The book addresses the phenomenon of resistance to innovation, and its antecedents and manifestations. Countering the prevalent pro-innovation bias, we focus on those consumers who are last to adopt innovations, under the premise that a better understanding of their underlying motivations can help innovation and change agents avoid or overcome resistance. We unravel in the book an overarching model of resistance, whereby sources of resistance are integrated, and an intriguing set of manifestations are discussed. In Part I, our focus is on the sources of resistance, with each chapter addressing ... More

The book addresses the phenomenon of resistance to innovation, and its antecedents and manifestations. Countering the prevalent pro-innovation bias, we focus on those consumers who are last to adopt innovations, under the premise that a better understanding of their underlying motivations can help innovation and change agents avoid or overcome resistance. We unravel in the book an overarching model of resistance, whereby sources of resistance are integrated, and an intriguing set of manifestations are discussed. In Part I, our focus is on the sources of resistance, with each chapter addressing a different source. In Chapter 1 our focus is on internal, psychological, sources of resistance, in the form of personality predispositions. In Chapter 2 we move to discuss the role of perceived harm as the main force driving resistance. In Chapter 3 we discuss the process through which innovations are introduced. Chapter 4 addresses the role of the context, or setting, within which innovations are launched. In Part II, we discuss three manifestations of resistance, starting with the consumer leapfrogging effect, in Chapter 5, through the role of negative word-of-mouth, in Chapter 6, and ending with the Saddle Effect in Chapter 7. The phenomena we present and arguments we make are based on rigorous empirical research and discussed in the book through many real-life examples of innovations that, often surprisingly, have been resisted.