The Impact of Reference Group on the new product adoption

Abstract
New Product adoption is influenced by a variety of internal and external factors. The internal influential factors can be divided into many elements that constitute parts of the buyer personality, such as perception, perceived value, motivation toward a certain product, self-esteem, and the learning capacity. On the other hand, external influential factors can include peers, members of the family, opinion leaders, and celebrities, in a manner, building up reference groups.
Overtime, psychologists and sociologists emphasized that each individual in the society belongs to a specific group, and sociable reference groups that affect the individual’s attitude and buying behavior. These Reference groups inspire individuals’ preference toward certain brands or set of products. For instance, individuals to be making purchasing resolution seek for the product, or brand that will reflect their belonging group.
Types of reference groups’ influence varies between informational, normative, and value expressive influences. This depends on the buyer’s tendency to mimic the members of his own social reference group, or members of some aspirational group that he wishes to be part of, or to share the same lifestyle. In the home appliances Market, buyers tend to be more influenced by their reference groups.
Home appliances are apparent products that can be noted by the public easily. Thus, this research investigates how the reference groups affect the buyer purchase intentions, and whether the reference groups still have the power of influencing the Egyptian customer purchase intentions nowadays.