Diffusion of Innovations

1
Diffusion of Innovations

• A brief overview of a seminal work by Everett
  Rogers

2
Diffusion of Innovations

• Getting a new idea adopted even when it has
  obvious advantages, is often very difficult. Many
  innovations require a lengthy period, often of
  many years, from the time they become available
  to the time they are widely adopted. (p. 1)
• Nondiffusion of the Dvorak keyboard

3
What is diffusion?

• The process by which an innovation is
  communicated through certain channels over time
  among the members of a social system

4
Elements in Diffusion of Innovations

• Innovation
• Communication channel
• Time
• Social system

5
Where do innovations come from?

• Innovation development process
• Needs/problem
• Research (basic and applied)
• Development
• Commercialization
• The Trail of the Mouse From SRI to Xerox to
  Apple
• Diffusion and Adoption (Gatekeeping)
• Consequences

6
How are innovation adopted?

• Innovation-decision process
• Knowledge
• Persuasion
• Decision
• Implementation
• Confirmation

7
Knowledge

• Passive versus active role
• Selective exposure/selective perception
• Awareness knowledge
• How-to knowledge
• Principles knowledge
• Mass media channels important

8
Early versus late knowers

• More formal education
• Higher socioeconomic status
• More exposure to mass media channels
• More exposure to interpersonal channels
• More social participation
• Earlier knowers are not necessarily innovators

9
Persuasion

• Equivalent to an attitude formation
• Main type of thinking is affective
• Innovation evaluation information
• What are the innovations consequences?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages?
• Usually sought from near-peers rather than
  scientific research (interpersonal channels)
• Not always a direct correlation with decision

10
Decision

• Adoption
• Rejection (active, passive)
• Innovations with certain characteristics are more
  likely to be adopted and likely to be adapted
  more quickly

11
Attributes of Innovations

• Cellular Telephones in the U.S. Nintendomania
• Relative advantage
• Compatibility
• Complexity
• Trialability
• Observability

12
Implementation

• Adoption moves from a mental exercise to an overt
  behavior change
• Active information seeking
• How do I use it?
• How does it work?
• Re-invention
• Not invented here syndrome

13
Confirmation

• Continuance
• Discontinuance
• Replacement
• Disenchantment

14
Adopter Categories

• S-shaped curve for cumulative numbers
• Frequency distribution approaches normal
• Packet p. 258
• Innovators
• Early adopters
• Early majority
• Late majority
• Laggards
• Packet p. 262

15
Diffusion Networks

• Hypodermic needle model
• Two-step flow model
• Communication networks
• Homophily
• Heterophily
• Critical mass
• Opinion leadership in the Diffusion of Modern Math

16
Change Agents

• Success is dependent upon
• A client orientation
• Empathy with clients
• Homophily with clients
• Credibility with clients
• Work through opinion leaders

17
Innovations in Organizations

• Centralized diffusion systems -Authority
  innovation decisions
• Decentralized diffusion systems/hybrids
• Optional innovation decisions
• Collective innovation decisions

18
Review

• Variables determining the rate of adoption
• Perceived attributes of an innovation
• Type of innovation decision
• Communication channels
• Nature of social system
• Extent of change agents promotion efforts
• Chart p. 207

19
Consequences

• Desirable vs. undesirable
• Direct vs. indirect
• Anticipated vs. unanticipated
• Snowmobile Revolution in the Arctic

20
Consequences

• Inequality
• When special efforts are made by a diffusion
  agency, it is possible to narrow, or at least to
  maintain the size of , socioeconomic gaps in a
  social system. (p. 439)

21
Diffusion research

• Although it is an important research tradition in
  terms of the number of studies completed,
  education is less important in terms of its
  contribution to the theoretical understanding of
  the diffusion of innovations. An exciting
  potential contribution could be made by the
  education research tradition, stemming from the
  fact that organizations are involved, in one way
  or another, in the adoption of educational
  innovations. (p. 61)

22
Criticisms

• Pro-innovation bias
• Individual blame bias
• Issues of equity