Identifying Fashion Clothing Innovators by Self-Report Method

Abstract

ABSTRACT Early adopters or innovators play an important role in the life cycle of a new product by providing feedback information and a positive cash flow for the company, raising barriers to entry that prevent other firms from easily entering the market and making later adopters use the product, spreading word-of-mouth communication. If innovators are identifiable in terms of certain characteristics, marketers can develop effective marketing programs to this important segment of the related market. To identify characteristics of innovators some methods are developed but it is difficult to state that there is a universally agreed upon measure of the innovativeness construct in the diffusion literature. Furthermore, the methods to measure innovativeness have been criticized in terms of reliability and validity. The aim of this study is to identify fashion clothing innovators based on a self report scale developed by Goldsmith and Hofacker (1991) which was found to be highly reliable and valid, adaptable across domains and easy to administer. After identifying of innovators, the study aimed to determine their attitudinal and behavioural characteristics, communication habits and demographic characteristics.