The role of generational product innovation rhythm in shaping consumer engagement for digital products

Purpose Digital products often rely on continuous version updates as generational product innovation (GPI) to build and sustain consumer engagement. Unlike traditional settings that emphasize discrete, content-focused launches, digital contexts elevate the temporal structure of innovation. This study examines how the release rhythm influences engagement and explores the moderating roles of brand awareness and the pricing model. Design/methodology/approach We collected data on 416 mobile apps and analyzed 1,071 version updates. We employ negative binomial regressions as the primary estimation method to analyze consumer engagement and use ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions as robustness checks. To address endogeneity, we apply a two-stage control function approach using industry-level GPI rhythm irregularity as an instrumental variable. Findings The analysis reveals that irregular GPI rhythms enhance consumer engagement, while regular rhythms yield weaker effects. Moreover, the positive impact of irregular GPI rhythm is amplified when brand awareness is high and when products are free. Practical implications Managers can strategically use irregular innovation timing to enhance user engagement, especially for free products and strong brands in competitive digital markets. Originality/value The study reframes GPI in digital markets as a temporal signaling process that highlights the pattern of revealing innovation beyond its content or frequency. It identifies irregular rhythm as a novel antecedent of engagement and shows that brand awareness and pricing condition how temporal signals are interpreted, explaining firms’ use of aperiodic releases and informing decisions about when to reveal product generations.