Abstract: Successful new product/service introductions are important for a firm's long-term performance. This holds especially for industries in which firms invest heavily in innovative products, an example of which is the banking industry. The purpose of this study was to establish the factors affecting adoption of products by customers of commercial banks in Kenya. It sought to examine the influence of product complexity, technology, communication and Pricing on product adoption. A descriptive research design was adopted. The study population comprised of the three tiers of commercial banks in Kenya where data was collected from nine banks. The study findings indicated that product adoption and product complexity were negative and significantly (β= -0.423, p<0.05) and accounted for 17.5% of the variations in product adoption. The results also indicated that technology and product adoption were positively and significantly related (β=0.429, p<0.05) and it accounted for 21.5% of the variance in product adoption. The results further indicated that communication, had a positive and significant relationship (β=0.512, p<0.05) with product adoption at 5% and that it accounted for 24.2% of the variations in product adoption. The results also indicated that pricing and product adoption were significantly and negatively related (β=-0.608, p<0.05) and that it accounted for 26.1% of the variations in product adoption. From the findings the study therefore recommended that commercial banks should endeavor to develop products that are not too complex for the customer to comprehend. In so doing commercial banks will thus be able to increase the uptake among their customers. It was also recommended that the technology used should not be too technical for the customers to comprehend as this would have an adverse impact product adoption. It was also concluded that commercial banks should price their products competitively and in line with the benchmarks within the industry as this impacts the rate of adoption of products.
Key words: Product Adoption, Product Complexity, Communication, Technology
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