Showing papers on "Diffusion of innovations published in 2011"
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review theories for adoption models at the firm level used in information systems literature and discuss two prominent models: diffusion on innovation (DOI) theory, and the technology, organization, and environment (TOE) framework.
Abstract: Today, information technology (IT) is universally regarded as an essential tool in enhancing the competitiveness of the economy of a country. There is consensus that IT has significant effects on the productivity of firms. These effects will only be realized if, and when, IT are widely spread and used. It is essential to understand the determinants of IT adoption. Consequently it is necessary to know the theoretical models. There are few reviews in the literature about the comparison of IT adoption models at the individual level, and to the best of our knowledge there are even fewer at the firm level. This review will fill this gap. In this study, we review theories for adoption models at the firm level used in information systems literature and discuss two prominent models: diffusion on innovation (DOI) theory, and the technology, organization, and environment (TOE) framework. The DOI found that individual characteristics, internal characteristics of organizational structure, and external characteristics of the organization are important antecedents to organizational innovativeness. The TOE framework identifies three aspects of an enterprise's context that influence the process by which it adopts and implements a technological innovation: technological context, organizational context, and environmental context. We made a thorough analysis of the TOE framework, analysing the studies that used only this theory and the studies that combine the TOE framework with other theories such as: DOI, institutional theory, and the Iacovou, Benbasat, and Dexter model. The institutional theory helps us to understand the factors that influence the adoption of interorganizational systems (IOSs); it postulates that mimetic, coercive, and normative institutional pressures existing in an institutionalized environment may influence the organization’s predisposition toward an IT‑based interorganizational system. The Iacovou, Benbasat, and Dexter model, analyses IOSs characteristics that influence firms to adopt IT innovations. It is based on three contexts: perceived benefits, organizational readiness, and external pressure. The analysis of these models takes into account the empirical literature, and the difference between independent and dependent variables. The paper also makes recommendations for future research.
995 citations
TL;DR: There is evidence of contagion operating over network ties, even after controlling for marketing effort and arbitrary systemwide changes, and sociometric and self-reported measures of leadership are weakly correlated and associated with different kinds of adoption-related behaviors.
Abstract: We study how opinion leadership and social contagion within social networks affect the adoption of a new product. In contrast to earlier studies, we find evidence of contagion operating over network ties, even after controlling for marketing effort and arbitrary systemwide changes. More importantly, we also find that the amount of contagion is moderated by both the recipients' perception of their opinion leadership and the sources' volume of product usage. The other key finding is that sociometric and self-reported measures of leadership are weakly correlated and associated with different kinds of adoption-related behaviors, which suggests that they probably capture different constructs. We discuss the implications of these novel findings for diffusion theory and research and for marketing practice.
796 citations
TL;DR: This article reviewed the cultural relationships with the self, personality, and attitude, which are the basis of consumer behavior models and branding and advertising strategies, and the Hofstede model is used to explain variance.
Abstract: Most aspects of consumer behavior are culture-bound. This article reviews the cultural relationships with the self, personality, and attitude, which are the basis of consumer behavior models and branding and advertising strategies. The Hofstede model is used to explain variance. Other consumer behavior aspects reviewed are motivation and emotions, cognitive processes such as abstract versus concrete thinking, categorization and information processing, as well as consumer behavior domains such as product ownership, decision making, and adoption and diffusion of innovations. Implications for global branding and advertising are included.
412 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a framework for identifying systemic problems in innovation systems, which are the determinants of the development and diffusion of innovations, and it provides a framework to identify systemic problems (or failures) in these systems.
Abstract: “Activities” in innovation systems are the determinants of the development and diffusion of innovations. Examples are RD it provides a framework for identification of systemic problems (or failures) in innovation systems.
310 citations
TL;DR: This article found that policy attributes, ranging from the relative advantage of the policy over its predecessors to its complexity to its compatibility with past practices, affect the likelihood of adoption, and that these attributes shape the extent to which spatial adoption patterns and learning mechanisms are relevant to the policy's diffusion.
Abstract: Studies of policy diffusion have given insufficient attention to the role that characteristics of the policies themselves play in determining the speed of policy diffusion and the mechanisms through which diffusion occurs. We adopt Everett Rogers’ (1983, 2004) attribute typology from the diffusion of innovations literature and apply it to a sample of 27 policy innovations from the sphere of criminal justice policy in the U.S. states between 1973 and 2002. We find that policy attributes, ranging from the relative advantage of the policy over its predecessors to its complexity to its compatibility with past practices, affect the likelihood of adoption. Furthermore, policy attributes shape the extent to which spatial adoption patterns and learning mechanisms are relevant to the policy’s diffusion.
180 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focused on the determinants of RFID adoption among a group of early standards adopters and found that top management support, perceived technology costs, and forces within the supply chain exert a significant influen...
Abstract: Purpose – The present study is concerned with the determinants of RFID adoption among a group of early standards adopters. Despite the extensive discussion of the technological characteristics and expected benefits of RFID in the literature, only little is known about the drivers and barriers of RFID implementations in practice. This holds particularly for the later stages of the adoption process after an initial decision in favor of the technology was made. This paper aims to fill this gap by an analysis of a set of factors on the adoption of RFID, which have been shown to be relevant for the adoption of other forms of IT, such as ERP systems and EDI.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a review of prior works, this paper constructs and empirically tests a structural model including factors related to the technology, the organization, and its environment.Findings – The results suggest that top management support, perceived technology costs, and forces within the supply chain exert a significant influen...
124 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that the relationship between inequality and environmental innovation is highly non-linear and crucially depends on per-capita income, and that an excessive inequality harms the development of environmental technologies especially in rich countries.
106 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors hypothesize that the value of different sources of knowledge depends on a teacher's current level of implementation, and test their theory using longitudinal network data from 470 teachers in 13 schools.
Abstract: Although knowledge has been linked to productivity within and between organizations, little is known about how knowledge flows into schools and then diffuses from teacher to teacher within schools. Here, the authors hypothesize that the value of different sources of knowledge depends on a teacher’s current level of implementation. The authors test their theory using longitudinal network data from 470 teachers in 13 schools. From models of change (i.e., first differences) in teachers’ use of computers over a one-year period, the authors infer that the more a teacher at the lowest initial levels of implementing an innovation is exposed to professional development focused on student learning, the more she increases her level of implementation (focus); the more a teacher at an intermediate initial level of implementation has opportunities to experiment and explore, the more she sustains her level of implementation (fiddle); and the more a teacher at a high initial level of implementation accesses the knowledg...
103 citations
01 Dec 2011
TL;DR: This paper focuses on the linear threshold model where each individual requires exposure to (potentially) multiple sources of adoption in her neighborhood before adopting the innovation herself, and bounds suggest that innovations might spread further across networks with a smaller degree of clusters.
Abstract: While social networks do affect diffusion of innovations, the exact nature of these effects are far from clear, and, in many cases, there exist conflicting hypotheses among researchers. In this paper, we focus on the linear threshold model where each individual requires exposure to (potentially) multiple sources of adoption in her neighborhood before adopting the innovation herself. In contrast with the conclusions in the literature, our bounds suggest that innovations might spread further across networks with a smaller degree of clustering. We provide both analytical evidence and simulations for our claims. Finally, we propose an extension for the linear threshold model to better capture the notion of path dependence, i.e., a few minor shocks along the way could alter the course of diffusion significantly.
94 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined how administrative professionals affect the diffusion of one-stop shops in the form of integrated citizen service centres (CSC) in a Danish local government setting.
Abstract: This article examines how administrative professionals affect the diffusion of one-stop shops in the form of integrated citizen service centres (CSC) in a Danish local government setting. CSCs are an example of a new organizational form: functionally integrated small units (FISUs). The diffusion of the CSCs among municipalities is used to analyse how administrative professionals act as drivers in the process of organizational level innovation. Furthermore, it is examined how institutional, political and economic characteristics of municipalities influence the likelihood of adoption. The findings highlight that a high concentration of administrative professionals indeed make the adoption of CSCs more likely. Additionally, the findings confirm three commonly stated hypotheses from the diffusion of innovations literature, namely that need based demands, wealth and the regional supply of CSC increase the likelihood of its adoption.
75 citations
TL;DR: It is found that the compatibility with users' needs and behaviours plays an important role for the intensity of usage of both video sharing and social networking services, while the ease of use positively affects the intensityOf usage of social networking Services, but has a negative effect on the intensityof usage of video sharing services.
TL;DR: Jager et al. as discussed by the authors demonstrate how agent-based models can be a tool for capturing micro-level individuals' underlying decision processes and mimicking dynamic social effects observed at the macro level in the marketplace.
14 Jan 2011
TL;DR: This article found that policy attributes, ranging from the relative advantage of the policy over its predecessors to its complexity to its compatibility with past practices, affect the likelihood of adoption, and that these attributes shape the extent to which spatial adoption patterns and learning mechanisms are relevant to the policy's diffusion.
Abstract: Studies of policy diffusion have given insufficient attention to the role that characteristics of the policies themselves play in determining the speed of policy diffusion and the mechanisms through which diffusion occurs. We adopt Everett Rogers’ (1983, 2004) attribute typology from the diffusion of innovations literature and apply it to a sample of 27 policy innovations from the sphere of criminal justice policy in the U.S. states between 1973 and 2002. We find that policy attributes, ranging from the relative advantage of the policy over its predecessors to its complexity to its compatibility with past practices, affect the likelihood of adoption. Furthermore, policy attributes shape the extent to which spatial adoption patterns and learning mechanisms are relevant to the policy’s diffusion.
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study including semi-structured interviews and the consulting of different documents was used to study how institutions and institutional coordination affect the adoption and diffusion of innovation.
Abstract: Purpose – Public procurement has been increasingly seen as an important innovation policy tool. One neglected aspect of the public procurement of innovation is, however, diffusion. The purpose of this paper is to counter this neglect by exploring how institutional coordination may affect the diffusion of innovations procured by a public agency.Design/methodology/approach – A case study including semi‐structured interviews and the consulting of different documents were used to study how institutions and institutional coordination affect the adoption and diffusion of innovation.Findings – Several endogenous institutions were identified that act as barriers to the diffusion of innovation throughout an organisation. Attempts to re‐design and negate these barriers were also identified.Research limitations/implications – Institutional analysis of innovation has a tendency to be limited to formal and exogenous institutions. The paper underscores the importance of taking into account the endogenous institutional ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify the barriers, challenges, and successes in the adoption of technology training by teacher trainers in Cambodia, based on data collected from an open-ended survey, face-to-face interviews, and document analysis.
Abstract: Drawing on Everett Rogers’s theory of the diffusion of innovations, this article identifies the barriers, challenges, and successes in the adoption of technology training by teacher trainers in Cambodia. The analysis was based on data collected from an open-ended survey, face-to-face interviews, and document analysis. Findings reveal that the biggest challenges to adopting the use of new technologies were hardware incompatibility; complexity; language barriers; the lack of electricity, computers, Internet access, and of practice for trainees; and the inability to understand the advantages of these technologies. Suggestions for technology trainers, policy makers, and project managers are offered in the conclusion.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a unifying theoretical framework for studying media attention, which draws on theoretical concepts and research findings from the sociological literature on the diffusion of innovations, and derive five factors that influence news diffusion from the source location of an event to an adopting medium.
Abstract: Research on media attention has identified a range of factors that determine whether events are covered as news. However, these determinants have been derived mainly inductively and there is a great variety in their nature and number from one study to the next, partly depending on the type of news events studied. This insufficient theoretical grounding limits the possibilities for research on media attention to connect to wider social-science theorizing. We propose a unifying theoretical framework for studying media attention, which draws on theoretical concepts and research findings from the sociological literature on the diffusion of innovations. Following Rogers’ suggestion to see news as a particular type of social innovation, we derive five factors that influence news diffusion from the source location of an event to an adopting medium: event characteristics, homophily between source and adopter, network ties between source and adopter, the power and status of the source, and selective exposure to similar events or to events from the same source. We apply and test this theoretical framework by analysing the coverage of >1,300 earthquakes in the period 1990-2005 in American, British and Dutch newspapers. Our results strongly and consistently support the theoretical expectations.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the broadband digital divide by analyzing the impact of policy and regulation on broadband Internet diffusion in the developed and less developed countries, and they show that in technological developed countries there is greater broadband diffusion in countries that make a higher financial investment in information and communication technologies and have effective governing practices at the national level.
Abstract: We examine the broadband digital divide by analyzing the impact of policy and regulation on broadband Internet diffusion. Our multiple regression analysis shows that factors that determine broadband diffusion in technologically developed countries do not necessarily have the same impact in less developed countries. We show that in technological developed countries, there is greater broadband diffusion in countries that make a higher financial investment in information and communication technologies and have effective governing practices at the national level. In technologically developing nations, however, a competitive telecommunications sector also lead to greater broadband diffusion and higher investment in ICTs has even a larger impact than in the developed world, but the presence of a national telecommunications regulatory authority has a negative impact. In addition, stronger democratic political institutions increases diffusion in the developed world, but more effective governance has no effect. These results suggest that the path to widespread availability and use of broadband requires different strategies depending on a nation’s level of technological development.
TL;DR: Millennials as innovators and early adopters are explored, as well as the five stages of the innovation decision process, and communication through certain channels; over time; and among members of a social system are explored.
Abstract: Purpose – Literature on the features of new technology in libraries of every type and size is readily available, but looking at the factors playing a part in the process (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability) will bring an understanding of how Millennials integrate technology into libraries. This paper seeks to discuss some of the issues involved.Design/methodology/approach – This research focuses on Millennials and their adoption of new technologies in libraries through the process of diffusion and the stages of adoption as outlined by Everett Rogers: communication through certain channels; over time; and among members of a social system. Among these sections, Millennials as innovators and early adopters are explored, as well as the five stages of the innovation decision process.Findings – Libraries have increasingly seen technology become a quick candidate as a solution to nearly every problem existing in the field. Though rapidly suggested as an alternative, the...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effect of policy interventions on the diffusion of wind energy in 25 OECD countries and found that without effective and strong policy interventions, countries will have conventional logistic diffusion with very similar speeds of diffusion.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Knowledge management has been a subject of significant management interest for some 15 years as mentioned in this paper and has been compared to other major management fads such as quality circles and business process reengineering.
Abstract: Knowledge Management has been a subject of significant management interest for some 15 years. During that time it has been subjected to a variety of criticisms including the argument that it is little more than a “fad” — something that catches management’s attention for a while and then fades away because of a lack of sustainability. It has been compared to other major management fads such as quality circles and business process re‑engineering. This paper examines the discipline of Knowledge Management (KM) through the lens of management fashion theory. It demonstrates that KM is not a fad and that it has become an enduring management activity. Management Fashion Theory (Abrahamson and Fairchild, 1999) is an extension of Rogers’ Theory of Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 2003), that takes a skeptical view of business innovations, viewing the discourse about and the diffusion of innovations as a cultural phenomenon rather than a rational decision making process. After a brief introduction to the field of Knowledge Management (KM), a review of the theories of Diffusion of Innovations and Management Fashion is presented, along with a description of the methodology used to apply Management Fashion Theory to the discourse on KM. Bibliometric and content analysis techniques are used to examine publications and discourse in the field from 1990 to 2009. The analysis of discourse on KM demonstrates a significant period of “latency” from the late 1980s to 1994, during which foundational ideas and precursors to KM appear. Then a rapid growth period is identified, from 1995‑2001 during which KM becomes an innovation of interest to most major organizations. Finally, it appears that discourse has settled at a steady state, with no decline apparent. However, detailed analysis has also indentified a potential conflict between the interests of practitioners and researchers, with a separation of the discourse into distinct groups that may have inconsistent views on what is or is not “Knowledge Management”. In summary, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of discourse on KM. It provides bibliometric evidence that there has been a sustained interest in KM that is quite unlike that of other popular management themes over the last 30 years. It raises some questions about the relevance of some of the research being carried out.
TL;DR: This paper identifies by the dialectical systems approach how some concepts, important for development of inventions into innovations can better support requisitely holistic innovative behavior.
Abstract: Purpose – Development or existence of human society depends on innovations and the end of one‐sidedness of behavior. The complexity of innovative processes has been widely studied, yet the success rate is still low. The purpose of this paper is to identify by the dialectical systems approach how some concepts, important for development of inventions into innovations can better support requisitely holistic innovative behavior.Design/methodology/approach – System theory, theory of innovations and social responsibility are used to understand diffusion of innovations as part of the innovative processes.Findings – Many established theories, methods, procedures and standards support innovation management, but its economic success remains poor. Invention‐innovation‐diffusion processes (IIDP) remain poorly managed, especially the non‐technological. The usual approach is too one‐sided. Invention and innovation phases received more attention than the requisitely holistic consideration of the diffusion phase. Social...
Book•
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: Vandwanath et al. as mentioned in this paper presented a mathematical model of the diffusion process of innovative ideas in the context of the adoption and use of new technologies and services in the communication technology adoption process.
Abstract: Contents: Arun Vishwanath/George A. Barnett: Introduction - Arun Vishwanath/Hao Chen: Towards a Comprehensive Understanding of the Innovation-Decision Process - Oscar Peters: Three Theoretical Perspectives on Communication Technology Adoption - Veronika Karnowski/Thilo von Pape/Werner Wirth: Overcoming the Binary Logic of Adoption - Lidwien van de Wijngaert/Harry Bouwman: Theoretical and Methodological Starting Points for a Situational Approach towards the Understanding of the Adoption and Use of New Technologies and Services - George A. Barnett: Mathematical Models of the Diffusion Process - James A. Danowski/Julia Gluesing/Ken Riopelle: The Revolution in Diffusion Theory Caused by New Media - Frank Tutzauer/Kyounghee Hazel Kwon/Benjamin Elbirt: Network Diffusion of Two Competing Ideas - Carolyn A. Lin: Media Substitution: Supplementation, Complementarity, or Displacement? - Arvind Singhal: Turning Diffusion of Innovations Paradigm on Its Head - James W. Dearing/Gary Meyer: The Active Adopter in the Diffusion of Innovations.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, a survey was conducted to identify the factors that have an impact on the adoption of Facebook among youths and to enhance the understanding of the diffusion of Facebook in Malaysia.
Abstract: The popularity of social media has invited questions about how and why people use Facebook. With its ability to allow users to post or change their content, Facebook has emerged as the most pervasive and the most personal of the new media. It has generated questions about the factors that influence users to adopt or reject it and about the their level of involvement in the “Facebook community.” The decision to adopt or reject Facebook is subject to a wide variety of factors. Past researchers have shown that social variables such as peer support or peer pressure, shared values, and mentors influenced people’s choices regarding new innovations and technologies. Through a survey method, this paper seeks to address the factors that have an impact on the adoption of Facebook among youths and to enhance our understanding of the diffusion of Facebook in Malaysia. Results indicated that youths were influenced by peer pressure to use Facebook. Spending time on Facebook appears to be part of the daily routine of most Malaysian youth.
TL;DR: It is noted that social contagion may occur for many reasons and that investigating how various personal or group characteristics moderate the amount of influence some customers exert or the extent to which others are sensitive to potential influence can provide insights into the social mechanism(s) at work.
Abstract: Building on the commentaries on our work, we make additional suggestions for future research on social contagion and new product diffusion. In particular, we note that social contagion may occur for many reasons and that investigating how various personal or group characteristics moderate the amount of influence some customers exert or the extent to which others are sensitive to potential influence can provide insights into the social mechanism(s) at work.
TL;DR: In this paper, the adoption of a new technology, by following an improved cookstove implementation program carried out by a Mexican NGO, was documented through a qualitative research methodology, and the authors found that the adoption rates did not change between the first and the second stage of the project, even though the approach towards users was very different.
TL;DR: In this paper, the characteristics of US colleges and universities that were early adopters of post-1970 academic growth fields were investigated, examining hypotheses drawn from four analytical perspectives on sources of organizational change: organizational ecology, inter-institutional stratification, demographic composition and historical traditions.
Abstract: This paper investigates the characteristics of US colleges and universities that were early adopters of post-1970 academic growth fields. It examines hypotheses drawn from four analytical perspectives on sources of organizational change: organizational ecology, inter-institutional stratification, demographic composition, and historical traditions. Focusing on 20 “newly established” and “emerging” growth fields, we find strong support for density-dependence and organizational size as influences on early adoption for all fields, as well as support for institutional status variables as influences on the early adoption of new liberal arts and basic sciences fields.
TL;DR: The authors explored the diffusion of four innovative foster care policies across 384 counties in five states between 1995 and 2006 and found that the initial innovativeness arising from the market competition of privatization is counterbalanced by learning across public diffusion networks.
Abstract: The privatization of government services tends to bring about a more rapid adoption of innovative policies due to the competitive pressures of the market. In federal systems, however, the diffusion of innovations across subnational governments may offset such benefits of privatization. In this study, we test whether county governments that have privatized their provision of foster care services are more or less likely to adopt policy innovations and more or less likely to learn from the policies of other counties than are those that have resisted privatization. We explore the diffusion of four innovative foster care policies across 384 counties in five states between 1995 and 2006. We find that the initial innovativeness arising from the market competition of privatization is counterbalanced by learning across public diffusion networks.
TL;DR: The authors found that the measure of human relatedness that is relevant to explain international technology diffusion is genetic distance relative to the world technological frontier (relative frontier distance), which is consistent with long-term historical relatedness acting as a barrier to technology adoption.
Abstract: We document an empirical relationship between the cross-country adoption of technologies and the degree of long-term historical relatedness between human populations. Historical relatedness is measured using genetic distance, a measure of the time since two populations’ last common ancestors. We find that the measure of human relatedness that is relevant to explain international technology diffusion is genetic distance relative to the world technological frontier (“relative frontier distance”). This evidence is consistent with long-term historical relatedness acting as a barrier to technology adoption: societies that are more distant from the technological frontier tend to face higher imitation costs. The results can help explain current differences in total factor productivity and income per capita across countries.
TL;DR: The purpose of this paper is to introduce Social Network Analysis (SNA) which provides the tools to investigate the relations by taking into account the naturalistic or self-reported data.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors take advantage of an exogenous shift towards patenting in chemicals to test whether patents contribute to the geographic diffusion of innovations and find that innovative activity became less localized after patenting rates increased.
Abstract: This article takes advantage of an exogenous shift towards patenting in chemicals to test whether patents contribute to the geographic diffusion of innovations. Data on U.S. innovations that were exhibited at four world fairs between 1851 and 1915 suggest that innovative activity became less localized after patenting rates increased. These changes cannot be explained by changes in the localization of chemical production or economy-wide changes in the localization of innovations.