Factors influencing consumers’ willingness to participate in new food product development activities

Consumers can be an interesting source of knowledge if companies manage to attract them to an interactive process of new product development (NPD). The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors influencing consumers’ willingness to participate in NPD activities.

A survey with 1,038 respondents was held in Denmark. Food products for weight management were used as an example to further explore these issues and test the research hypotheses. Data were analysed by means of hierarchical regression analysis.

Results indicated that consumer innovativeness is a key factor to stimulate participation. An increase in either cognitive or emotional dimensions also encourages consumer interaction with the company. Weight perception and willingness to participate is moderated by age group. These findings can help managers to identify key segments when developing new food products for weight management.

This study has proposed and tested a model based on relevant literature and validated scales using a model generation approach to discuss motivations and factors that influence willingness to participate in NPD projects in the food sector.