IPA IP 2026 Question 15
A question IPA Japan published in 令和8年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問15, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
In the innovator theory in marketing, consumers are divided into five groups, innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards, along the process in which a new product or service spreads. In this case, which of the following is the most appropriate term that represents the gap that arises in the spread from the early adopters to the early majority and that is difficult to cross?
Explanation
Chasm — the deep gap between the early adopters and the early majority that many new products fail to cross.
In the innovator theory the five groups make up about 2.5% (innovators), 13.5% (early adopters), 34% (early majority), 34% (late majority) and 16% (laggards) of the market. Early adopters buy for novelty and vision; the early majority want proven, practical products and references from people like themselves. Because their needs differ so much, a product that sold well to early adopters can stall before reaching the mainstream. Moore called this gap the chasm.
Answer (b)
Why not others:
- •(a) — cannibalization is a company’s own new product taking sales away from its existing products
- •(c) — the valley of death is the gap in technology management between research results and their development into a product, where funds and resources run short
- •(d) — a red ocean is an existing market crowded with competitors fighting on price, the opposite of a blue ocean
Key rule: In the diffusion of innovations, the chasm lies between early adopters and the early majority; the valley of death and the Darwinian sea are the barriers inside technology development.
Business Strategy Management · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.