Consumer Culture and Innovation Diffusion: A Cross-regional Study in Cameroon

Abstract

The death of most quality new products at the introduction phase of the product life cycle has been a call for concern as most entrepreneurs become discouraged in business. This has motivated us to verify the role of culture in the acceptance and diffusion of innovation in order to take customers to the long run. Our instrument of data collection is questionnaires administered to sample size of 308 in the main regions of Cameroon. Variables such as language, collectivism, religion, beliefs, values, customs and pride are used to capture culture. Chi square analysis test, multiple correspondence analysis, the test of T student, poison regression analysis and Spearman correlation test in the data analysis were made. It was realised, language, pride and collectivism have a positive and significant influence on innovation decisions in Cameroon and that the south, East and centre are areas of low cultural impact while the rest are of high cultural impact. It was equally noticed that South, East and Centre region are adherent to new products while the rest of the Regions are novice. Innovation decision making should take consumer culture as a relevant variable.  From these results new products should first be lunch in the rest of the regions and gradually to the Centre, East and south Region.