ABSTRACT
Consumer acceptance of new information technologies heavily depends on the market context in which the technologies are introduced (e.g., Jain, 1993). An important element of that market context is the consuming public’s framing of the competitive set: Which current products 1 do consumers view as sources of information, and under what circumstances? For example, when screen phones 2 are introduced, some consumers may view them as falling in the same competitive set as high-end wall phones and speaker phones, whereas other consumers may place them in a competitive set containing personal computers and personal digital assistants.
