Consumer Perceptions of Corporate Innovation and Willingness to Pay: A Study of Generation Z
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The study aims to explore how Generation Z perceives corporate innovation, how these perceptions influence their attitudes and willingness to pay, and how much the price uplift can be on innovative products. The research is based on questionnaire data from Hungarian and international Gen Z respondents (N ≈ 121), which were analyzed using descriptive statistics, cross-analysis, and Spearman’s correlation. The results show that the perceived positive impact of innovation is moderately positively correlated with willingness to pay (ρ = 0.40) and positive attitudes towards innovative firms (ρ = 0.35). The distribution of willingness to pay shows that more than 80% of respondents are willing to pay a premium for innovation, with the highest proportion in the 10-25% category, while the proportion of international respondents willing to pay a premium is higher in the 25-50% and 50%+ categories. Perceptions of innovation and the frequency of innovation adoption also show a moderate positive relationship (ρ = 0.34). The research highlights the key role of the perceived impact of innovation in shaping Gen Z consumer behavior and offers practical implications for corporate innovation communication.
Author: Attila Balogh
Institution: Obuda University
Language: English
Subfield: Marketing
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7204168353