Interaction effects of media and message on perceived complexity, risk and trust of innovative products

Francisco-Jose Molina-Castillo, Carolina Lopez-Nicolas and Pedro Soto-Acosta

European Management Journal, 2012, vol. 30, issue 6, 577-587

Abstract: Firms frequently make quality claims when launching new products in the market. However, little is known about the interaction effects that occur between the media (online/offline channels of distribution) and the message (making/not making quality claims) when new products are launched. By sampling 568 online and offline customers of ICT products, we demonstrate that using quality claims is advisable only in the online context. Specifically, ICT products are perceived less complex and more trustworthy when quality claims are advertised online. In addition, perceived complexity and perceived risk are higher in the offline context than in the online context when product quality claims are used. Therefore, firms should be aware of which quality claims they introduce on their websites so as not to interfere with the product launch. This study adds to the body of research on Internet advertising and innovative products. This study is also useful for marketers who wish to improve the advertising efficiency (in terms of content and media) of innovative and complex products to consumers.

Keywords: Innovation; Internet; Perceived risk; Trust; Complexity; Online; Offline (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263237312000734
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eurman:v:30:y:2012:i:6:p:577-587

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/115/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... me/115/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2012.07.005

Access Statistics for this article

European Management Journal is currently edited by Michael Haenlein

More articles in European Management Journal from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().