Showing papers on "Diffusion of innovations published in 2012"

Health systems, systems thinking and innovation.

Abstract: Health systems play a critically important role in improving health. Well-functioning health systems enable achievement of good health with efficient use of available resources. Effective health systems also enable responsiveness to legitimate expectations of citizens and fairness of financing. By helping produce good health effectively, health systems also contribute to economic growth (McKee et al. 2009). Well-functioning health systems are critical in mounting effective responses to emerging public health emergencies, and addressing burden of disease, ill health and poverty due to communicable (Coker et al. 2004) and non-communicable diseases and cancers (Farmer et al. 2010; Samb et al. 2010). A number of factors influence ways in which health systems achieve good health efficiently. These factors include the capacity of both individuals and institutions within health systems, continuity of stewardship, ability to seize opportunities, and contextual characteristics such as path-dependency, sociocultural beliefs, economic set up, and history of the country concerned (Balabanova et al. 2011). However, ‘linking good health and successful health systems, in particular how health systems might be distinguished from other determinants of health, or ultimately how health systems are linked to good health, has proved challenging’ (Chen 2012). A further challenge relates to understanding how innovations (such as new policies, new knowledge and novel technologies) can be effectively introduced in health systems and how these innovations interact with health system variables to influence health outcomes. Resource scarcity, coupled with global economic crisis, has necessitated adoption of innovations in health systems to sustain effective responses and improvements in health outcomes. Yet, weak health systems hinder adoption and diffusion of innovations. Evidence-informed guidance and policies are needed to strengthen health systems and improve their receptiveness to innovations. However, there is limited understanding on how best to develop health system guidance and to translate it to policy while accounting for the complexity of health systems and varied contexts in which health systems are embedded (Lavis et al. 2012). There is also limited understanding of why many well-intentioned policies and managerial decisions aimed at improving health systems do not achieve desired outcomes, but lead to unexpected or unintended consequences. One explanation for this phenomenon is that too often the tools used for analysing health systems and the heuristics used to generate managerial decisions are too simplistic for health systems that are complex. Inadequately considered interventions often upset the equilibrium within complex systems to resist such interventions, leading to ‘policy resistance’. This paper briefly discusses health systems and dynamic complexity. It examines complex adaptive systems created through the dynamic interaction of evolving contexts, health systems and institutions within health systems. The paper explores, through illustrative case studies, how adoption and diffusion of innovations are influenced in complex adaptive systems created through interaction between innovations, institutions, health systems and contexts, using a framework that helps unpack complexity, and enables systems thinking when developing solutions to address factors that hinder or enable adoption and diffusion of innovations in health systems.

Supply chain innovation diffusion: going beyond adoption

Abstract: Purpose – A comprehensive evaluation of the constructs that contribute to the incorporation of a supply chain innovation into an organization is markedly absent in the literature. Even in academic fields where the post‐adoption diffusion stages of acceptance, routinization, and assimilation are often investigated, no study integrates these constructs and their constituent dimensions into a unified framework. In addition, these post‐adoption activities are largely ignored in the supply chain innovation literature. This paper aims to integrate extant literature regarding acceptance, routinization, and assimilation for the purpose of clarifying the definitions and identifying the dimensions of each construct to provide guidance to scholars who are investigating innovation diffusion in the supply chain.Design/methodology/approach – Through the lens of diffusion of innovation theory, a broad base of literature both within and beyond the scope of traditional supply chain management (SCM) journals is considered ...

Implementing large-scale quality improvement: lessons from The Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care.

Abstract: – This paper aims to focus on facilitating large‐scale quality improvement in health care, and specifically understanding more about the known challenges associated with implementation of lean innovations: receptivity, the complexity of adoption processes, evidence of the innovation, and embedding change Lessons are drawn from the implementation of The Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care™ programme in English hospitals, – The study upon which the paper draws was a mixed‐method evaluation that aimed to capture the perceptions of three main stakeholder groups: national‐level policymakers (15 semi‐structured interviews); senior hospital managers (a national web‐based survey of 150 staff); and healthcare practitioners (case studies within five hospitals involving 58 members of staff) The views of these stakeholder groups were analysed using a diffusion of innovations theoretical framework to examine aspects of the innovation, the organisation, the wider context and linkages, – Although The Productive Ward was widely supported, stakeholders at different levels identified varying facilitators and challenges to implementation Key issues for all stakeholders were staff time to work on the programme and showing evidence of the impact on staff, patients and ward environments, – To support implementation, policymakers should focus on expressing what can be gained locally using success stories and guidance from “early adopters” Service managers, clinical educators and professional bodies can help to spread good practice and encourage professional leadership and support Further research could help to secure support for the programme by generating evidence about the innovation, and specifically its clinical effectiveness and broader links to public expectations and experiences of healthcare, – This paper draws lessons from the implementation of The Productive Ward programme in England, which can inform the implementation of other large‐scale programmes of quality improvement in health care

Punctuated Equilibrium Theory and the Diffusion of Innovations

Abstract: This article builds on punctuated equilibrium theory to evaluate the diffusion of public policy innovations in the United States. The article argues that punctuated equilibrium theory provides a unifying framework for understating three mechanisms leading to the diffusion of innovations: gradual policy diffusion driven by incremental policy emulation, rapid state-to-state diffusion driven by policy imitation and mimicking, and nearly immediate policy diffusion driven by state-level responses to a common exogenous shock. Drawing upon the Bass mixed influence diffusion model, this research generates measures of the coefficients of external and internal influences for diffusion for 81 public policy innovations that have spread across the United States. The article then evaluates how the policy image and direct participation of the federal government contribute to distinct patterns of diffusion over time.

Translating Research into Practice in Nursing Homes: Can We Close the Gap?

Abstract: This paper addresses a question that continues to challenge researchers, practitioners, and regulators: How do we translate what has been learned from research into daily practice in nursing homes (NHs)? Numerous studies and reports have documented this translation gap in a wide range of NH care areas (Chu, Schnelle, Cadogan, & Simmons, 2004; Schnelle et al., 2003; Simmons et al., 2003; Thakur & Blazer, 2008). The literature also identifies numerous reasons for this gap. Lack of staff knowledge, high turnover rates, understaffing, inconsistent regulatory practices, poor or no financial incentives to improve care, and weak management caused in part by inaccurate information systems—all have been cited and examined in the literature as barriers to evidence-based practice in NHs (Donoghue, 2010; Harrington et al., 2000; Jones et al., 2004; Wiener, 2003). Another reason for the gap is that we have only limited evidence about the best ways to translate NH research in to day-to-day practice. As we discuss in this review article, a number of researchers, funders, and improvement advocates currently are engaged in translating research into practice in NHs, in the United States as well as other countries, including Europe (Meesterberends, Halfens, Lohrmann, & de Wit, 2010), Canada (Estabrooks et al., 2009), and Australia (Bartlett & Boldy, 2001). Although a few case studies have profiled facets of their work (Yuan et al., 2010) and other studies have called for improved dissemination of best practices (Ouslander, 2007), none has critically analyzed the translation process, that is, the steps or approaches these change agents take to disseminate evidence-based practices by NH providers. This represents a missed opportunity: A thoughtful evidence-based approach to translation could mitigate the hampering effects of NHs’ organizational barriers to change, making large-scale improvements more likely. Such an approach is also fiscally prudent at a time when funders are looking for results from their substantial development investments in new care interventions. This review aims to fill this knowledge gap by examining NH translation efforts through Rogers’ conceptual model for disseminating new interventions (Rogers, 2003; see also Gladwell, 2002; Green & Kreuter, 1999; Rowe, de Savigny, Lanata, & Victora, 2005; Titler, 2008). In his text, The Diffusion of Innovations (Fifth Edition), Rogers (2003, p. 6) describes innovation dissemination as a process that leads to “social change.” For the purposes of this paper, effective translation strategies are those strategies, actions, and programs that lead to the adoption of evidence-based or recommended practices that in turn are associated with change, as measured by improvements in NH processes or outcomes. Rogers further describes innovation dissemination as a process involving four elements: (a) an innovation (e.g., a new or previously untried idea or practice) disseminated to (b) members of a social system via (c) a communications channel (d) over time. Research across multiple disciplines has led to a body of general evidence-based principles about how innovations spread through this process. The findings also show that each dissemination area influences the other elements of the process. Thus, for example, an innovation’s attributes can influence how quickly it is adopted; similarly, characteristics of a target group can affect its intervention adoption rate (Rogers, 2003). Because the four elements are interrelated, how the dissemination process works in practice depends on the specific context (Rowe et al., 2005; Titler, 2008); an innovation that works in one environment may perform differently in another. With this in mind, this review’s first section discusses the four-part dissemination process as it applies to known characteristics of the NH system in the United States. This allows us to make some initial assumptions about the ability of NHs to adopt new interventions and to gain insight into how external change agents—those NH researchers, advocates, funders, and policy makers working to bridge the gap between research and practice—should structure their work for best results. We then assess the extent to which this group’s present efforts align with key principles of innovation dissemination. In part two, we discuss strategies for strengthening the work of change agents.

Understanding Contingencies Associated with the Early Adoption of Customer-Facing Web Portals

Abstract: Web-based portals extend many convenient and collaborative capabilities to consumers and are being adopted by small firms with ever greater frequency, especially in the context of health care. The early adoption of patient portals by ambulatory-care clinics outpatient health providers presents a unique opportunity to more fully understand the characteristics of supply-side adopters in a context where firms ambulatory-care clinics are extending digital services to consumers patients. Using diffusion of innovations literature and contingency theory as the theoretical base, we expand upon the firm characteristics traditionally considered to be predictors of adoption e.g., firm size, slack resources, competition, capabilities, and management support and examine how demand contingencies, service contingencies, and learning externality contingencies affect patient portal adoption by ambulatory-care clinics in the United States. We find that early adopters often have a structure in place that provides support for innovations e.g., part of integrated delivery systems, as would be predicted by diffusion of innovation theory. We also find, though, that service contingencies associated with continuity of care, learning externality contingencies associated with local influences, and select demand contingencies associated with the local market significantly influence patient portal adoption decisions. Our findings suggest that the adoption and diffusion of patient portals may be affected by more than traditionally considered "dominant" firm characteristics and provide insights into how such customer-facing systems may be affected by contingent factors.

Facebook and the Diffusion of Innovation in New Zealand Public Libraries.

Abstract: The decision by public libraries in New Zealand to implement Facebook has been uneven. Using Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory, a survey of nine public libraries investigated the process of i...

Assessing the Adoption of e-Government Services by Teachers in Greece

Abstract: Technological developments and governments’ understanding of what citizens need usually determine the design of public online services. For successful implementation of e-Government services, governments have to place the user in the center of future developments, understand what citizens need and measure what increases citizens’ willingness to adopt e-government services. The paper uses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the extended TAM, the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory and the important determinants of user acceptance perceived risk and trust, in order to describe teachers’ behavioral intensions to adopt e-Government services. A model containing trust and risk, along with cognitive, social and intrinsic factors is used to study the intentions of e-Government use by Greek primary and secondary education teachers. Two hundred and thirty teachers responded to an online survey. Findings reveal that cognitive and intrinsic factors have significant effects on intentions to use e-Government websites.

Broadband Adoption| Measuring Sustainable Broadband Adoption: An Innovative Approach to Understanding Broadband Adoption and Use

Abstract: Efforts to promote sustainable broadband Internet adoption urge new attention to the classic diffusion of innovations paradigm. For this study, innovation attributes were reconceptualized following Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). In a sample of inner-city residents, the model accounted for 36% of the variance in intentions to adopt broadband technology and services, primarily from the SCT variables of expected outcomes and self-efficacy. Prior habitual use of the Internet was also a predictor. Price sensitivity was unrelated to adoption. Among demographic variables, only age had a significant (negative) relationship to broadband adoption after accounting for the SCT variables. Recommendations for the design and monitoring of sustainable broadband adoption interventions are made based on these findings.

"Learning" from other industries: lessons and challenges for health care organizations.

Abstract: Although it is true that health care has several distinguishing characteristics that set it apart, analysts both within and outside the industry point to several similarities with other fields and suggest opportunities for health care to learn from other industries. Applications from other industries have been described in the literature, but the transfer of learning at health care industry level has not been examined. This article investigates health care learning from other industries in the recent decade, focusing on aviation, high-reliability organizations, car manufacturing, telecommunication, car racing, entertainment, and retail; evidence suggests that most innovative practices originate with these fields. The diffusion of innovations from other industries appears to start with a few early adopter organizations (hospitals and health systems) and influential other organizations (The Joint Commission, Institute of Medicine, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or Institute for Healthcare Improvement) pushing for the innovations. Once the trend becomes accepted, consultants and copying behavior seem to contribute to its spread across the industry. An important question to explore is whether the applications in the early adopter organizations are different (in terms of their effectiveness) from those in the rest of the industry. Another intriguing issue is to examine whether other industries learn from health care organizations.

Innovation Diffusion: Assessment of Strategies Within the DIFFUSION SIMULATION GAME

Abstract: Educators increasingly view the high level of engagement and experiential learning offered by games as a means to promote learning. However, as with any designed learning experience, player experiences should provide an accurate representation of content to be learned. In this study, the authors investigated the DIFFUSION SIMULATION GAME (DSG) to assess the consistency of strategies effective in the game with those implied to be effective by the diffusion of innovations theory on which the game is based. They analyzed records from 2,361 completed game sessions of the DSG and compared successful and unsuccessful strategies. They further compared successful gameplay strategies with strategies suggested by the diffusion of innovations theory. The data analysis indicated that four of the seven winning strategies were inconsistent with what the theory predicts. However, this conclusion is tentative, given limitations of temporal detail in available data. These limitations imply how data should be collected to better investigate strategies that result in successful DSG gameplay. In addition, the study provides a case in which objective methods were used to analyze patterns of gameplay and offers insight on how data should be collected to analyze patterns more effectively.

Innovative converged service and its adoption, use and diffusion: a holistic approach to diffusion of innovations, combining adoption-diffusion and use-diffusion paradigms

Abstract: This study takes a holistic approach to understanding the diffusion of IPTV services by combining the adoption-diffusion model and the use-diffusion model of innovation. IPTV service, a leading converged application that couples media content with telecom services, was recently launched commercially in Korea. We created a structural model of adoption-diffusion, using the perceived ease-of-use and usefulness of TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) as mediating variables, and a structural model of usediffusion, with the rate of use and the variety of use as mediating variables. To empirically analyze these models, non-users of IPTV were surveyed using the adoptiondiffusion model to identify factors influencing their intention to subscribe to the service. Meanwhile, users of IPTV were surveyed using the use-diffusion model to determine the factors that influence their satisfaction with the service and their intention to re-use it. Under the adoption-diffusion model, we found that trialability, househol...

Educator and Institutional Entrepreneur: Cooperative Extension and the Building of Localized Food Systems

Abstract: Cooperative Extension Service educators work within an established network of offices throughout the United States and have the potential to tap both structural and relationship networks to foster collaboration and catalyze institutional change in food systems. The prerequisites and processes to generate systemic change, however, challenge the established logic of information transfer that has dominated Extension Service practice. This paper considers the nature of Extension's engagement in food systems both conceptually and in practice, based on a two-year train-the-trainer professional development project in North Carolina designed to support the emergence of local food systems. Extension initiatives are examined in light of two social change models: diffusion of innovations, based on knowledge transfer and spatial diffusion; and institutional change, based on inter-organizational relationships and mutually held cultural understandings. We suggest that the work of food systems change is more usefully viewed through an institutional lens, with extension educators serving as "institutional entrepreneurs" to address and leverage the concerns of the communities in which they are embedded into lasting food system change.

Muslim Consumers' Perception on Internet Banking Services

Abstract: This study aims to analyze the Muslim consumers’ adopters’ category pertaining to adoption process, banking activities and perceptions on the Internet banking attributes. It also examines whether the demographic factors, products characteristics and categories of adopters influence the usage of Internet banking in the context of Rogers (1983) diffusion of innovations model. Using convenience sampling, a sample of 100 Malay respondents was interviewed in the period of two weeks in Kuala Terengganu. Many researches have been conducted on Internet banking but studies that focuses on Muslims consumers’ adoption of Internet banking remains scarce. The data were then analyzed by looking for adopters’ category, banking activities and Muslims consumers’ perception on the service attributes. The results revealed that the majority of Muslim consumers have not used Internet banking. However, the future of Internet banking is promising as many of the Muslim consumers fall in the early adopters and early majority. In addition, the majority of the respondents also indicated that they intent to use Internet banking service in the future. These findings would have significant implications for Internet banking providers. Key word: Internet banking, perceptions, adoption and Muslim consumers

Using the Bass Model to Analyze the Diffusion of Innovations at the Base of the Pyramid

Abstract: This research note proposes the Bass Model as an empirical tool for analyzing the diffusion of new product and service innovations in Base of the Pyramid (BoP) markets. This approach allows researchers to test whether factors that seem theoretically relevant to the speed and trajectory of adoption actually matter empirically. The authors model the growth of three BoP success stories using the Bass Model: Patrimonio Hoy, e-Choupal, and Grameen’s Village Phone. In two of the three cases considered, the Bass Model estimates confirm Diffusion Theory predictions, but generate additional insight by quantifying the strength of the identified effects. In the case of Patrimonio Hoy, the Bass Model estimates conflict with the predictions of Diffusion Theory. Sorting out this paradox demonstrates the Bass Model’s potential to identify conflicting influences on consumer adoption, and measure how the relative strength of these competing forces nets out to determine the course of consumer adoption.

Diffusion of Innovations: Communication Evolution and Influences

Abstract: Diffusion of innovations research has altered the research trajectories of those in the field of communication. In this article, the authors briefly explore the evolution of diffusion research, in terms of theoretical influences and applied research advances, and then address how the evolution of diffusion of innovations provided the impetus for a communication discipline identity search. An explication of how diffusion of innovations can be viewed as mechanistically affecting media convergence is presented. This piece closes with a call to return to diffusion research, especially given the face of current communication vehicles and media convergence.

Diffusion of Information in Social Networks: Is It All Local?

Abstract: Recent studies on the diffusion of information in social networks have largely focused on models based on the influence of local friends. In this paper, we challenge the generalizability of this approach and revive theories introduced by social scientists in the context of diffusion of innovations to model user behavior. To this end, we study various diffusion models in two different online social networks, Digg and Twitter. We first evaluate the applicability of two representative local influence models and show that the behavior of most social networks users are not captured by these local models. Next, driven by theories introduced in the diffusion of innovations research, we introduce a novel diffusion model called Gaussian Logit Curve Model (GLCM) that models user behavior with respect to the behavior of the general population. Our analysis shows that GLCM captures user behavior significantly better than local models, especially in the context of Digg. Aiming to capture both the local and global signals, we introduce various hybrid models and evaluate them through statistical methods. Our methodology models each user separately, automatically determining which users are driven by their local relations and which users are better defined through adopter categories, therefore capturing the complexity of human behavior.

A model of intention to use mobile government services

Abstract: The aim of this research was to develop and validate a model which was designed to be useful for many countries considering delivery of mobile government (m-Government) services as the literature had not revealed any comprehensive model that is specifically used in the m-Government services context. The existence of this gap encouraged this research to empirically test and validate the combination of the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) model and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as well as external variables including Perceived Security, Perceived Trustworthiness, Perceived Enjoyment and Personal Innovativeness. Therefore, in order to fill the gap, this research developed a validated Model with relevant hypotheses which was tested for its predictive value.

Experiences of new faculty implementing research-based instructional strategies

Abstract: As part of an ongoing study to better understand and improve the diffusion of research-based pedagogies, we are following 15 faculty for 5 semesters after attending the Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop. In this paper we report on the experiences of these faculty the first semester after the workshop. Faculty were interviewed both before and after the semester. Instructional artifacts and course outcome data were also collected. We discuss how the New Faculty Workshop experience impacted these faculty, the concerns and challenges the faculty encountered and how these faculty report spending their time. Implications for the diffusion of innovations are discussed.

Current Trends in Childhood Obesity Research

Abstract: Childhood obesity is a global health issue. To identify research trends and gaps of childhood obesity research, we reviewed MEDLINE publications from January 2011 to May 2012 and qualitatively analyzed the major domains and themes of research focus. Major domains are: measurements, obesity correlates, prevention interventions, treatment interventions, and policy issues. Key advances and innovations are highlighted within each domain. Emerging areas include the advancement of measurement methodologies that simultaneously capture individual and contextual information across time, analysis of policy problems, and the development of multilevel, community interventions. However, few effective and sustainable interventions are exemplified; some strategies are promising. Recommendations for future research includes the adoption of a systems approach that integrates individual, environmental, and policy change, the scale up and diffusion of innovations, studies of intended and unintended policy impacts, and the design and testing of effective social marketing strategies.

Has open source software been institutionalized in organizations or not

Abstract: Context: Almost a decade ago, researchers in information systems and analysts of the information technology (IT) industry were predicting a bright future for open source software (OSS). Recent examples appear to lend support to this, but there exist many detractors of OSS and resistance to the transformation it creates. Thus, it is relevant to take a closer look at the institutionalization of OSS. Objective: This paper evaluates the extent of OSS institutionalization in organizations. A practice or innovation is said to be institutionalized when it is taken-for-granted and its use becomes the norm. Method: Drawing on institutional theory, the underlying concept of organizing vision and the rhetorical theory of diffusion of innovations, we analyze OSS institutionalization through the observation of the evolution of the public discourse about OSS and, simultaneously, the observation of the rate of adoption or diffusion of OSS in organizations. Results: OSS has become institutionalized for many back-end applications and is gradually becoming institutionalized for some front-end applications, mainly in small and medium enterprises but also in organizations in the financial, publishing, education, government and public sectors. Using the rhetorical theory of diffusion of innovations in tandem with the concept of organizing vision, we provide a deep understanding of the institutionalization of OSS by showing that it has not only diffused among organizations, but is also taken-for-granted in thought and social action. The positive tone and prominence of the public discourse on OSS have an important role to play in its institutionalization. Conclusion: The institutionalization of OSS in organizations cannot be underestimated by IT and business executives as well as key players in the IT industry. Future research efforts should be pursued and directed toward the institutionalization of particular OSS applications in a variety of industries and geographic regions.

Measuring Pre-Adoptive Behaviors Toward Individual Willingness to Use IT Innovations

Abstract: This study explored some of the critical success factors at the individual level for usage of Personal Web Server (PWS) systems. We tested core assumptions from Diffusion Of Innovations (DOI; Rogers, 2003) theory for willingness to use new technologies, and used some key concepts from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, Bagnozzi, & Warshaw, 1989; Venkatesh, Speier, & Morris, 2002) to reinforce DOI. Statistical analyses revealed that relative advantage, complexity, and trialability were all significant predictors of willingness to use a new technology, and identified compelling interactions among these key DOI factors.

Use of Diffusion of Innovations Theory in Medical Informatics Research

Abstract: The authors examine the use of tenets of diffusion of innovations theory in the medical informatics literature to reveal how the theory has and can continue to provide a basis for scholars seeking to align their research with the theory. A content analysis method was used to examine over 2,000 journal articles from the fields of medical informatics, medicine, and information systems. The authors found that tenets of diffusion of innovations theory were prevalent in the literature. Although several theories are useful in explaining phenomenon in the domain of medical informatics, diffusion of innovation is one such theory that can be applicable to a vast amount of medical informatics research that is focused on new technologies or work processes.

Negating Nodes and Liquid Fragmentation: Extending Conversations of Diffusion, Social Networks, and Fragmentation

Abstract: This article proposes updated approaches to 2 key areas of communication research: diffusion of innovations and fragmentation modeling. Exploring a possible gap in node modeling may provide insights for updated approaches to these and other areas of communication research. A case is made here for further research into the implications digitized communication technologies and platforms and their users have on the explanatory and predictive nature of traditional diffusion as well as their impact on social networks bound by strong and weak ties. Against the backdrops of network theory—particularly strong and weak ties—and a related fragmentation model, this article urges scholarly exploration of updated network behaviors and their possible influence on at least one related area of communication research.

Locating research in agricultural innovation trajectories: Evidence and implications from empirical cases from South Asia

Abstract: Agricultural innovation is a process that takes a multitude of different forms, and, within this process, agricultural research and expertise are mobilised at different points in time for different purposes. This paper uses two key analytical principles to establish how research is actually put into use. The first, which concerns the configurations of organisations and their relationships associated with innovation, reveals the additional set of resources and expertise that research needs to be married to, and sheds light on the types of arrangements that allow this marriage to take place. The second, which concerns understanding innovation as a path-dependent, contextually shaped trajectory unfolding over time, reveals the changing role of research during the course of events associated with the development and diffusion of products, services and institutional innovations. This paper examines the efforts of the Research Into Use programme funded by the UK Department for International Development that sought to explore the agricultural research-into-use question empirically.

The spatial and temporal diffusion of stylistic innovations in material culture

Abstract: Many explanations for the sigmoid or S-shaped curves that characterize the diffusion of innovations through time have been proposed. Recent studies demonstrate that social learning mechanisms, including conformist strategies, and heterogeneous adoption thresholds related to economic inequality and the decreasing cost of goods can generate these S-shaped cumulative frequency curves. The present study of a regional material culture sequence expands our inquiry concerning the underlying social forces that structure diffusion through both space and time. Using historic New England gravestones and their associated documents, this study considers both cultural transmission between stone carvers and consumer choices. Social learning among consumers can generate both wave-like diffusion patterns through space and lead to the persistence of cultural variants in certain locales.