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Design Innovativeness and Product Sales' Evolution

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  • Gaia Rubera

    (Marketing Department, Bocconi University, 20136 Milan, Italy)

Abstract

In the last decade, design innovation has gained increasing prominence in the marketplace, with a growing number of firms innovating not only through technology but also through novel product forms (i.e., design). However, while the effect of technological innovation on product sales is a heavily studied topic, a defining theory of how design innovation influences product sales is still missing. This paper provides demand- and supply-side theories to formulate a set of coherent hypotheses about the effect of design innovativeness, i.e., the degree of novelty in a product’s design, on sales' evolution over time. The hypotheses are tested in two different samples. In the first, car models introduced in the United States from 1978 to 2006 (for a total of 2,757 model-year data) are analyzed. In the second, motorcycle models introduced in the United States from 1980 to 2008 (for a total of 2,847 model-year observations) are analyzed. I find that design innovativeness diminishes initial sales' status but increases sales' growth rates. Furthermore, design and technological innovativeness have a negative interaction effect on sales' initial status, but a positive effect on sales' growth rates. Finally, brand strength and brand advertising expenditures worsen the negative effect of design innovativeness on initial sales' status, but boost its positive effect on sales' growth rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaia Rubera, 2015. "Design Innovativeness and Product Sales' Evolution," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(1), pages 98-115, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:34:y:2015:i:1:p:98-115
    DOI: 10.1287/mksc.2014.0875
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    Cited by:

    1. Alex Burnap & John R. Hauser & Artem Timoshenko, 2019. "Product Aesthetic Design: A Machine Learning Augmentation," Papers 1907.07786, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2022.
    2. Rajeev K. Goel & James W. Saunoris, 2020. "Design versus utility innovation: Is corruption sanding or greasing the wheels of innovation?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(5), pages 848-860, July.
    3. Martin Heinberg & Constantine S. Katsikeas & H. Erkan Ozkaya & Markus Taube, 2020. "How nostalgic brand positioning shapes brand equity: differences between emerging and developed markets," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 869-890, September.
    4. Gilal, Faheem Gul & Gilal, Naeem Gul & Shahid, Shadma & Gilal, Rukhsana Gul & Shah, Syed Mir Muhammad, 2022. "The role of product design in shaping masstige brand passion: A masstige theory perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 487-504.
    5. Golovko, Elena & Lopes-Bento, Cindy & Sofka, Wolfgang, 2022. "Marketing learning by exporting – how export-induced marketing expenditures improve firm performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 194-207.
    6. Liu, Fu & Zhu, Zhenzhong & Chen, Haipeng (Allan) & Li, Xingbo, 2020. "Beauty in the eyes of its beholders: Effects of design novelty on consumer preference," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

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