How romance influences consumer product adoption from a novelty-seeking perspective

Purpose This study aims to explore whether romantic emotional experiences influence new product adoption intentions through the lens of novelty-seeking. Design/methodology/approach To evaluate the assertions, the authors conduct five studies to test the proposed model. Study 1 surveys multiple product categories to examine dispositional romanticism. Studies 2–5 use experiments to test the effect of induced romance, mediation via novelty-seeking and moderation by product knowledge. Findings Romantic experiences are associated with higher new product adoption intention, and this relationship operates through increased novelty-seeking behaviour. The effect is weaker when consumers have higher relevant product knowledge. Originality/value While prior work has documented multiple drivers of new product adoption, including product innovativeness and quality, affective influences have not been sufficiently explored. This study focuses on the more specific construct of romantic aesthetic emotion and tests whether it functions as an underlying source of novelty-oriented motivation in the context of new products. The results reveal the circumstances in which romantic cues are more likely to support new product marketing.