Diffusion of Innovations
- Innovations take time to diffuse into a target audience.
- Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures and communities.
- New ideas must be widely accepted in order to be self-sustainable.
- Everett Rogers, a professor of communication studies, popularized the theory in his book “Diffusion of Innovations”.
- Rogers proposes that four main elements influence the diffusion of an innovation:
The innovation itself: the new object or product.
Communication channels: the way the message moves from one to another.
Time: the length of time required to pass through the innovation-decision process.
A social system: An organization of individuals divided into groups or structures that have different functions, characteristics, origin or status.
For example, a social system might break a larger population down into family groups, races, religious affiliations, gender, wealth categories and social classes.
These demographic distinctions can be used by a company to better target their product (promotional and sales efforts).
- This process relies heavily on human capital, which is the knowledge and skill set that people have.
Categories For Diffusion Rates
Roger's model consists of five categories, each adhering to a certain portion of the population, based on how quick they are to adopt a new innovation.
Innovators
- The first individuals to adopt an innovation.
- They are willing to take risks, and often gain satisfaction from trying out new innovations.
- Only about 2.5% of the population (2.5th percentile).
Early Adopters
- The second fastest category to adopt an innovation.
- Generally 13.5% of the population (2.5th to 16th percentile).
Early Majority
- The third group to adopt an innovation, tends to take more time to consider adopting new innovations and is inclined to draw from feedback from early adopters before taking the risk of purchasing new products/systems.
- Generally 34% of the population (16th to 50th percentile).
Late Majority
- Adopts the innovation after it has been established in the marketplace and is seldom willing to take risks with new innovation.
- Generally 34% of the population (50th to 84th percentile).
Laggards
- The last to adopt an innovation.
- They tend to prefer traditions and are unwilling to take risks.
- About 16% of the population (84th to 100th percentile).
Roger's Characteristics for Diffusion
- Roger distinguishes five characteristics that impact on consumer adoption of an innovation.
Relative Advantage
- How improved an innovation is over the previous generation.
- The degree to which consumers rate a new product relative to the product it replaces.
- There are many things to consider, such as prestige, functionality, fashion trends, features etc.
- The greater the perceived relative advantage, the higher adoption rate of the new product by the market.
Compatibility
- The level of compatibility that an innovation has to be assimilated into an individual’s life.
- Compatibility refers to how well consumers determine that the innovation reflects their expectations in terms of their needs and wants, current practices and values.
Complexity
- If the innovation is perceived as complicated or difficult to use, an individual is unlikely to adopt it.
- Simpler innovations that are easier to understand diffuse easily.
Observability
- The extent that an innovation is visible to others.
- An innovation that is more visible will drive communication among the individual’s peers and personal networks and will, in turn, create more positive or negative reactions.
Trialability
- How easily an innovation may be explored.
- If a user is able to test an innovation, the individual will be more likely to adopt it.