Consumer Innovativeness: Cross-Cultural Differences and Influence on Acceptance of Product Service Systems

Abstract

Product Service Systems are considered a new, circular business model that could help businesses be sustainable while maintaining economic growth at the same time. Consumer innovativeness can predict and influence acceptance of such novel business models. However, differences in innovativeness can vary across countries and should be considered in research. This study aims to examine differences and influence of consumer innovativeness on consumer acceptance of Product Services Systems based on data collected from Czech Republic, Sweden and Hungary. For the analysis pay-per-wash was chosen, as washing machines are one of the most used everyday products. This paper takes a descriptive and quantitative approach while using regression as a data analysis method. The findings enrich current scarce knowledge of differences and influence of consumer innovativeness on consumer acceptance of Product Service Systems, especially considering that Central-and Eastern European countries are underrepresented in the literature. For the managerial contribution, the study offers insights for more efficient consumer segmentation and targeting for introduction of pay-per-wash services.