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.

Linking Regional Knowledge Laboratory and Growth of smes – Empirical Investigation in Southern Region of Poland

Abstract: The regional knowledge laboratory, being a part of the regional innovation system, impacts the regional innovation potential of regional firms, especially SMEs. Diffusion of innovations consists of the penetration of innovative solutions into the whole social and economic system, the result of which is a change in its functioning and overall development. The process of diffusion of innovations in a sense forces the innovativeness of the competing enterprises by necessitating their adaptation to the changing conditions of the environment. Diffusion of innovations is a determinant of the growth and development of enterprises, especially those of the SME sector. The paper is an attempt to empirically verifythe dependence between the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and the innovative potential of the studied region. Due to utilitarian reasons, the region was defined in accordance with the European statistical terminology (NUTS1 – regions in the total number of 6) as the area of two administration regions (NUTS2 – voivodeships in the total number of 16): malopolskie and śląskie, which makes of one statistical regional (PL2 – Southern Region of Poland). The empirical material was based on a random sample of 109 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises located in the studied region. With the use of computer statistical tools, the hypothesis made in the paper was confirmed, namely that the level of commercialization of knowledge and the transfer of technology in the studied region influences the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Innovation by Dissent: Theorizing the Innovation Strategies of Public-Sector Professionals in the Context of Complex Innovation

Abstract: This article presents a new theory of innovation by dissent to conceptualize the strategies of innovating professionals in the context of nonadministrative complex innovation. It constructs these strategies as three dissent options—exit, voice, and loyalty—that innovating professionals use in relation to their organizations and professions. The resulting matrix of nine possible strategies adds to existing conceptual instruments that address the strategies of innovating professionals. The case of the diffusion of natural childbirthing in Ukraine illustrates the usefulness of the new theory, which expands the organizational dissent literature by offering a more nuanced description of dissent strategies.

Persuasive Pressures in the Adoption of E-Government

Abstract: In this paper, we describe the diffusion of personalized services among municipalities in the Netherlands over the period 2006-2010 and investigate how and why various municipalities adopted personalized electronic services. Using qualitative data gathered in fifty interviews in ten selected Dutch municipalities, we synthesize the findings in an explanatory model of personalized electronic service delivery diffusion. The model shows how persuasive pressure (as perceived by adopters) is followed-up by organizational search activities, and how, in various circumstances, the idea of personalized services is ‘framed’ by innovation champions, knowledge brokers and new members of staff as to appeal to specific organizational priorities and ambitions. In doing so, this article contributes to an institutional view on adoption and diffusion of innovations, in which (1) horizontal and vertical channels of persuasion and (2) human agency, rather than technological opportunity and rational cost-benefit considerations, account for actual diffusion of innovations.

Innovations spread more like wildfires than like infections

Abstract: Conventional theory says that innovations first diffuse slowly, then at faster paces, and finally at asymptotically declining rates. Economists and others explain such behavior with a variety of logistic models. Early models like the contagion model derive their predictive power from reliance on the history of the variables they are trying to predict. New social learning models improve the dynamics of diffusion across heterogeneous populations, while other studies propose various modifications. However, these extensions of the logistic and related models are still too orderly in structure and outcome. In reality one can expect both order from disorder and disorder from order. The argument of this paper is that innovations spread more like wild fire than like systematic epidemics. This analogy is no mere conjecture; some environments are more susceptible to catching fire than others. Just as the rate of the spread of fire is a function of fuel and other factors, so too is the spread of innovations, only that in the latter case the fuel is human population. Human population in general is a necessary fodder for the spread of innovations. The sufficient condition is the quality of the population which can favor or disfavor the spread of innovations, which explains why there are some random chances of finding islands untouched by fire surrounded by a sea of fire devastation.

Technology for Rural Telecenters In India: A Model and Exploratory Study of Diffusion of Information For Telecenter Use and Sustainability

Abstract: In this paper, we use key concepts in strategic management, such as value, and use the conceptual framework of diffusion of innovations to understand factors underlying the lack of demand for rural telecenters. We present a background of ICT use in rural areas, examining both the prospects and current situation. We then develop a framework that explains rural telecenter performance using literature from strategic management, and information systems (notably diffusion of innovation). We then present the results of a pilot study of farmers in India who used/did not use ICT telecenters. We chose India as it has a large number of the world’s poor, and is pioneering in the use of technology in rural areas and has by far the largest number of ICT telecenters. Findings indicate the research questions are mostly supported.