| Abstract [eng] |
Relevance of the topic and problem. The introduction of new products into the market has been a competitiveness guarantee of companies for decades. Existing research on this topic reveals that many researchers have so far focused on the innovation diffusion process and the characteristics of innovative products. However, there is a lack of study on the characteristics of consumers which promote or limit this process. In addition, when analyzing the level of the consumer, it is noticed that the personal trait of consumer innovation is still prevalent in literature. However, there is a lack of research to discuss the impact of the social context on consumer behaviour, especially the intention to buy new products. For this reason, the issue of the link between the consumer's social identity and his intention to buy new products becomes particularly relevant. In the light of the results of the research carried out and their limitations, the following problematic issues are formulated in the Master's Thesis: what impact does social identity have on the consumer's intention to buy new products, and what role does consumer innovativeness take in this case? The object of this project was to identify the links between consumers social identity and intention to buy new products. The purpose of the project is to theoretically and empirically justify the influence of the consumer's social identity and individual dimensions on the intention to buy an electric car, revealing the role of consumer's innovativeness. Project objectives: 1. To define the examination of the relationship between consumer social identity and behaviour, arguing about the problems in existing research. 2. To reveal the essence of the concept of consumer social identity, defining the concept and its dimensions. 3. Theoretically justify the basics of consumer social expression in behaviour, conceptualize the interfaces of the studied variables in the context of the acquisition of new products 4. Justify the role of consumer innovativeness in the relationship between social identity and intent to buy new products. 5. Prepare a conceptual model of consumers social identity influence on intention to buy a new products and empirically base it on the intention to buy an electric car. 6. To define possibilities of application of theoretical and empirical results based model and further research directions. Results and applications of the project. The theoretical study base has developed a multidimensional construct of consumer social identity, a conceptual model combining the intention to acquire new products and consumer innovation variables. The case of electric cars chosen by Lithuanian consumers is empirically based on it. The empirical study was based on responses from 396 respondents who are interested in electric cars or are considering buying an electric car. The results of the empirical research revealed that the consumer's social identity has a positive effect on the intention to buy an electric car. The strongest positive impact on the intention to buy an electric car is caused by the emotional dimension of the user's social identity. The influence of consumer innovation as a moderating factor of the investigated connection was not confirmed for all investigated cases. A significant finding of the study is that the distinguished level of specific innovativeness of consumer strengthens the influence of the consumer's social identity and its emotional dimension on the intention to buy a new product - an electric car, whereas the overall and general consumer innovativeness influence on the intention to buy an electric car weakens the consumer's social identity and its individual dimensions. |
