User Innovators in the Silver Market

In this study among camping tourists of all age groups between 19 and 86 years of age, Konstantin Wellner compares key characteristics regarding innovative behavior of different age groups. The focus of the analysis is on the so-called 'Silver Market' segment (consumers of at least 55 years) which gains importance to the demographic shift. Generally, older users are still actively innovating, especially if it relates to age-specific improvements (e.g., comfort and compatibility to other equipment). Analysis by a Structural Equation Model showed that the most important determinant of innovative behavior for older users is technical expertise and that being relatively ahead of trends increases their dissatisfaction with existing products. Additional evidence was found that user with high use experience suffer from functional fixedness.

Konstantin Wellner does research on the impact of demographic change on user innovation at the Hamburg University of Technology, focusing on the impact of age on characteristics and capability of older user innovators.