Can one identify the major characteristics of the product class that facilitate or hinder the initial success of new products? Answer to this question should be of considerable interest to marketing managements in India who would be in a better position to assess the chances of success or failure of a new product, given some knowledge of the relevant characteristics of the product category they intend entering with a new product or brand. The research reported here is an attempt in this direction. Five different product categories, namely, Tooth Pastes, Washing Powders, Headache Pills, Light Bulbs and Pressure Cookers were chosen for investigation. A number of factors can influence the buying intentions of the consumers about the new brands that are introduced in the market. For the purposes of this research, nine such variables were identified for investigation. These were brand loyalty, quality variations among different brands available in the market, certainty of untried brands, danger of consequences of using untried brands, consumer view of price-quality relationship in a given product category, consumers' confidence in their abilities to judge quality of different brands, complexity in the technology involved in manufacturing the product, extent of alternate brand choices already available in the market and the amount of usage of the product in the household. Consumers' perceptions on these nine variables were measured for the five chosen product categories and their relationships with purchase intentions about new products were examined. The findings of this study clearly suggest that role and importance of various product-category related variables as predictors of new product success do differ across product categories. It is, therefore, necessary that marketing managers take into account the behavior of these variables while planning their new product offerings.
