Experience Oriented Thinking (EOT): A Driver for User Centered Innovation and Competitiveness

It is imperative for fashion manufacturers and retailers to understand today´s consumers´ needs and aspirations. As many prior research studies found that consumer choice and preferences are influenced by many factors, including symbolic value, financial risk, utilitarian and psychological benefit. Our review of the literature suggests that limited research studies have examined the relationship between fashion innovativeness and product attributes, particularly in cross-national perspectives. The overarching objective of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how female fashion leaders and fashion followers evaluate, select and consume apparel products in three different cultural contexts. We used online questionnaire survey to collect 105, 196 and 134 usable data from female consumers in Taiwan, India and Canada, respectively. Our results showed that in all cultural contexts fashion leaders were more concerned about the fit, style and quality of clothing, while followers were more focused on fit, price and comfort. Fashion leaders often used the Internet (e.g., fashion blogs and e-retailers) to search for and purchase products. We learned that female consumers in all markets often looked for aesthetic and symbolic values in a product. In addition, Canadian consumers were more price conscious than were their Taiwanese counterparts. If international fashion enterprises want to be successful in Taiwanese, Indian and Canadian milieu, it is important to discover what product attributes may trigger particular cognitive and affective responses and, ultimately, product choices among different customers.