Gadget lovers

Marketers in firms that routinely produce high-tech innovations want rapid adoption of their products. Many believe the consumer segment that is targeted initially should consist of people who adopt innovative technology relatively early and are influential sources of information that others use as references for their own behavior. A set of adopters who might meet these requirements, but have not been the focus of prior scholarly research, are gadget lovers. This article provides insights into this segment, proposes a scale to measure its key characteristics, and reports the results of a group interview and four additional studies that support the validity of the scale (n ^sub 1^ =1,655, n ^sub 2^ =789, n ^sub 3^ =1,366, and n ^sub 4^ =188). The gadget lover scale explains adoption-related behaviors beyond the variance accounted for by technological innovativeness and key demographic variables.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]