Do personas help in new product idea evaluation? An empirical validation of the persona decoding process
(A2025-126046)

AUTHORS

Beatrice Weber, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT); Martin Klarmann, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

ABSTRACT

Originating from software development, personas (prototypical characters representing a specific target group), are expected to increase customer orientation in a wide setting of contexts by helping employees to ‘see through the eyes of the customer’. This research examines personas' role in new product ideation. More precisely, it analyzes the extent to which personas improve the ability of individuals to evaluate the appeal of new product ideas in specific target groups. Study 1 (ideation) generated 233 energy-smart home new product ideas, while study 2 (market research) surveyed and segmented 1,001 participants that were asked to evaluate these ideas. These first two studies serve as reference standard, as they provide us with representative information. Studies 3 (online experiment; n = 250) and study 4 (lab experiment; n = 200) then assess the value of personas in improving the accuracy of individuals when evaluating ideas through the eyes of a specific target group.