Validation of a Chinese version of the Perceived Coolness Scale among Chinese college students

Coolness is considered important for new product adoption but little is known about how consumers in different cultures perceive coolness, or if perceived coolness affects their willingness to buy a new product. We translated and validated a Chinese version (C-PCS) of the Perceived Coolness Scale (PCS) for new smart devices, using data from 307 undergraduate college student participants. The PCS initially comprised the four dimensions of originality, subculture, attractiveness, and utility, but utility was not included in the final version of the PCS. In contrast, we included all four dimensions in the C-PCS. Our results show that the C-PCS had good internal consistency and satisfactory structural validity. In addition, each of the four dimensions of perceived coolness predicted participants’ purchase intention for new smart devices.