product is also influenced by his system of values. The advantage of using values to explain innovativeness is that this variable transcends national, cultural and social boundaries. In order to determine the influence of values on adoption, this study utilizes a multicultural research framework consisting of consumers living in a large metropolitan area and coming from three distinct cultural groups: business school students from Quebec, France and North Africa. The results of this study suggest that individual values have a significant impact on consumers’ inclinations to adopt new products. In multi‐ethnic heterogeneous markets, segmenting consumers according to their values should be an important tool in the strategic kit of marketing managers.