earticle

영어

The application of IT technology and software is dramatically changing the nature of consumer products today. Products are getting smarter and more intelligent. Smart product is an intelligent product as a physical and information-based representation of a product. A smart product has properties such as unique identification, effective communication, relevant decision making and so. However, there have been little research on the topic. The previous research on smart products can be found only within the fields of industrial design. This paper studies the consumers’ perceptions toward a smart product and investigates the method to evaluate PIQ (product intelligence quotient) effectively. Due to the rapid progress of IT technology and related software, smart products of today can collect, analyze, and adapt information and be described as intelligent beings. In the study a series of qualitative and quantitative research was performed respectively to re-examine and test the measures of AARMA. In the qualitative study, the original scales are modified slightly and five major factors that are consisting of a smartphone’s product smartness are identified. The factors are autonomy, adaptability, reactivity, multi-functionality, and ability to cooperate. This paper also shows that the product with these five factors can affect a user’s satisfaction positively. The higher levels of product smartness are associated with higher level of user satisfaction. The effects of on user satisfaction are significantly supported. The paper additionally evaluates and compares the PIQ of major smartphones in the marketplace. The paper discussed the research results and their implications and concludes with a discussion of the limitations and suggestions for further researches.