Does faster always mean better? The negative marketing consequences of fast product upgrade frequency

Wumei Liu, Manxin Wang and Jingjing He

Journal of Business Research, 2025, vol. 196, issue C

Abstract: An increasing body of research investigates what motivates consumers to choose upgraded products. However, little is known about how product upgrade frequency affects consumer perception of the upgraded product and the company behind it. This research examines the effect of product upgrade frequency on consumers’ environmental friendliness perception of the product and the downstream corporate social responsibility (CSR) perception of the company. Through one secondary data study and five experiments, we show that fast (vs. slow) product upgrade frequency reduces consumers’ environmental friendliness perception of the product, which consequently reduces consumers’ CSR perception of the company. Additionally, we find that the negative effect of fast (vs. slow) upgrade frequency on CSR perception is amplified (attenuated) when the attributes being upgraded are the periphery ones (central ones).

Keywords: Product upgrade frequency; Environmental friendliness perception; CSR perception; Product attributes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:196:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325002486

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115425

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