Diffusion of Innovation

Introduction

Diffusion is the process by which an innovation, which can be a novel concept,

activity, or product, is communicated and spreads over time among members of a social

system. It comprises both knowledge transmission and acceptance of the innovation by

individuals or other entities within the social system. The notion that media messages are

only transferred in two phases has been challenged, with proponents proposing for a more

complex multi-step flow. This line of investigation has led experts to investigate how media

messages spread in society. In 1962, Everett Rogers proposed the Diffusion of Innovation

theory to explore the spread of new ideas or innovations throughout society and the numerous

ways in which people embrace these novel ideas.

Rogers (2003) defines innovation as "an idea, practice, or project perceived as novel

by individuals or other units of adoption." Rogers defines diffusion as the process by which

an innovation is conveyed through certain channels among members of a social system over

time. The decision-making process for innovation has five stages: knowledge, persuasion,

decision, implementation, and confirmation. According to Rogers (1962), individuals in any

given culture can be split into distinct adopter groups based on the pace at which they accept

the innovation.

The KAP Gap

The knowledge-attitude-practice gap (KAP-gap) is a situation in which people have

knowledge and a positive attitude toward an invention but fail to act on it or incorporate it

into their routines.

 This gap is frequently seen with preventative technologies, which try to avoid or

reduce the impact of anticipated future catastrophes. (Chantal, 2021) Because the benefits of

implementing preventative innovations are not immediately apparent, individuals may not

feel compelled to act on them, while having a favorable attitude toward the invention.

There is always an expense to changing one's behavior, and if individuals are not

sufficiently motivated to bear that cost, they may choose not to adopt the innovation. In

software engineering, for example, documenting code for improved maintenance may be

viewed as superfluous overhead if future maintenance needs or the developer's role in them

are unknown.

Other best practices that do not provide immediate benefits face a similar situation.

Developers may dispute the utility of devoting time to generating understandable commit

messages because the payoff is not immediately apparent, especially for rookie developers

with a shorter-term perspective. Extrinsic motivators, on the other hand, can be employed to

encourage children into such habits.

Adopter Types

Among the adopter types are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and

laggards (Rogers, 2003). By categorizing individuals in this way, Rogers aimed to emphasize

different patterns of adoption behavior within a social system. Adopters are classified based

on their innovativeness, which is determined by the time of adoption in comparison to the

population's average adoption time. Rogers categorizes adopters into five groups: innovators,

early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. Each category has unique

properties and contributes to the diffusion process. (Chantal, 2021) Early adopters are

respected by their peers and serve as role models, the early majority adopts just before the
average member, the late majority adopts after the average member, and laggards are oriented

toward tradition and adopt very late.

 Innovators

These are daring individuals who want to be the first to test out fresh ideas. They eagerly

seek and welcome change, which makes them natural risk takers. Innovators require little

effort to attract because they are already open to fresh ideas.

 Early Adopters

These are thought leaders who like taking on leadership roles and are adaptable. They

realize the importance of innovation and easily embrace new ideas. To reach this

demographic, practical information such as how-to manuals and implementation guidelines

are helpful because they require less convincing.

 Early Majority

This is made up of people who adopt new ideas before the ordinary person but are not

necessarily leaders themselves. They are more cautious and require proof that an idea works

before implementing it. Sharing success stories and offering evidence of the innovation's

good results can be compelling in engaging the Early Majority.

 Late Majority

It is made up of people who are apprehensive of change and tend to adopt innovations

only after the majority has done so. To persuade the Late Majority, show how many others

have successfully accepted the innovation and provide assurance that it is dependable.

 Laggards
 These are conventional and conservative people who are resistive to change. They are the

most difficult to persuade. Using data, terror appeals, and leveraging pressure from other

adopter groups can be successful approaches for appealing to Laggards.

Aspects of Diffusion

In the context of diffusion, innovation refers to something viewed as novel by a person or

other unit of adoption. The perception of novelty is crucial, but it does not always imply that

the innovation is genuinely original. It just has to be recognized as such by those who will use

it.

 Communication channels

These are the means by which messages are passed from one person to the next. There are

several sorts of communication channels, each having unique qualities in terms of innovation

spread. Rogers distinguishes two types of channels: mass media and interpersonal channels.

Interpersonal channels involve direct connection between individuals, whereas mass media

channels convey messages to a vast audience. Both types of channels are crucial in the

diffusion process.

 Time

Because the process of diffusion takes time, time is an important factor. It is useful in

understanding how people progressively modify their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior in

response to an invention. Time is also used to divide adopters into groups based on when they

embrace the innovation and to calculate the adoption rate.

 Social System

Diffusion occurs within a social system, which can be defined as a collection of

interconnected components, such as individuals, informal groups, organizations, or

subsystems, that collaborate to achieve a common purpose. Within a social system, diffusion

research distinguishes between social structure and communication structure. The values,

norms, roles, and hierarchies that impact diffusion are referred to as social structure, whereas

communication structure governs how messages move across the social system by forming

communication links.

The Innovation-Decision Process

The decision-making process for adopting or rejecting an invention is described by

the innovation-decision process. It is divided into five stages: knowledge, persuasion,

decision, implementation, and confirmation. Individuals become aware of the invention,

create an attitude about it, decide whether to embrace it, begin utilizing it, and continue to

receive knowledge to support or challenge their decision. (LaMorte, 2022). Individuals may

reject the innovation at each level, resulting in a knowledge-attitude-practice gap in which

they are aware of the innovation and have a positive attitude toward it but do not take action

to adopt it.

Steps to the Innovation-Decision Process

The rate of adoption of an innovation is influenced by its attributes, as perceived by

potential adopters. Rogers identifies five attributes: relative advantage, compatibility,

complexity, trialability, and observability. (Singer, 2020) These attributes determine how

potential adopters perceive the innovation and can affect its adoption rate. For example, an

innovation with a higher perceived relative advantage and compatibility is more likely to be

adopted.

Rogers lists five characteristics of innovations that have a significant impact on whether

and how quickly an idea is accepted. He emphasizes that these do not have to be genuine
qualities of an innovation; what matters is how a potential user sees the innovation. These

five attributes have been found to determine about half of the variance of adoption rates.

 Relative Advantage

An innovation's perceived relative advantage is the degree to which it is regarded to

improve on a previous innovation. This can take the form of increased profitability or social

status, for example. Preventive innovations are believed to have a relatively low relative

advantage since their impacts may not be immediately obvious or may never materialize

because their objective is to avert an undesired event. (LaMorte, 2022). Incentives (such as

money or free samples) can be used to boost an innovation's perceived relative advantage.

Adoptions motivated by incentives, on the other hand, may be less sustainable, with adopters

potentially rejecting the innovation once the incentive is no longer available. The rate of

adoption of an innovation is positively related to relative advantage.

 Compatibility

An innovation's perceived compatibility indicates how consistent it is with an individual's

values, experiences, and requirements. The degree of compatibility determines the behavioral

shift required to implement an invention. Thus, rather than bringing an incompatible

innovation into a social system, adoption may be facilitated if the innovation is divided into

numerous more compatible inventions that can be accepted sequentially — each requiring

only a tiny behavioral modification. Compatibility is connected to the rate of acceptance of

an innovation.

 Complexity
 The perceived complexity of an innovation refers to how difficult it appears to be to

understand and apply the innovation. A high level of complexity can be a significant obstacle

to adoption. The rate of acceptance of an innovation is adversely proportional to its

complexity.

 Trialability

The perceived trialability of an innovation refers to the extent to which it can be tried on a

trial basis. A firsthand trial of an idea is a good method to lessen doubt about it. As a result,

trialability is related to the rate of adoption of an idea.

 Observability

The perceived observability of an innovation is the degree to which others can observe

the results of an innovation. Observing a peer can be a proxy for a trial of an innovation.

Observability is positively related to an innovation’s rate of adoption.

Diffusion Networks

Diffusion networks are the social systems or networks via which an innovation spreads.

Several significant diffusion network principles are discussed:

 Weak Ties

Weak ties are connections or relationships between people who are not closely related or

in regular contact. These weak linkages play an important role in the spread of innovations.

Individuals with weak relationships to various social networks might introduce innovators to

new ideas and innovations, hence broadening the diffusion process's reach.

 Opinion Leaders
 People who are influential in their social networks and have a significant influence on

other people's adoption decisions are considered opinion leaders. (Singer, 2020) They are

typically the first to adopt new technologies and serve as role models or information sources

for others. Opinion leaders affect the early majority's adoption decisions by presenting an

innovation's advantages and benefits.

 Social Learning

Social learning is the process of acquiring knowledge, attitudes, and actions through

observation and interaction with others in a social context. Social learning is critical in the

formation of diffusion networks. Individuals observe and learn from their peers who have

already adopted an idea, which can influence their own decisions to do so.

 Critical Mass

The term critical mass refers to the point at which an innovation is adopted by a

significant number of people within a social system. When a critical mass of adopters is

reached, the diffusion process speeds up, and the innovation is more generally accepted and

adopted by the late majority and laggards. Peer pressure and economic need can both

contribute to the late majority and laggards adopting an innovation.

Conclusion

Various communication channels are used throughout the diffusion process to convey

innovations among members of a social system. The innovation-decision process describes

the stages that people go through while deciding whether or not to accept an idea. It starts

with learning about the innovation, having an opinion about it, and deciding whether or not to

accept it. Individuals participate in practice and learning after adoption to eliminate lingering

ambiguity. They are also continuing to monitor the adoption to ensure that it remains
relevant. Diffusion research has identified types of adopters and features of innovations that

can provide insight into the likelihood of adoption in various settings. Social networks have a

tremendous impact on the adoption process.

 References

(2014). Retrieved from https://www.communicationtheory.org/diffusion-of-innovation-

theory/

Chantal, O. la. (2021). Retrieved from https://medium.com/@Omlette/early-theories-of-mass-

communication-3-diffusion-of-innovation-8269222fee4

LaMorte, W. W. (2022). Behavioral change models. Retrieved from

https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/mph-modules/sb/behavioralchangetheories/
behavioralchangetheories4.html#:~:text=Diffusion%20of%20Innovation%20(DOI)
%20Theory,specific%20population%20or%20social%20system.

Singer, L. (2020). Retrieved from https://leif.me/on-the-diffusion-of-innovations-how-new-

ideas-spread/