Design for Better Comprehension of RNPs: KEYWORDS : Consumers’ comprehension, product innovation, product appearance, really new products (RNPs). Designers are more frequently involved in embodying really new products (RNPs). RNPs (a.k.a. discontinuous or radical innovations) refer to product innovations that integrate advanced technology that has rarely been used in the industry before and enables consumers to do things they were previous unable to do (Garcia & Calantone, 2002). In contrast, INPs (a.k.a. continuous or incremental innovations) are innovations that incorporate new improvements on existing products, which are based on current technologies and markets. While embodying INPs and RNPs, designers face different challenges. To embody INPs, the prominent challenge is to differentiate the INPs from other products in the market (Person, Schoormans, Snelders, & Karjalainen, 2008). However, to embody RNPs, the challenge is to communicate the RNPs to facilitate consumers’ comprehension (Eisenman, 2013). To facilitate consumers’ comprehension, several strategies have been developed in marketing
Name / Surname
research. One line of strategies aim to make use of consumers‘ internal stored knowledge to learn RNPs,
Peiyao Cheng
such as categorization (Moreau, Markman, & Lehmann, 2001) and analogical learning strategy (Gregan-Paxton,
成沛瑶
2001; Gregan‐Paxton & John, 1997), which can help consumers transfer internal knowledge from a familiar domain to a RNP. Consumers can also learn RNPs from external sources, such as advertisements, websites, other consumers, product demonstrations and direct experience with the RNP (Hoeffler & Herzenstein, 2011).
Research field/area However, in design research, limited research attentions have been received. As designers play a prominent
Design & Business
role in embodying RNPs, it is important to equip designers with the knowledge of how to facilitate consumers’
Really New Products
comprehension of RNPs. This PhD project aims to fill in this gap. Specifically, this PhD project focuses on three different aspects of product appearance on consumers’ comprehension of RNPs: visual complexity, transparency and the usage of product metaphor (see figure).
Supervisor
Prof. Cees de Bont Dr. ir. Ruth Mugge
Research Framework & Overview of studies Product appearance to facilitate consumers’ external learning: - to communcate innovative technology directly (study 2) - to indicate innovative technology (study 1) Consumers’ learning of RNPs
yr1
yr2
yr3
yr4
yr5
Consumers
Product appearance to facilitate consumers’ internal learning:
RNPs
- to trigger category-based knowledge transfer
- to trigger analogy-based knowledge transfer (study 3)
Study 1:
Study 2:
Complexity vs. Simplicity in RNPs
Transparency in product designs
Study 3: The potentials and risks of using product metaphors in RNPs
Bibliography Eisenman, M. (2013). Understanding aesthetic innovation in the context of technological evolution. Academy of Management Review, 38(3), 332-351. Garcia, R., & Calantone, R. (2002). A critical look at technological innovation typology and innovativeness terminology: a literature review. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 19(2), 110-132. Gregan-Paxton, J., Hibbard, J. D., Brunel, F. F., & Azar, P. (2002). "So that's what that is": Examining the impact of analogy on consumers' knowledge development for really new products. Psychology & Marketing, 19(6), 533-550. Person, O., Schoormans, J., Snelders, D., & Karjalainen, T.-M. (2008). Should new products look similar or different? The influence of the market environment on strategic product styling. Design Studies, 29(1), 30-48. Zhao, M., Hoeffler, S., & Dahl, D. W. (2009). The role of imagination-focused visualization on new product evaluation. Journal of Marketing Research, 46(1), 46-55.