Diffusion of innovations

About: Diffusion of innovations is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2139 publications have been published within this topic receiving 191397 citations. The topic is also known as: diffusion of innovation & diffusion of innovations theory.

The need for systems change: reflections on knowledge translation and organizational change.

Abstract: Title. The need for systems change: reflections on knowledge translation and organizational change. Background. Despite over 40 years’ work on general systems theory, informed by critical social science, there is a mismatch between the theories used to explain and influence clinical practice in nursing and the way in which transferring new knowledge into practice is articulated. Data sources. The analysis and emerging propositions were based on a critique of seminal texts published in English up to 2008 covering critical social science, action science, diffusion of innovations, practice development and the management of innovations. Discussion. There is an implicit adherence to the world view that healthcare systems operate like machines, and much of the science generated around knowledge translation research tends to be logico-deductive. This is in direct contrast to the prevailing arguments of general systems theorists, who view the system more as an organism. Five propositions are posited: knowledge translation is a necessary but not sufficient mechanism to transform systems; the ‘system-as-machine’ metaphor is profoundly unhelpful to knowledge translation; the healthcare system is best viewed as a complex entity; successful innovation is a function of the level of local autonomy experienced by individuals, teams and the unit involved; innovation is most effective when it involves key stakeholders. Conclusion. The purposeful integration of systems theory with knowledge translation theories and models may enable the application of research and new knowledge to practice to be speeded up.

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.

Profiling the Adopters of E-Government Information and Services

Abstract: This exploratory study examines the effects of nondemographic characteristics on the adoption of e-government services in the United States combining two main theoretical perspectives: diffusion of innovations and the technology acceptance model. The results of a national survey suggest that nondemographic audience characteristics influence e-government adoption. The study adds to previous research in the area by identifying several sociopsychological characteristics that play a role in the adoption process: perceived usefulness, perceived uncertainty, and civic mindedness. The study also ascertains the influence of interpersonal communication and mass media channels on e-government adoption. Theoretical implications for future researchers and policy implications for producers of governmental web sites are discussed.

Innovation and reinvention in state policymaking: theory and the evolution of living will laws.

Abstract: Most research on the diffusion of policy innovations focuses on the date of adoption and its correlates. This research examines an aspect of innovation which has received little attention: policy reinvention during the initial diffusion process and through amendment. The central proposition is that even though a set of laws or policies may be grouped into one broad, general category, states create substantively different policies through reinvention, which has important consequences for groups affected by the legislation. Hypotheses concerning the relationship between date of adoption and policy content and the effect of particular controversial policy provisions on reinventions are examined. The study has general implications for the study of the diffusion of innovations and policy in state politics.