Action Planning (Use of the New Product)

What it measures

A five-item scale measuring the degree to which a consumer is actively engaged in mental planning around how to use a new product — thinking through how to achieve its benefits and avoid its potential downsides. Items tap both approach-oriented planning (maximising positive outcomes) and avoidance-oriented planning (minimising negative outcomes), reflecting the dual regulatory focus inherent in new product adoption decisions. Designed for use in innovation adoption research where pre-adoption planning behaviour is a theoretically relevant variable.

Response format

7-point Likert

Scale items

• I am thinking about what I can do so that I can achieve the positive outcomes I hope this new product will bring me.
• I am thinking about what I can do so that I can avoid the negative outcomes that I am anxious about from using this new product.
• Considering what might go wrong with this new product helps me plan for how I can avoid any negative outcomes from using it.
• I am actively planning what I should do so that I can get the best outcomes possible from using this new product.
• I am actively planning what I should do so that I can avoid the worst outcomes from using this new product.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Two reliability estimates: α = .90 (Study 2) and α = .88 (Study 3) — Lin, MacInnis & Eisingerich (2020, web appendix). VALIDITY: Factor analyses in both studies confirmed items loaded cleanly on a single factor. Scale appears original to the authors. Items 1–2 reflect avoidance planning; items 3–5 reflect approach planning — researchers with strict dimensional separation requirements should assess whether the combined scale suits their model.

Citation

Lin, Yu-Ting, Deborah J. MacInnis, and Andreas B. Eisingerich (2020). Strong anxiety boosts new product adoption when hope is also strong. Journal of Marketing, 84(5), 60–78.

Keywords