Is your innovation research on its best behaviour?

This white paper fights back at the criticism of surveys, showing how they can measure behaviour and predict an innovation’s success.

Surveys have been strongly criticized of late. If research methods were children, the survey would be in the ‘time out’ corner.

One of the criticisms of the survey is while people can tell you how they feel about a product or survey, they may not be able to tell how they formed that decision. This has led to a fondness for using non-survey approaches to capture behaviours and not just asking directly about motivations. This perspective, built on the assumption that surveys cannot capture behaviour, we argue is incorrect.

This paper shows that surveys can be designed to measure behaviour and specifically, behaviours that predict an innovation’s potential. It argues, behaviour is strongly influenced by context (eg anchoring, relativity of judgements), so for a behavioural measure to be predictive of an innovation’s success, the context in which the behaviour is made should be as close as possible to actual purchase situation.

Ipsos Views: is your innovation on its best behaviour cover

Download

The author(s)

  • Colin Ho, Ph.D.
    Ph.D., Innovation and Market Strategy & Understanding, US
  • Lee Markowitz
    Chief Research Officer, US

Related news

  • State of the Nation: Heading into the Holiday Season
    Consumers Webinar

    State of the Nation: Heading into the Holiday Season

    We'll examine consumer sentiment and future outlook, unpack evolving U.S.-Canada tensions amid economic policy announcements and tariff threats, and look at how shopping behaviours are changing as consumers balance value, confidence, and spending priorities.
  • [WEBINAR] TOAST 2026: Under Pressure - Fewer Fragmented Fought-For
    Consumers Events replay

    [WEBINAR] TOAST 2026: Under Pressure - Fewer, Fragmented, Fought-For

    Join us for a fresh perspective on where future growth may come from and where traditional approaches are increasingly under pressure.
  • NASPL Possible NW
    Consumer Behavior Event

    NASPL Possible NW

    Join Ipsos as we unveil how lotteries are using mystery shopping to unlock revenue hiding in plain sight, with high-performing retailers generating significantly more revenue per square foot through specific, measurable behaviours that any retailer can replicate.