Coevolution of a premium segment and product innovation: a case study of the Japanese rice cooker market

This study aims to provide a comprehensive explanation of the linkage between premium segments and product innovation. While previous literature confirms that product innovation triggers premium segment emergence, and vice versa, there is no satisfactory explanation regarding the underlying mechanisms that drive the mutual shaping of premium segments and product innovation. This paper attempts to address this gap in literature.

This study employs a cognitive model of technology trajectories and empirically examines the Japanese rice cooker market using a mixed-methods approach. The methods used consist of content analyses of newspaper articles and press releases and case analyses of manufacturers' new product development.

Content analyses show the emergence of a premium segment within the Japanese rice cooker market as well as a simultaneous change in technology trajectories. Case analyses subsequently reveal the mechanisms that link the premium segment emergence and technology trajectory changes. The analyses also explore this linkage in detail; market actors' technological frames and interpretation processes mediate the mutual shaping of the premium segment and product innovations.

This study presents quantitative evidence indicating the emergence of a premium segment and changes in technology trajectories. It provides a qualitative explanation for the linkage between these two phenomena, which may serve as a viable foundation for future research in premium strategy.