Question

In: Operations Management

A car insurance company is considering a new process wherecustomers can notify the company of...

A car insurance company is considering a new process where customers can notify the company of an accident and track the claims process by cell phone. Explain how they can use the stages of the adoption curve to decide how to implement the new technology


Solutions

Expert Solution

First of all let us understand what is technology adoption curve and later we will link it with the process of the car insurance company. Please make sure you rate this answer with a thumbs up, it definitely helps me a lot. Thank you!

What is captured by the Adoption Curve is that markets embrace non-linear products. A fresh product's penetration begins slowly, then accelerates until approximately one third of the market has taken over, then decelerates to the speed of a possible snail. It's not a theory, this is an explanation of the stages of any adoption through a graphical curve representation. Adopting fresh products is a social method in essence. And it works through the links in our social network like any social process. "Hot New Things" tend to begin at the bottom of our social networks with Innovators, spread slowly to well-connected Early Adopters, cascade quickly from Early Adopters to their links (Early Majority) and then spread more slowly to the next level of links (Late Majority). By now they have become Cold Old Things, flushing out among Laggards that are poorly linked. This method generates a normal curve of acceptance over time in standard social network topologies: the mirror of which is the cumulative market penetration S-curve. Each phase of adoption (and adopters) has its own features and in some detail it is worth diving into them.

Now let us identify the each stage of the new technological process that the car insurance company is trying to adopt. The first stage is nothing but INNOVATORS, which means at this stage the company would try to start an activity and try to adopt a product. Innovators are the first to take action and embrace the technology the business is attempting to embrace, even if it could be buggy. These people are willing to take the risk, and those people will be willing to help you shape your product if it's not perfect. And at the second stage EARLY ADOPTERS are prepared to attempt the technology that the company is trying to adopt at an early point. They don't need to clarify why this technology should be used. The early adopter has already investigated it, and they are actually enthusiastic about the development behind it, but the innovator will embrace the high-tech product for the sake of the innovation behind it. An informed purchasing choice will be made by the early adopter. At that point, while the product appeals only to an early adopter's tiny niche, it's fantastic and ready. The EARLY MAJORITY is the psychographic profile of individuals who assist "cross the gulf." Traction implies an early majority attractive item, in this case the technology that the company is trying to adopt for their customers. Indeed, the early majority consist of more aware customers, who seek alternatives that are helpful but also care about possible fads. The LATE MAJORITY only comes after the company's technology is developed, has a more skeptical attitude to technological innovation and can only feel more comfortable when demand tracking is commonplace. The latter in this cycle of technology adoption monitoring claims are LAGGARDS. Although late majority is technological innovation skeptical, laggards are unwilling. Therefore these individuals hardly become adopters unless there's a clear and proven benefit when using a technology. For some reason, these are not interested to embrace a claim tracking technology, which could be linked to private or financial elements.


Related Solutions

An automobile insurance company is in the process of reviewing its policies. The company is considering...
An automobile insurance company is in the process of reviewing its policies. The company is considering increasing the premium charged to drivers under 25. According to company records, 35 percent of the insured drivers are under the age of 25. Company records also show that 280 of the 700 insured drivers under the age of 25 have been involved in at least one automobile accident. On the other hand, only 130 of the 1300 insured drivers 25 years or older...
A car company is considering a new engine filter for its new hybrid automobile line. But...
A car company is considering a new engine filter for its new hybrid automobile line. But it does not want to switch to the new brand unless there is evidence that the new filter can improve fuel economy for the vehicle (miles per gallon). The experimental design is set up so that each of the 10 cars drive the same course twice - once with the old filtration system and once with the new version. The data collected is shown...
A car parts manufacturing company is considering investing in the development of a new robot. The...
A car parts manufacturing company is considering investing in the development of a new robot. The new robot is based on a new technology, so there is some uncertainty associated with its performance level. They estimated that the new robot may exhibit high, medium, and low performance levels with the probabilities of 0.35, 0.55, and 0.10 respectively. The annual savings corresponding to high, medium, and low performance levels are $500 000, $250 000, and $125 000 respectively. The development cost...
A car insurance company has determined that the mean annual car insurance cost for a family...
A car insurance company has determined that the mean annual car insurance cost for a family in the town of Watlington is $1716. A researcher wants to perform a hypothesis test to determine whether the mean insurance cost for a family in the town of Putford is higher than this. The mean insurance cost for a random sample of 32 families in Putford was $1761. At the 10% significance level, do the data provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the...
A car insurance company has determined that the mean annual car insurance cost for a family...
A car insurance company has determined that the mean annual car insurance cost for a family in the town of Watlington is $1716. A researcher wants to perform a hypothesis test to determine whether the mean insurance cost for a family in the town of Putford is higher than this. The mean insurance cost for a random sample of 32 families in Putford was $1761. At the 10% significance level, do the data provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the...
The magic car company can sell a new car for P(x) = 1500 - 3x... Fixed...
The magic car company can sell a new car for P(x) = 1500 - 3x... Fixed overhead = $60,000..... cost per car = $200. a) Write down the formulas for R(x) and C(x). the revenue and cost functions, in terms of x, the number of cars produced and sold. b) Let P(x) = R(x) - C(x) be the profit function. Sketch the graph of P(x) indicating the appropriate domain. c) How many cars do you need to break even? d)...
The Company Liv is considering three process alternatives for its new investment in Ottawa. Process A...
The Company Liv is considering three process alternatives for its new investment in Ottawa. Process A has an $80K fixed cost and $4 variable cost for each product (unit) produced. Process B has a $120K fixed cost and $2 variable cost for each product (unit) produced. Process C has a $200K fixed cost and $1 variable cost for each product (unit) produced. 1. Draw the graph of fixed, variable and total costs of all processes in an MS Excel file....
Find the NPV -company considering new car that will cost 1m -it will save 275,000 a...
Find the NPV -company considering new car that will cost 1m -it will save 275,000 a year in costs -car will last for 5 yrs, depreciated at a CCA rate of 20%. -car salvage value is 50,000 at the end of yr 5 -no impact on net working capital -margin tax rate is 40%. -required return is 8% use formula or finance calculator to show work
Managers of an Auto Products company are considering the national launch of a new car cleaning...
Managers of an Auto Products company are considering the national launch of a new car cleaning product. For simplicity, the potential average sales of the product during its lifetime are classified as being either high, medium, or low, and the net present value of the product under each of these conditions is estimated to be 80M, 15M, and -40M Tl respectively. The company’s marketing manager estimates that there is a 0.3 probability that average sales will be high, a 0.4...
An individual owns a car that is worth $20,000, and is considering buying insurance. However, the...
An individual owns a car that is worth $20,000, and is considering buying insurance. However, the only insurance which is available has a maximum coverage of $15,000, i.e. the policy will pay only $15,000 if the car suffers a total loss in an accident. The price of the policy is $1,800. There is a 10% chance of having an accident in which the car is a total loss. The focus here is to calculate the expected values with and without...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT