A matter of perspective: Technology contributions are assessed differently from manager and consumer perspectives

While the value of adopting technology (vs human) to develop products and provide services has been extensively explored from the consumer’s standpoint, do managers fully comprehend how valuable technology is to consumers? This research reveals notable disparities between managers’ and consumers’ perceptions about the value of technology adoption. Seven studies ( N = 1,320) in different contexts show that people with a manager perspective perceive technology as a more valuable resource than those with a consumer perspective (studies 1A–D). These differences arise because managers place a higher value on the efficiency-related benefits of technology than consumers (study 2). To reduce the manager-consumer gap, highlighting technology-driven efficiency benefits for consumers can increase their technology valuation to the manager’s level (study 3). However, informing managers about consumers’ objections to technology failed to correct their overly optimistic assessments of technology contribution (study 4). Our findings attest to the importance of acknowledging the manager-customer gap when it comes to technological adoption.