Telling (mis)fitting new product stories: The role of consumer orientations, product innovativeness, and message framing on new product evaluations

Abstract Extant research proposes that consumer goal orientation‐message frame fit ( consumer–message fit ) leads to favorable product evaluations. However, there is evidence that consumer goal orientation‐message frame misfit ( consumer–message misfit ) at times also result in favorable evaluations of new products. This study develops and tests a novel prediction that shows how consumer–message misfit results in consumers having more favorable responses toward new products when the type of innovation (incremental vs. radical) is perceived as instrumental to achieving the consumer's goals with the product ( innovation–consumer fit ), creating a kind of fit–misfit effect. Results from four experiments encompassing multiple new product categories support this fit–misfit prediction. We further show that surprise mediates the effect of fit–misfit. This research builds on current theory involving goal orientations and schema‐incongruity, recommends several areas for future research, and presents practical implications for managing new product communication messages.