Marketing e usabilità dei prodotti high tech: analisi dei contributi teorici e problemi aperti

Marketing and usability of high tech products: past research and energing issues<(em> - With the widespread diffusion of digital technologies and the related incorporation of electronics, computer chips and so on into the most common of households and office environments, most people use devices based on technological advances they don’t really know. That’s why they need their phones, computers, cameras, Mp3 players and so on to work the way they think with common sense: new technology based products should be easy to use and fit in with work practices, activity and context of consumer. Product usability is a critical dimension of product quality as perceived by users, and great attention should be granted to it in new product development process, with marketing function playing a pivotal role. The aim of the paper is to investigate the concept of usability and to pinpoint managerial implication for design, development and marketing of new technology based products easy to use, focussing on the analysis of theoretical contribution deriving from three current research fields: user & consumer behaviour, design & engineering, marketing & innovation management. The paper ends with some remarks about the fact that usability and aesthetics (of new products) should be considered intertwined and for this reason innovative firms should pay greater attention to marketing and design effective interaction during new product development process. Keywords: product usability, new product development, high tech marketing, design.