Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) is a theory popularized by American communication theorist and sociologist, Everett Rogers, in 1962 that aims to explain how, why, and the rate at which a product, service, or process spreads through a population or social system. In other words, the diffusion of innovation explains the rate at which new ideas and technology spread. The diffusion of innovation theory is used extensively by marketers to understand the rate at which consumers are likely to adopt a new product or service. Diffusion of innovation theory seeks to explain the adoption of new ideas and technologies. How and why they spread among people. And at what rate of speed.
Background of diffusion of innovations theory
The concept of cultural diffusion arose in the late 19th century. It was used in the fields of anthropology, geography, and sociology.
In the early 20th century, diffusion theory became popular in the field of rural sociology. Specifically in the midwestern United States. It was used to study how independent farmers came to adopt hybrid seeds. Everett Rogers came out of this field. He got his Ph.D. in Rural Sociology at Iowa State University in 1957.
Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, E.) built on the ideas of fellow sociologists Bryce Ryan and Neal Gross. In 1943, Ryan and Gross put forward a theory of the “adoption of a process.” Rogers added to their ideas and made a general argument for innovation, across societies and industries.
The book, now in its fifth edition, led Rogers to a storied career. It ended with him being Chair of the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico.
His ideas have become familiar. They’ve entered the general culture to the point we don’t think about their provenance. Case in point, the term “early adopter.” Yes, he coined it, his book diffused it and then it was adopted, 100%.
What is the theory?
The diffusion of innovation theory analysis how the social members adopt the new innovative ideas and how they made the decision towards it. Both mass media and interpersonal communication channel is involved in the diffusion process. The theory heavily relies on Human capital. According to the theory , innovations should be widely adopted in order to attain development and sustainability. In real life situations the adaptability of the culture played a very relevant role where ever the theory was applied. Diffusion of innovation is a theory built on
the premise that any commercial consumer marketplace has different types of customers, who vary on their enthusiasm for a particular product, and for trying out that product.
The theory also presupposes that so-called innovative products stream (or "diffuse") out into the marketplace not on a straight path, but in wave after wave of consumer acceptance, starting with innovators, then moving on to early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards at the end of the line.
The goal, at least in business, is to convince the most individuals possible to embrace a new product, service or idea, even if it goes against their better judgment, and even if they have to exhibit behavior they haven't exhibited before. As the theory goes, if the consumer accepts the notion that a product, service or idea is innovative, they're more likely to engage with the product as it diffuses (or spreads) through the marketplace.
This adoption happens in phases, leveraging different types of consumers, as companies take advantage of the fact that some people embrace new, innovative things sooner than others, based on individual characteristics.
Elements of diffusion of innovation
According to Rogers, there are 4 elements that influence innovation diffusion.
• Innovation
An idea, practice, or object. It is perceived as new by an individual, group, or organization. It need not be “new” in the pure sense.
An innovation’s characteristics influence its chances for adoption. These include complexity, adaptability, and compatibility. As well as the relative advantage offered.
Another important characteristic is “trialability.” Trialability refers to the ability to “try out” ideas on a partial basis. Innovations that can be tried out in instalments will gain adoption faster.
Finally, there’s “observability.” This is the degree to which the results of an innovation can be seen by others. Adoption rate is influenced by the perceived basis of innovativeness.
• Communication Channels
Communications are an important factor in the diffusion process. People have to get the word out on new technology and new concepts.
Communication channels can generally be divided into mass media and social networks. In mass media, information travels from a channel to an individual. In social networks, information travels from individual to individual.
Means of communication include face-to-face, broadcast media, mobile, electronic, and written.
• Social System
According to Rogers, a social system is a set of interrelated “units.” These units may be individual people, groups, or organizations. The key is that members of the system cooperate to some extent towards a common goal.
Members of a social system can facilitate or impede adoption. If an innovation is compatible with a culture’s structure, it will succeed. If it isn’t, it will fail. Innovation needs to be adopted widely to sustain itself. Human capital has to be on its side.
It has to reach a point of critical mass. If an innovation doesn’t reach the “tipping point,” adoption can stall. One sees this with electric vehicles, for example, which have been around for decades.
They are now on their third wave of adoption. Thanks to Tesla and other innovators, they appear to be set to gain ubiquity after all. But in earlier times, they failed to achieve critical mass and largely faded from public consciousness.
• Time
Adoption of innovations takes time. Thus time is an important variable in the study of diffusion. Time is analyzed in terms of the Innovation-decision process. This refers to the interval between first knowledge and formation of an opinion. Leading to a decision on adoption or rejection and a final confirmation of decision.
Potential adopters may need to be exposed to communications for a long period. Before decision-making takes place on whether to adopt or not. Most innovations have an “S” shaped curve for adoption over time. This shape appears when the rate of adoption is plotted according to cumulative frequency.
• The Rate of Adoption
The rate of adoption indicates how fast an idea reaches a certain percentage of people. Adoption rate often increases exponentially after early adopters get hold of an idea. Opinion leaders exercise a very strong influence on the early majority.
This also creates the necessary momentum to get to critical mass. And from there, adoption rate tapers offer as late adopters take on the innovation out of necessity.
Certainly, there are many psychological and socio-economic reasons behind this phenomenon. But the basic, no-fuss explanation is that most people are drawn to conformity.
Social systems function with a large degree of day-to-day sameness. Most people only feel comfortable with incremental change. Large disruptions are not desirable.
Five stages of mechanism
Further Roger identifies the Mechanism of Diffusion of Innovation Theory through five following stages
• Knowledge :An Individual can expose the new innovation but they are not showing any interest in it due to the lack information or knowledge about the innovation
• Persuasion : An Individual is showing more interest in the new innovation and they are always seeking to get details or information about the innovation
• Decision : In this stage, an individual analysis the positive and negative of the innovation and decide whether to accept / reject the innovation. Roger explains “one of the most difficult stages to identify the evidence”
• Implementation : An individual’s take some efforts to identify the dependence of the innovation and collect more information about the usefulness of the innovation, then its future also.
• Confirmation : An individual conforms or finalize their decision and continue to use the innovation with full potential
Limitations of Diffusion of Innovation Theory
There are several limitations of Diffusion of Innovation Theory, which include the following:
Much of the evidence for this theory, including the adopter categories, did not originate in public health and it was not developed to explicitly apply to adoption of new behaviors or health innovations.
1. It does not foster a participatory approach to adoption of a public health program.
2. It works better with adoption of behaviors rather than cessation or prevention of behaviors.
3. It doesn't take into account an individual's resources or social support to adopt the new behavior (or innovation).
This theory has been used successfully in many fields including communication, agriculture, public health, criminal justice, social work, and marketing. In public health, Diffusion of Innovation Theory is used to accelerate the adoption of important public health programs that typically aim to change the behavior of a social system. For example, an intervention to address a public health problem is developed, and the intervention is promoted to people in a social system with the goal of adoption (based on Diffusion of Innovation Theory). The most successful adoption of a public health program results from understanding the target population and the factors influencing their rate of adoption.
- Shruti Nag
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