Showing papers on "Diffusion of innovations published in 1997"

The Differentiated Network: Organizing Multinational Corporations for Value Creation

Abstract: Preface. The Differentiated Network. DISTRIBUTED INNOVATION IN THE DIFFERENTIATED NETWORK. Distributed Innovation in Multinational Corporations (MNCs). Optimal Slack for Distributed Innovation. Creation, Adoption, and Diffusion of Innovations Across the MNC. DIFFERENTIATION AND INTEGRATION. Internal Differentiation Within the MNC. Formal Structure and Shared Values. Integration Through Interunit Communication. Integration Through Interpersonal Networks. LIMITS AND EXTENSIONS OF THE DIFFERENTIATED NETWORK. Requisite Complexity. Beyond the Differentiated Network. Methodological Appendix. References. The Author. Index.

The Process of Technological Innovation

Abstract: It has become cliche to argue that a chasm of significant proportions has developed between mainstream economic analysis1 of technological advance and business practice. This chasm is often attributed to the insistence of many economists to cling to old-fashioned ideas concerning the creation and diffusion of innovations and to disregard the pragmatic study of technological progress. The resulting underestimation of the complexities of the process of technological advance and the institutions which affect it has had serious consequences on the predictive ability of theory.2

The Role of Agenda Setting in Policy Innovation An Event History Analysis of Living-Will Laws

Abstract: In this article we link theoretically and empirically the process of agenda setting to the diffusion of innovations across the American states. We use independent variables that reflect both agenda setting and the specific state context, and we hypothesize that a combination of these variables affects the likelihood of policy adoption in the various states. Employing event history analysis of pooled cross-sectional time series data on the adoption of living-will laws, we find that the best model of living-will adoptions includes both agenda setting and state context variables. Our findings demonstrate the importance of linking agenda setting with internal state characteristics to reach a more complete explanation of state policy making.

Diffusion of Innovations Within Organizations: Electronic Switching in the Bell System, 1971–1982

Abstract: Although diffusion processes take place in a variety of social systems, they have rarely been studied within the context of an organization. Yet when the intraorganizational part of the diffusion of an innovation is gradual or differs among organizations, the overall diffusion of that innovation is affected. The authors explore the applicability of the traditional diffusion perspective in an intraorganizational context. They compare the explanatory power of factors emphasized by the traditional diffusion perspective with that of factors deemphasized or neglected by that perspective. The setting is the diffusion of electronic switching technology within the operating companies of the Bell System before its divestiture. The results suggest that the traditional perspective may not apply exactly within organizations because factors other than those traditionally emphasized seem to play an important role in the diffusion of innovations within organizations.

Organizational viscosity and the diffusion of controversial innovations

Abstract: This paper draws on the biological work of Boorman and Levitt's Genetics of Altruism to develop a model of diffusion in organizations specifically when the innovation being diffused is controversial. By “controversial”, I mean an innovation whose value (and subsequent adoption) is socially determined and not rationally determined ‐ that is, there is no exogenous superior or inferior quality to the innovation that determines its eventual adoption. The purpose of this paper is to model the conditions under which the innovation may come to dominate the organization. The results parallel those of Boorman and Levitt's: (1) In a large undifferentiated organization, no controversial innovation can survive unless it begins with a large proportion of believers in the innovation. (2) However, there are structural conditions under which even a very small minority of innovators can take over a large organization. Contrary to intuition and some of the literature on innovation, these conditions that lead to unexpected ...

Expanding the Content Base of Technology Education: Technology Transfer as a Topic of Study

Abstract: The first automobile safety “air bag” was successfully demonstrated in 1955 by its inventor, who boasted in a news reel film that the next year’s automobiles would have the air bag as a standard equipment feature. Looking back, one must wonder why such an important safety device took nearly 40 years to become a standard feature in the automobile industry. During the same time frame, Dr. Jonas Salk discovered a cure for the dreaded polio virus. In contrast to the air bag innovation, it was only a few months before every school child in the nation began receiving a polio shot. Why did these two life saving innovations differ so radically in their rate of transfer from the developer to the user? This question addresses two interdisciplinary fields of study; (1) technology transfer and (2) diffusion of innovations (Cottrill, Rogers, & Mills, 1989). These fields provide the link between technology development and utilization, and moves the work of technology developers into the hands of end users. Without the successful movement of technology out of a development lab and into a user’s environment, the potential of new technologies cannot be fully realized. While technology transfer typically “refers to the development of a technology in one setting which is then transferred for use in another setting” (Markert, 1993, p. 231), diffusion is used to describe the “spreading” or use of a technology within a society, organization, or group of individuals (Rogers, 1995). Technology transfer tends to focus on the producer of the technology while much of the focus of diffusion relates to the end user of the technology. Viewed from the holistic perspective of technology development and utilization, these two areas are closely interrelated and must be considered together. In this article, the term technology transfer will be defined broadly to include both the movement of technology from the site of origin to the site of use and issues concerning the ultimate acceptance and use of the technology by the end user. Adopting this broad definition of technology transfer implies that a technology has not been successfully transferred until it has been accepted and used by the end user. _________________________ Scott D. Johnson is Associate Professor and Graduate Programs Coordinator, Department of Vocational and Technical Education. Elizabeth Faye Gatz is a Doctoral Student, College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois. Don Hicks is Project Manager, United States Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Champaign, Illinois.

The Boulder Valley Internet Project: Lessons Learned.

Abstract: Thirty-five years ago, Everett M. Rogers developed a theoretical framework, based on research evidence, that described the adoption and the diffusion of innovations throughout organizations and social systems. To Rogers, there were five steps in the adoption process. An individual, a department, an organization, or any other type of decision-making unit passes "from first knowledge of an innovation to forming an attitude toward the innovation, to a decision to adopt or reject, to implementation of the new idea, and to confirmation of this decision."[1] Rogers, like his colleagues in the realm of diffusion scholarship, primarily envisioned an organization as a structured social entity in which power and control in the system was concentrated in the hands of relatively few individuals. In such a system, innovations originate from a centralized source and then diffuse to users. However, this model is neither appropriate for, nor does it capture the complexity of, relatively decentralized systems in which innovations originate from the ground up. In a decentralized system characterized by a site-based decision-making structure, such as the Boulder Valley School District, innovations spread by horizontal communication networks among peer teachers in a relatively spontaneous fashion. A high degree of modification occurs as an innovation is "reinvented" by users to fit their particular conditions. Innovation What sort of innovation are we dealing with here? Throughout the project's five years, Boulder Valley Internet Project leaders introduced the use of telecommunications in the classroom to the Boulder Valley School District by training. First an initial cohort of 26 teachers were taught how to use the Internet, the local area network, and the World Wide Web for research and professional communication. The initial cohort then returned to their schools and proceeded to share their newfound knowledge and skills with their colleagues, in a "trainer of trainers" process similar to that used successfully in Canada.[2] Another aspect of the project was development of an online foundation for curriculum-related resources to be made available to all teachers in the district. Though the training program was successful, the impact on curriculum and instruction was less so. To understand the reasons for this, we must delve more deeply into the Rogers' model of diffusion of innovations. Diffusion of Innovations In a decentralized system, innovations tend to fit more closely with individual users' needs and problems. Users seek information through personal networks of colleagues, participate in making decisions about what sort of training and support they would like to see as they learn more about the innovation, and then tailor it to their own specific needs as they begin to develop the expertise, knowledge, and skills to use it effectively. As a result, a decentralized diffusion system is closely geared to local needs. A solution that works for one particular school may not be suitable for another, even within the same school district. Though horizontal diffusion networks are effective within an individual school, they are far less effective among dispersed schools, even at the same grade level. One of the initial objectives of the project - to have three networked middle schools collaborate on several shared curriculum units - was not achieved, partly due to lack of full connectivity, and partly due to the site-based nature of the district. Another important aspect of the project was that the attributes of the innovation, as perceived by the end users, changed radically during the five-year implementation phase of the project. In the Rogers model, there are five attributes of an innovation. These are perceived by members of the social system in the process of adopting it, and determine its rate of adoption: Unlike the type of innovation conceptualized by Rogers and the diffusion scholars, the Internet was a rapidly evolving technology. …

Diffusion of innovation theories and their relevance to understanding the role of librarians when introducing users to networked information

Abstract: This review aims to provide an overview of the ideas, theories and research relating to the diffusion of innovations. It seeks to place the relationship between librarians and the Internet and related networked information within the context of diffusion research. It includes a brief background to diffusion research and a description of the basic model proposed by Everett M. Rogers. The theory of change agents and change agencies is discussed with the role of weak ties in the diffusion of ideas through communication networks. The implications of the need to achieve a critical mass in some applications of networked communication are outlined together with theories about critical mass. The review identifies the characteristics that make these technologies unique and discusses the implications for future research. Finally, the relevance of diffusion theory to librarians seeking to introduce new communication‐based technologies into academic departments is discussed.

The Production of Corporate Law

Abstract: The production of corporate law has been seen as a competition among the states. This paper takes an interest group view of the production of law, and argues that changes in corporate laws in the United States are driven primarily by lawyers and corporate managers. The benefits to lawyers from modern corporate laws include retention of corporate clients as local corporations, thus excluding the competition of out-of-state lawyers with expertise in Delaware law. But because the production of law is a public good, lawyers find initiating legal change costly, and innovations proceed slowly. Managers, on the other hand, are not generally experts on corporate law, but focus on particular issues that affect them directly, such as antitakeover laws and laws affecting their personal liability. The paper examines the degree of uniformity resulting from this competition, and finds a high degree of correspondence with the norms set in the Model Business Corporation Act. Deviations from this uniformity are explained in large part by innovations, many of which originate in the Model Act. The paper then examines how the collective action problems of the sponsoring interest groups influence the diffusion of innovations in corporate law. Innovations sponsored by lawyers have relatively slow rates of adoption, reflecting their collective action problems. When these costs are reduced through introduction of changes in the Model Act, the rate of diffusion increases. Managers appear to suffer from fewer collective action problems, and have a more intense interest in certain subjects because of the more direct benefits they obtain, and management-sponsored innovations are adopted much more rapidly. Possible inefficiencies from rent-seeking by interest groups appear to be constrained by competitive forces, suggesting that alternative solutions, such as federalizing corporate law, would not solve the rent-seeking problem as well, and would sacrifice the innovations obtained through the present competitive system.

Modelling Innovation Diffusion

Abstract: Diffusion of innovation occupies a central place as an instrument of social change. Numerous attempts have been made to model this phenomenon in disciplines such as economics, sociology, marketing, geography etc. Considerable research effort has been devoted to the mathematical modelling in the field, focusing mainly on temporal aspects of diffusion of innovations in the form of growth curves in a given social system. These models have been constructed within both deterministic and stochastic frameworks. Some of the recent modelling efforts have analyzed the process as an evolutionary phenomenon in the framework of self-organizing systems. Such models offer considerable insight into the dynamics of the success of an innovation in the form of niche acquisition and the self-reinforcing ’lock-in’ mechanism. The framework employed in these models makes it possible to enlarge the scope of enquiry by their ability to examine the critical phenomenon in the form of phase transformation characterizing take off and sustainability of an innovation. In this chapter we present a brief review of the literature in the field of mathematical modelling of temporal aspects of innovation diffusion.

Multiple diffusion and multicultural aggregate social systems

Abstract: Extends the diffusion of innovations paradigm to today’s pluralistic marketplace by introducing the concept of multiple diffusion, whereby an innovation diffuses in multiple sub‐social systems, each with a distinct pattern of adoption, that together comprise the aggregate diffusion pattern for a given society. Identifies variables that affect the multiple diffusion process, presents propositions related to them, and discusses implications of this framework for marketing researchers and practitioners.

Applying Diffusion Theory to Chain Restaurants: Predicting the Viability of U.S. Brands Internationally

Abstract: The Diffusion of Innovations (diffusion) field is a well-established area for academic research across a range of social science disciplines. One of diffusion's key applications is to help predict the adoption rates of new products and technologies in new markets. To date, however, the application of the diffusion field, generally to hospitality and tourism, including the prediction of adoption rates, has been limited. This paper presents a conceptual framework for predicting the success of chain restaurants entering international markets, using diffusion's key principles. Following an overview of diffusion, including theoretical issues affecting the application of diffusion in a service sector environment, the paper presents a case study of an application of diffusion theory to the international expansion of a U.S. chain restaurant to Australia.

Diffusion Theory and Practice: Disseminating Quality Management and Software Process Improvement Innovations.

Abstract: This article analyzes a European‐wide dissemination project which aimed at spreading quality management and software process improvement approaches among organizations in the IT sector and beyond to organizations which produce software as part of their primary product. The research presented investigates to what extent that mission has been accomplished and what lessons can be learned for similar actions in the future. For the analysis Rogers’ well‐known model of the diffusion of innovations is used. A secondary outcome of the study therefore is an appraisal of the suitability of the model to plan and perform large‐scale diffusion actions.

Innovative Capacity, Infrastructure and Regional Inversion: Is there a Long-term Dynamic?

Abstract: Among the most interesting regional phenomena of the twentieth century is the emergence of previously peripheral or outlying regions as major sources of technology and of economic dynamism. In a few decades, several of these regions have become some of the world’s most important repositories of technological knowledge, with impacts that reach well beyond their respective national and continental boundaries. The diffusion of innovations has been greatly affected by the technological emergence of those previously lagging or disadvantaged regions, as knowledge networks, shorter product cycles and rising technical capabilities have allowed greater access to innovations than ever before in human history.

The management of variety

Abstract: For a long time, scientists and practitioners in the field of management and organization have focused on matters of efficiency in organizations. But efficiency is not sufficient for organizations to survive; flexibility and variety are necessary as well. Flexibility is necessary to cope with fluctuations in the environment. Variety is necessary to develop innovations that are necessary to survive in the long run. From organizational theory and even from history, we know how the environment of organizations can be an inspiring source of innovations. When new technology becomes available in the form of tools and knowledge, it can be used to realize new organizational processes or products. In 1625, Francis Bacon described how organizations employed so-called Merchants of Light that used the communication technology of those times (transportation of people and physical objects by ships) to bring books, abstracts, and patterns of experiments of all parts of the world to their home where the books were read, experiments were tried out and after deliberation, “(...) things of use and practice for man’s life and knowledge” were implemented. In this way, dimensions of space and time shrinked and innovations from various communities could be absorbed into one’s own community. The introduction of telecommunication media in the twentieth century speeded up this process. Telephones, telexes and faxes have facilitated the exchange of ideas, and diffusion of innovations among known social relationships, thereby facilitating information exchange that used to be impossible because of geographical dislocation. Today’s new forms of information and communication technology not only shrink dimensions of space and time as ‘historical’ and ‘traditional’ communication technology have done, but also facilitate informationand knowledge exchange with partners outside traditional, known social relationships. Contemporary media like the Internet provide easily accessible cybercommunities of ‘netizens’ where information and knowledge can be exchanged relatively freely.

Prevailing national networks: an obstacle to European interaction?

Abstract: European integration is expected to result in international industrial networks, facilitating information and technology exchange, and improvements in efficiency and effectiveness. Within many industries in Western Europe, however, companies still operate mainly in their home markets, e.g., the food industry. We argue that substantial obstacles to increasing industrial co-ordination and the diffusion of innovations within Europe may exist in industries dominated by concentrated national sub-networks. Theoretically, this argument is derived from a network and resource dependence perspective and illustrated by a case study of the introduction of a new decision aid in the Swedish food industry. Here, it is concluded that conflicting interests among the actors created inertia, and that development was not controlled by actors operating internationally, i.e. multinational manufacturers, but by retailers and wholesalers holding strong national network positions.

A Comparison of Alternative Procedures for Resolving Indeterminacies in the Theory of Reasoned Action

Abstract: Five suggested alternatives for resolving indeterminacies in the theory of reasoned action resulting from ill-formed intentions were examined for their ability to predict Japanese consumer intentions to eat U.S. beef. Assessment relied upon structural equation analysis of data collected from 594 respondents in a nationwide survey of Japanese beef consumers. The alternative that incorporated product characteristics associated with the diffusion of innovations model provided the best fit to the data and the best prediction of intentions. Implications are suggested for procedures for resolving attitude- and subjective norm-intention indeterminacies in the theory of reasoned action.

The dissemination of software process improvement innovations: the ESPITI project revisited

Abstract: This paper’s objective is to analyse an European wide dissemination action which aimed at spreading quality management and software process improvement approaches among IT organisations. We investigate to what extent this mission has been accomplished and what lessons can be learned for similar actions in the future. For our analysis we use Rogers’ widely cited model of diffusion. Thus, a secondary outcome of our investigation is an appraisal of the suitability of this model to plan and perform diffusion actions.

Multipurpose Land Information Systems Development Bibliography: A Community-wide Commitment to the Technology and its Ultimate Applications (97-1)

Abstract: Author(s): Tulloch, David L.; Epstein, Earl F.; Niemann Jr., Bernard J.; Ventura, Stephen J. | Abstract: This bibliography attempts to bring together literature covering the many aspects of Multipurpose Land Information Systems (MPLIS) development. Our focus on MPLIS development comes from a concern that much of GIS adoption and diffusion research focuses on a single system within an organization instead of a network of resources within the context of a larger community. We have worked to broaden the view of MPLIS development to include the processes commonly referred to as initiation, implementation, operation and maintenance.To reflect these issues, we have attempted to develop a bibliography that includes: (a) the concept of the community-wide value of MPLIS development and the products of these systems, (b) developmental factors and techniques, (c) studies of system status, and (d) the MPLIS development process or the adoption and diffusion of innovations and related technologies. A brief explanation of each of these topics is provided along with specific examples from the bibliography.

A longitudinal study of the diffusion of a computer-based administrative innovation within a university faculty network

Abstract: Identifying predictors of computer use such as attitude, anxiety, and receptivity to change have been the primary area of interest in instructional technology. Research relating to the diffusion of innovations in education has been based primarily on looking at these individual characteristics as predictors of use. This dissertation proposes to use social network analysis to study the diffusion of two computer-based administrative innovations within a university faculty network. Methodology issues concerning time of adoption and network nominations were examined as well as the relationship of time of adoption and the number of network nominations received, spatial proximity, and organizational unit proximity. Finally, the diffusion of the innovations was to be analyzed using the dual-classification and T/CM models. Subjects were 66 faculty members in a College in Education from a southwestern university during the 1996-1997 academic year. At the beginning of the study subjects were introduced to the innovations and asked to provide demographic information and to identify communication partners in the areas of advice, friendship, and discussion. At the conclusion of the study subjects were asked to provide feed back related to the innovations and to once again identify their communication partners in the areas of advice, friendship, and discussion. Results indicated that there was no significant difference between adopters recall time of adoption and actual time of adoption. In addition, there was no significant difference between network nominations for advice, friendship, and discussion identified at the beginning and at the end of the study. The number of network nominations received was found to be negatively correlated with the time of adoption. No correlation was found between time of adoption and spatial and organizational unit proximity. The diffusion process could not be studied, because the necessary threshold and critical mass levels were not reached. The innovations did not diffuse through the network. The lack of diffusion could be explained by the negative correlation between the number of network nominations received and the time of adoption as well as by comments faculty submitted related to the innovations and a graphical representation of the social network with the nodes of adopters shaded.

Comparison of Alternative Procedures for Resolving Indeterminacies in the Theory of Reasoned Action (A)

Abstract: Five suggested alternatives for resolving indeterminacies in the theory of reasoned action resulting from ill-formed intentions were examined for their ability to predict Japanese consumer intentions to eat U.S. beef. Assessment relied upon structural equation analysis of data collected from 594 respondents in a nationwide survey of Japanese beef consumers. The alternative that incorporated product characteristics associated with the diffusion of innovations model provided the best fit to the data and the best prediction of intentions. Implications are suggested for procedures for resolving attitude- and subjective norm-intention indeterminacies in the theory of reasoned action.