SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS ON IMPLEMENTATION AND CONFIRMATION DECISIONS - ADOPTION OF US BEEF IN JAPAN

The relative importance of sociological and economic variables for pre dicting implementation by non-adopters and confirmation by adopters of U.S. beef was examined using data collected from a nationwide sample of 991 Japanese consumers. Implementation and confirmation decisions w ere evaluated at two stages of the innovation-decision process: symbol ic adoption/acceptance and intent to use/continue using. In examining these decisions, socioeconomic variables were specified as both produc t characteristics and as market and infrastructure contingencies. As h ypothesized by Klonglan and Coward (1970), at both the implementation and confirmation stages, sociological variables had more impact than e conomic ones on symbolic adoption, while the impact of economic variab les outweighed that of sociological variables on intent to eat U.S. be ef. Although economic and sociological variables played complementary roles within the innovation-decision process, both types of variables were better predictors of intent when specified as market and infrastr ucture contingencies rather than as product characteristics.