Episode Details

Welcome to Revise and Resubmit, your go-to podcast for in-depth discussions on breakthrough academic research. In today’s episode, we dive into the world of fashionable technology with a critical look at a fascinating paper titled, “Fashionable Consumer Technology, IT Fashion, and Consumer Behavior”. This research, authored by Varun Grover, Xinhui Zhan, Heshan Sun, and Dan (Claire) Jiang, is published in Information Systems Research, one of the world’s FT50 journals—a prestigious list that marks the pinnacle of academic publishing in business.

The relationship between fashion and consumer tech hasn’t always been obvious, but as the paper reveals, the fusion of technology and fashion has become an undeniable part of modern consumer behavior. From our obsession with the latest iPhone to the status signals embedded in a smart watch, the concept of “IT fashion” explains how some technologies gain mass appeal not just for what they do—but for what they represent. This paper dissects how social trends and personal identity shape these perceptions through two key constructs: Perceived Societal-Level IT Fashion (PSITF) and Perceived Fashionableness of IT (PFIT).

What’s truly eye-opening is how these constructs influence not just adoption behavior—whether we buy into the trend—but also our willingness to pay for fashionable tech. The findings suggest that, although symbolic value matters, it doesn’t always translate to higher spending. In one study, participants wanted the trendiest gadgets for the social clout, but they weren’t willing to pay more for them when compared to functional alternatives.

We’d like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the authors and the publisher, INFORMS, for bringing these groundbreaking insights to everyone. If you love what you hear today, make sure to subscribe to Revise and Resubmit on Spotify and explore more engaging content on our YouTube channel, Weekend Researcher. You can also catch us on Amazon Prime Music and Apple Podcast.

Now, here’s a thought to leave you with: As consumers, how much of our tech choices are driven by real need, and how much by the desire to be seen as trendy? And in a world where new gadgets are released faster than ever, are we making choices—or are the trends making them for us?

Reference

Varun Grover, Xinhui Zhan, Heshan Sun, Dan (Claire) Jiang (2024) Fashionable Consumer Technology, IT Fashion, and Consumer Behavior. Information Systems Research 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2020.0084

Youtube channel link

⁠https://www.youtube.com/@weekendresearcher⁠