What is the diffusion of

innovations?

Different Approaches to the

study of innovation.
Rogers - communications and/as development
paradigm.
Winston/Bjiker - Science Technology and
Society/SCOT
Freeman/Soete/Schumpeter - The Economic
importance of innovation.

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

What is diffusion?
In this context communication is:
a process whereby participants
share information to reach a mutual
understanding.

What is diffusion?
Diffusion is a special type of
communication in which the messages are
about a new idea.
The newness of the idea gives diffusion its
special character it ensures that a degree
of uncertainty is involved in diffusion.

What is diffusion?
Uncertainty the degree to which a
range of alternatives are perceived with
regard to the occurrence of an event.
Uncertainty implies lack of
predictability and therefore of
information.

What is diffusion?
Thus information becomes a means of
reducing uncertainty.

Any technological innovation embodies

information and thus reduces uncertainty
about cause-effect relationships in problem
solving.

What is diffusion?
To put this in a nutshell - for Rogers,
"diffusion of innovations" means
The dissemination of uncertainty-reducing
information embodied in products or
processes through a social system.

The Process of the diffusion of

Innovations
Diffusion is a process where an
innovation is communicated
through certain channels over time
among members of a social system

Four Elements in Diffusion of

Innovations:
Diffusion is a process where:
1) an innovation
2) is communicated through certain
channels
3) over time
4) among members of a social system

The Innovation
An idea, practice or object that is perceived
as new by an individual or other unit of
adoption.

The Innovation
An invention is an idea, a sketch or model for a
new or improved device, product, process or
system. Such inventions may often be patented
but they do not necessarily lead to technical
innovations. In fact the majority do not. An
innovation in the economic sense is
accomplished only with the first commercial
transaction involving the new product, process
system or device. Freeman & Soete, p. 6.

The Innovation
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS,
INFORMATION AND UNCERTAINTY.
Technology: a design for instrumental
action that reduces the uncertainty in the
cause-effect relationships involved in
achieving a desired outcome.

The Innovation
Technological has 2 components:
Hardware (physical element)
Software the information base for the tool.
A technology may be almost entirely composed of
information.
This will tend to slow its diffusion because of poor
observability

The Innovation
Technology is a means of uncertainty
reduction that is made possible by
information about the cause-effect
relationships on which the technology is
based.

The Innovation
Technological innovation both creates one kind of
uncertainty and represents an opportunity for
reduced uncertainty in another sense:
Increased uncertainty (about the innovations expected
consequences)
Reduced uncertainty (deriving from the information base
of the technology)

The Innovation
Uncertainty reducing potential provides the motivation for the
individual to learn about the innovation
One information-seeking has reduced uncertainty about the
innovations expected consequences to a tolerable level, a
decision concerning adoption will be made
Thus the innovation-decision process is essentially about
information seeking, allowing the individual to reduce
uncertainty about the advantages and disadvantages of the
innovation.

The Innovation
Two kinds of information with regard to a
technological innovation:
Software information what does it do? How does
it work?
Innovation-evaluation information What are an
innovations consequences? What will its advantages
and disadvantage be in my situation?

The Innovation
Technology Clusters several
distinguishable elements of technology
perceived as being closely interrelated.
Relevance - Experience with one part of a
technology cluster conditions assessment of
new technologies in the same cluster

The Innovation

Characteristics of Innovation
Relative Advantage
Compatability
Complexity
Trialability
Observability

The Innovation
Relative Advantage over existing
technologies - can be perceived,
may be measured in economic
terms, social prestige, convenience
and satisfaction.

The Innovation
Compatibility with existing values, past
experiences, needs of potential adopters
(and their social system)
Complexity - degree to which an innovation
is perceived as difficult to understand and
use.

The Innovation
Trialability degree to which an innovation
may be experimented with on a limited
basis. A trialable innovation represented less
uncertainty to a potential adopter.
Observability Degree to which the results
of an innovation are visible to others.

The Innovation
Re-invention adopting an
innovation is not necessarily the
passive role of just
implementing a standard
template of a new idea.

.
Communications Channels
The means by which messages get from one
individual to another.
The nature of the information-exchange
relation determines the conditions under
which a source will/will not transmit the
innovation to the receiver and the effect of
the transfer.

Communications Channels
Mass-media most efficient way to create
awareness knowledge of an innovation
Interpersonal channels more effective in
persuading in individual to accept a new
idea.

Communications Channels
Individuals do not evaluate innovations on
the basis of a scientific assessment of its
consequences rather depend on subjective
assessment conveyed to them from peers.
Thus diffusion is a social process.

Communications Channels
The closer (more homophilious) two
individuals are, the more frequently and
more successful the transfer of ideas
between them.

Communications Channels
Problem - in the diffusion of innovation: is
participants are usually quite heterophilious
thus ineffective communication likely to
occur.
Yet two exactly similar individuals cannot, by
definition pass on information. Therefore
diffusion demands some heterophiliousness.

Communications Channels
Time - third element in the diffusion
process. Involved in:
the innovation-decision process
the innovativeness of an individual
an innovations rate of adoption in a system

THE INNOVATION-DECISION
PROCESS.
THE INNOVATION-DECISION
PROCESS - the process through which an
individual passes from first knowledge of
an innovation to forming an attitude toward
the innovation, to a decision to adopt or
reject it.

THE INNOVATION-DECISION
PROCESS.
Five stages in the innovation-decision process:

(1) knowledge,
(2) persuasion,
(3) decision,
(4) implementation, and
(5) confirmation.

THE INNOVATION-DECISION
PROCESS.
Knowledge occurs when an individual (or other decisionmaking unit) learns of the innovations existence and gains
some understanding of how it functions.
Persuasion occurs when an individual (or other decision-making
unit) forms a favourable or unfavourable attitude toward the
innovation.
Decision occurs when an individual (or other decision-making
unit) engages in activities that lead to a choice to adopt or reject
the innovation.

THE INNOVATION-DECISION
PROCESS.
Implementation occurs when an individual (or other
decision-making unit) puts an innovation into use. Reinvention is especially likely to occur at the
implementation stage.
Confirmation occurs when an individual (or other
decision-making unit) seeks reinforcement of an
innovation-decision that has already been made, but the
individual may reverse this previous decision if exposed to
conflicting innovation.

THE INNOVATION-DECISION
PROCESS.
At the knowledge stage the individual
wants to know what the innovation is and
how and why it works.
Mass media channels

THE INNOVATION-DECISION
PROCESS.
At the persuasion stage the individual wants
to know the innovations advantages and
disadvantages in his or her own situation.
Interpersonal networks

THE INNOVATION-DECISION
PROCESS.
Ultimately, the innovation-decision process
leads to either adoption or to rejection.

INNOVATIVENESS AND ADOPTER

CATEGORIES.
Innovativeness - the degree to which an
individual or other unit of adoption is
relatively earlier in adopting new ideas than
the other members of a system.
Members of each of the adopter categories
tend to have a good deal in common.

INNOVATIVENESS AND ADOPTER

CATEGORIES.
The adopter categories

(1) innovators,
(2) early adopters,
(3) early majority,
(4) late majority, and
(5) laggards.

INNOVATIVENESS AND ADOPTER

CATEGORIES.
Late majority category - characterised by:
low social status,
making little use of mass media channels
learn about most new ideas from peers via
interpersonal channels.

INNOVATIVENESS AND ADOPTER

CATEGORIES.
Innovators:
active information-seekers about new ideas.
have a high degree of mass media exposure
their interpersonal networks extend over a wide
area.
can cope with higher levels of uncertainty about
an innovation than are other adopter categories.

RATE OF ADOPTION
Rate of adoption - the relative speed with
which an innovation is adopted by members
of a social system.
When the number of individuals adopting a
new idea is plotted on a cumulative
frequency basis over time, the resulting
distribution is an S-shaped curve.

RATE OF ADOPTION
Figure 3.1: Telephone Development 1922 - 1997, Basic Indicators
1600000
1400000
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0

Number of
Telephones

Rate of Adoption
Most innovations have an S-shaped rate of adoption.
But there is variation in the slope of the S from innovation
to innovation;
some new ideas diffuse relatively rapidly and the S-curve is
quite steep.
Other innovations have a slower rate of adoption, and the Scurve is more gradual, with a slope that is relatively lazy.

Rate of Adoption
There are also differences in the rate of
adoption for the same innovation in
different social systems.

A Social System
Defined as: a set of interrelated units that
are engaged in joint problem-solving to
accomplish a common goal.
This sharing of a common objective binds
the system together.

A Social System
The social structure of the system affects the
innovations diffusion in several ways. Here
we deal with:
how the systems social structure affects
diffusion,
the effect of norms on diffusion,
the roles of opinion leaders

Social Structure
To the extent that the units in a social
system are not all identical in their
behaviour, structure exists in the system.
Structure - the patterned arrangements of
the units in a system.

Social Structure
Structure gives regularity and stability to
human behaviour in a system; it allows one
to predict behaviour with some degree of
accuracy.
Structure represents one type of information,
in that it decreases uncertainty.

Social Structure
An illustration of this predictability - is structure in a
bureaucratic organisation. Here there is a well-developed
social structure, consisting of hierarchical positions, giving
officials in higher-ranked positions the right to issue orders
to individuals of lower rank. They expect their orders to
be carried out.
Such patterned social relationships among the members of
a system constitute social structure, one type of structure.

Social Structure
We can also have a communication structure, defined
as:
the differentiated elements that can be recognized in
the patterned communication flows in a system.
Communications structures are interpersonal networks
linking a systems members, determining who
interacts with whom and under what circumstances.

Social Structure
A complete lack of communication structure in
a system would be represented by a situation in
which each individual talked with equal
probability to each other member of the system.
Class in society can be regarded as both a social
structure but also a communications structure.

Social Structure
Regularized patterns of communication within a
system predict, in part, the behaviour of individual
members of the social system, including when
they adopt an innovation.
Thus it is difficult to study how innovations
spread without some knowledge of the social
structures in which potential adopters are located.

SYSTEM NORMS AND

DIFFUSION.
Norms are: the established behaviour patterns for the
members of a social system. They define a range of tolerable
behaviour and serve as a guide or a standard for the
members behaviour in a social system.
The norms of a system tell an individual what behaviour is
expected. Thus a systems norms can be a barrier to change.

Norms can operate at the level of a nation, a religious

community, an organisation, or a local system like a village.

OPINION LEADERS
Most innovative member of a system often
perceived as a deviant from the social system
Thus is accorded low credibility by the average
members of the system.
Thus their role in diffusion is likely to be
limited.

OPINION LEADERS
Other members of the system function as
opinion leaders. They provide information
and advice about innovations to many in the
system.
They are opinion leaders

OPINION LEADERS
Opinion leadership is: the degree to which an individual is able
to influence other individuals attitudes/behaviour.
This leadership is not a function of the individuals formal
position.
Opinion leadership is earned and maintained by the individuals
technical competence,
social accessibility, and
conformity to the systems norms.

OPINION LEADERS
Thus when the social system is oriented to
change, the opinion leaders are quite
innovative; but when the systems norms
are opposed to change, the behaviour of the
leaders also reflects this norm

OPINION LEADERS
. When compared with their followers
opinion leaders are:
are more exposed to all forms of external
communication,
have somewhat higher social status, and
are more innovative (although the exact degree
of innovativeness depends, in part, on the
systems norms).

OPINION LEADERS
Opinion leaders occupy an influential
position in their systems communication
structure:
They are at the centre of interpersonal
communication networks - interconnected
individuals linked by patterned flows of
information.