Innovation Inhibitors as Catalysts of Societal Progress – The Role of Resistance Leaders in Innovation Diffusion

Conventional wisdom associates innovations and technologies with
drivers of societal progress and promotes openness to change. However, many
consumers respond with resistance to novelties. Previous literature describes
resisters as passive laggards who are reluctant to change. Active opponents whoinitiate countermeasures are rarely the focus of research endeavours. We shed light on resistance leaders’ idiosyncrasies, motives and societal roles with
multiple case study research, including eight cases, 21 interviews and more
than 400 secondary data sources. Contradictory to conventional wisdom, we
find that resistance leaders are not laggards – they have pro-societal motives,
are innovative and can take two different roles to promote societal progress.
Aggregators gather negative opinions of consumers and reflect the present
consumer concerns about an innovation. Initiators are the first who recognize a
potential problem and focus on uncertain wider implication of technologies.
Our new theory leads to several managerial implications and provides avenues
for future research.