Consumers often turn to aspirational reference groups as groups they want to belong to when making purchasing decisions. Referents from these groups who help them with their decision-making process as a reliable source of information are often seen as opinion leaders. Turning to an aspirational reference group is especially relevant and important in the innovation-decision process when consumers are uncertain about the innovation which they do not know and therefore see the adoption as risky. A literature review has shown that the effects of aspirational reference groups on consumer behaviour can be achieved by various characteristics of referents, such as expertise, physical attractiveness and likeability of the referent, as well as trustworthiness and identification with the referent. In the empirical part of the thesis, I have focused on exploring the influence of these characteristics on the consumer's attitude toward innovation and the intention to adopt innovation. Throughout the analysis, I wanted to determine which characteristics influence the consumer's attitude towards innovation and the intention to adopt the innovation directly and which indirectly, mediated through other characteristics. The results of my quantitative research have shown that trustworthiness, likeability and identification with the referent have significant influence on the attitude towards innovation. Expertise has a significant influence on the attitude as well, however, its influence is mediated through trustworthiness. Moreover, attitude toward innovation, trustworthiness and identification with the referent have a significant influence on intention to adopt the innovation, however, the influence of trustworthiness' is mediated through the consumer's attitude towards innovation.
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