Intro to Diffusion of Innovation Theory
Since the beginning of the 20th century, scientists started to ask this question: What makes some ideas spread faster than others? And how can someone ensure that his idea spread? The term diffusion was first introduced by the French sociologist “Gabriel Tarde” in 1903. Yet many contributions to the study were later made by several scientists like “Ryan and Gross,” “Friedrich Ratzel,” and “Leo Frobenius.” 1
According to “Everett Rogers[I1] ” one of the most influential writers in the field of innovation, diffusion is defined as “The process in which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. It is a special type of communication, in that the messages are concerned with new ideas.”
At first glance it may seem that the characteristics and advantages of an innovation is enough to get an idea adopted by the targeted audience, whether decision makers or direct consumers. However, Rogers claims that it is difficult to get new idea adopted even if it has an obvious advantage.2 So the logical question is: what are the factors that contribute to the diffusion of an innovation?
1Kaminski, J. (Spring 2011).Diffusion of Innovation Theory Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics, 6(2). Theory in Nursing Informatics Column. http://cjni.net/journal/?p=1444
2Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations. New York: Free Press
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