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The impact of mortality anxiety on attitude toward product innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin Boeuf

    (LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - ULCO - Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

Threatening environmental stimuli, such as terror attacks, armed conflicts and death imagery in advertising, have been shown to positively affect consumer attitudes and behaviors toward products. This article calls into question the generalizability of this effect to innovative products by showing that mortality anxiety, i.e., individuals' fear of their own mortality, leads to product innovation resistance. Drawing from the literature on innovation adoption and mortality anxiety, four experimental studies provide evidence that while mortality anxiety has a positive impact on the evaluation of noninnovative products, it negatively affects the evaluation of innovative products. When faced with mortality anxiety, consumers are more likely to experience state nostalgia, a temporary backward-looking mindset, in contrast with the forward-looking mode necessary to favor product innovation adoption. This process is confirmed by the positive impact of mortality anxiety on attitude toward innovative products that trigger feelings of nostalgia, or retro-innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Boeuf, 2019. "The impact of mortality anxiety on attitude toward product innovation," Post-Print hal-02988208, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02988208
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.06.031
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    Cited by:

    1. Landgraf, Polina & Stamatogiannakis, Antonios & Yang, Haiyang, 2024. "How mortality salience hurts brands with different personalities," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 308-324.
    2. Cao, Rong & Yue, Mingyue & Yu, Jianuo & Wang, Feng & Li, Ping, 2025. "Impact of death-related media information on the effectiveness of in-feed advertising: A compensatory consumption perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Huang, Dan & Jin, Xin & Coghlan, Alexandra, 2021. "Advances in consumer innovation resistance research: A review and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    4. Rösemeier, Jonah & Hu, Xiaoran & Nijstad, Bernard A., 2025. "Toward a dynamic social process view: an integrative, multidisciplinary review of the relationship between affect and creativity," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 128660, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Yingying Yang & Peng Lu & Yuanyuan Niu & Guohong Yuan, 2024. "Research on Unmanned Smart Hotels Resistance from the Perspective of Innovation Resistance Theory," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, September.
    6. Marie-E. Godefroid & Ralf Plattfaut & Björn Niehaves, 2023. "How to measure the status quo bias? A review of current literature," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(4), pages 1667-1711, December.
    7. Valor, Carmen & Antonetti, Paolo & Crisafulli, Benedetta, 2022. "Emotions and consumers’ adoption of innovations: An integrative review and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    8. Li, Yongjun & Jin, Xi & Xue, Hanbing, 2025. "Avoid following individual shopping time habit to promote new products: Evidence from a randomized field experiment," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    9. Cenamor, Javier, 2022. "Use of health self-management platform features: The case of a specialist ehealth app," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).

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