Diffusion%20of%20 innovation%20 %20lecture%20with%20characteristics%20and%20people
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Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. The rate of adoption is determined by characteristics of the innovation like relative advantage and compatibility, as well as the structure of the social system. Opinion leaders and change agents influence diffusion. Time is required for diffusion as innovations are adopted in categories from innovators to early adopters to the majority and finally laggards.
Diffusion%20of%20 innovation%20 %20lecture%20with%20characteristics%20and%20people
- 1. Diffusion of Innovation Dr. James E. Folkestad, PMP
- 2. Diffusion Is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system It is a special type of communication, in which the messages are about a new idea The newness includes a degree of uncertainty Social change
- 3. Overriding factors Uncertainty – reduce Social change – manage Perception – focus on
- 4. Uncertainty Implies a lack of predictability, of structure, of information Information is a means of reducing uncertainty
- 5. Social change When new ideas are diffused social change occurs More than just a “beneficial innovation” is necessary for its diffusion to occur Example: Dvorak Keyboard
- 6. Perceptions Count The receiver's perceptions of the attributes of an innovation, not the attributes as classified by experts or changes agents, affect its rate of adoption.
- 7. Four Main Elements of Diffusion Innovation Communication channels Social System Time
- 8. Element 1) Innovation Is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption Example: Solid Modeling
- 9. Innovation-Decision Process Information-seeking and information processing activity in which the individual is motivated to reduce uncertainty about the advantages and disadvantages of the innovation
- 10. What is an Innovation? Hardware: consisting of the tool that embodies the technology as a material or physical object Software: consisting of the information base for the tool Sometimes a technology can entirely be composed of information Examples: JIT, Lean These innovations have a lower degree of observability and thus a slower rate of adoption
- 11. Characteristics of Innovation Include: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability Research indicates these five characteristics are the most important in explaining the rate of adoption As perceived by individuals, help to explain the innovations different rates of adoption
- 12. Rate of adoption
- 13. Relative advantage Is the degree to which an innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supersedes May include economic terms, social prestige, convenience, satisfaction
- 14. Compatibility Is the degree to which innovation is perceived as being consistent with the existing values, past experiences, and needs of adopters Example: Rapid Solidification Process (RSP) An incompatible innovation often requires the prior adoption of a new value system which is a relatively slow process Example: water boiling in the Peruvian village of Los Molinas Other examples?
- 15. Complexity Is the degree to which an innovation is perceived as difficult to understand and use New ideas that are simpler to understand are adopted more rapidly than innovations that require the adopter to develop new skills and understandings
- 16. Trialability Is the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis Represents less uncertainty to the individual who is considering it for adoption Example: Downloadable software
- 17. Observability Is the degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others The easier it is for individuals to see the results of an innovation, the more likely they are to adopt it Example: Solar adopters – located together Friends and neighbors of the adopter gather innovation-evaluation information
- 18. Element 2) Communication Channels Diffusion is a particular type of communication in which the message content that is exchanged is concerned with a new idea Studies show that most individuals do not evaluate an innovation on the basis of scientific studies* Instead, most people depend mainly upon a subjective evaluation of an innovation that is conveyed to them from other individuals like themselves who have previously adopted the innovation So diffusion is a very social process *often the very first adopters use objective scientific studies
- 19. Element 3) Social System Diffusion occurs within a social system The social structure of the system affects the innovation’s diffusion
- 20. Social Structure Structure gives regularity and stability to human behavior in a system; it allows one to predict behavior with some degree of accuracy Formal (bureaucratic) and informal communication structures What social structures do we deal with?
- 21. Communication structures (informal) A complete lack of communication structures in a system would be represented by a situation in which each individual talked with equal probability to each other member in a system Example: when a group of strangers come together However, patterns soon begin to occur in the system
- 22. Members of a social system Innovators and change agents These members are the most innovative Often perceived as deviants of the social system Given low credibility by the average member of the system
- 23. Opinion leader Able to influence other individuals’ attitudes in a desired way with relative frequency Not a function of the individual’s formal position or status in the system Earned and maintained by the individuals: Technical competence Social accessibility Conformity to the system’s norms
- 24. Characteristics Opinion Leader 1) Exposed to external communication 2) Higher social status 3) More innovative – depending on system’s norms 4) They are the center of interpersonal communication networks 5) Members of the social system in which they exert their influence Respect can be lost if an opinion leader deviates too far from the norms of the system
- 25. Change Agent Is an individual who influences clients’ innovation-decisions in a direction deemed desirable by a change agency Change agents use opinion leaders in a social system as their lieutenants in diffusion campaigns
- 26. Adopter Categorization Use mean and standard deviation to divide the normal adopter distribution into categories
- 27. Innovators Active information-seekers High degree of mass media exposure Interpersonal networks extend over a wide area Cope with higher levels of uncertainty Do not depend on subjective evaluations of the innovation from other members of their social system
- 28. Innovators Venturesome Friendships among innovators Substantial financial resources Understand and apply complex technical knowledge Ability to deal with high degree of uncertainty
- 29. Early Adopters Respected Integrated part of local social system Greatest degree of opinion leadership
- 30. Early Majority Deliberate Adopt new ideas just before the average member of a system Interact frequently with their peers Most numerous adopter category (one-third of the system) Follow with deliberate willingness in adopting innovations, but seldom lead.
- 31. Late Majority Skeptical Adoption may be both an economic necessity and the result of increasing network pressures from peers Innovations are approached with a skeptical and cautious air Pressure of peers is necessary to motivate adoption Scarce resources – uncertainty must be removed
- 32. Laggards Traditional Last to adopt Point of reference is the past Decisions are made in terms of what has been done previously Suspicious of innovation and change agents Limited resources
- 33. Socioeconomic Characteristics for earlier adopters Age not factor More years of education More likely to be literate Higher social status Greater degree of upward social mobility Have larger units (farms, schools, companies)
- 34. Socioeconomic It has been shown that innovators become richer and the laggards become relatively poorer through the innovation process
- 35. Personality Variables – earlier adopters Greater empathy than later adopters Less dogmatic Greater ability to deal with abstractions Greater intelligence More favorable attitude toward change Ability to cope with uncertainty Have a favorable attitude toward science Less fatalistic (ability to control their future) Higher aspirations
- 36. Communication Behavior – earlier adopters More social participation More highly interconnected More change agent contact Greater exposure to mass media Greater exposure to interpersonal communication channels Seek info. about innovations more actively Higher degree of opinion leadership
- 37. Rate of adoption Is the relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of the social system S-shaped curve Variation in the slope of the “S” from innovation to innovation
- 40. Summary Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system Diffusion deals with perceived “new” ideas Uncertainty is involved Information decreases uncertainty
- 41. Summary Rate of adoption is determined by the characteristics of an innovation (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability) Time is involved in diffusion Five adopter categories (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards)
- 42. Summary Social and communication structure of a system facilitates or impedes the diffusion of innovations Opinion leaders and change agents are important for diffusion
- 43. Assignment Diffusion of Innovations – Implementation plan (A3 & A7)
- 44. Assignment Diffusion of Innovations – Implementation plan (A3 & A7) Write a short paper (4 pages maximum) describing your organization’s plan for implementing a new innovation. This can be a fictitious “plan” – or a fictitious event – for your organization. Write this paper as though you are the change agent. As you write this implementation plan reflect on the concepts presented in this lecture on Diffusion of Innovation. You may want to refer back to figure # 6-1 (slide 39). You could write this paper based on the variable that impact the rate of adoption
- 45. Assignment (cont) There are many additional resources available to you to learn more about diffusion of innovation theory. The Wikipedia entry “ Diffusion of Innovations ” provides a decent overview of Rogers’ theory and is a great starting point. There are many ways to organize this paper – here are two ideas… 1) you could organize it around the five stages of the adoption process – explaining what you would do in each stage. See the “five stages of the adoption process” on Wikipedia 2) you could organize it based on Rogers’ five factors or characteristics (innovation characteristics) as presented in this presentation (also see “Rogers’ 5 Factors” on the Wikipedia entry). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations