Everett Roger’s Diffusion of Innovations
N. Watney Spring 2002
This paper will discuss the diffusion of innovation. The broadest and most communication-oriented theory of diffusion is that of Everett Rogers. The diffusion of innovation occurs when an idea is spread through a social system using interpersonal communication (Littlejohn 314). A very good example of this takes place in South Korea starting in the year 1968. During this time the birthrate was alarmingly high. A family planning program was introduced in villages. Mothers’ clubs were also developed to give the mothers education on birth control methods and a forum in which to share information and experiences. By 1973, Rogers and his colleagues studied the case. They interviewed women in many different villages. They found that the village leaders had first gained the information about birth control from the media and from family planning workers; then passed it on to the rest of the village. Rogers found that the villages with the best success were those that they leader had talked to many people individually, and then the mother clubs also discussed it. Interpersonal influence is very important in this process (Littlejohn 314-315).
Although the diffusion of innovations seems very simple the process is actually quite complicated. Things such as the rate of adoption and the change agent all fit together to make up this wonderful theory. We will now delve into the many different facets that are Diffusion of Innovations.
“Diffusion is the process by 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. (Rogers 5). In this sentence there are four main elements that make up diffusion of innovations. The four main elements are innovation, communication channels, time and social system.
Lets start with an innovation. “That is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption (Rogers, 5). While an innovation can be anything from cell phones to a new space ship, all innovations have certain characteristics. The first characteristic that all innovations share is called relative advantage. This is the degree to which an innovation is thought to be better than the idea before it. Take for example men’s’ razors. Every new razor out says to have a closer shave than the last. It doesn’t matter so much if the razor really is better, what does matter is if an individual thinks the innovation is advantageous. This also ties in with rate of adoption, the more the perceived advantage, the higher the rate of adoption. The next characteristic of an innovation is compatibility. This is the degree to which an innovation is perceived as being consistent with the existing values, past experiences, and needs of potential adopters. An idea that is not compatible with the values and norms of a social system will not be taken to as fast as an innovation that is compatible. In order for an idea that is not compatible to be adopted, the adoption of a new value system must be taken up. This is a slow moving process. Another characteristic of innovation is complexity. This is the degree of an innovation being viewed as difficult to understand and use. The more complex and idea is perceived to be, the longer it will take to be adopted. For example, the operating system for computers Linux is said to be very good. However, it is also said to be complicated and thus hasn’t caught to the degree of Microsoft’s Windows as far as popularity. “ New ideas that are simpler to understand are adopted more rapidly than innovations that require the adopter to develop new skills and understandings (Rogers 16). The fourth characteristic of innovation is trialability. This is the degree to which an idea can be experimented with on a limited basis. “An innovation that is innovation that is trialable represents less uncertainty to the individual who is considering it for adoption, as it is possible to learn by doing (Rogers 16). A good example of this could be buying a car. Dealers let you test drive vehicles in order to give it a trial run to become more accustomed to it. This takes some of the mystery out of the innovation. The last characteristic of innovations is observability. This is the degree to which the results of an idea are visible. The easier it is for people to see the results of an innovation, the faster they are to take to that idea. Being able to see results stimulates discussion and the more discussion between individuals the faster the spread of the idea. Relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability make up an innovation.
The next main element of diffusion of innovations is communication channels. In its most basic form, this is the way a message gets from one person to another. There is a key piece to the communication channels and this is to which kind of person one is trying to communicate. Communication is more effective when two or more individuals are homophilous, or have the some things in common such as: sharing the same interest, or living in the same neighborhood. When this occurs, “ideas is likely to have greater effects in terms of knowledge gain, attitude formation and change (Rogers 19). The flip side would be when two or more individuals are heterophilous. This is when people are very different from each other. In this case communication is very ineffective.
Time is the third element in the diffusion process. Time is involved in diffusion in two ways. First, the innovation-decision process and second is the innovations rate of adoption in a system. “The innovation-decision process is the process through which and individual (or other decision making unit) passes from first knowledge of and innovation to forming an attitude toward the innovation and the decision to adopt or reject, to implementation and use of the new idea, and to confirmation of this decision (Rogers, 20). This process has five main steps, first knowledge, then persuasion, next decision, the implementation, and finally confirmation. The innovation-decision period is the length of time taken to pass through the innovation-decision process. The second way time is involved in the diffusion of innovations is called the rate of adoption. This is the speed with which members of a social system adopt an idea. If you were to plot the number of people adopting new ideas on a graph you would get and S-shaped curve. At first just a few begin to adopt the idea, but soon the curve begins to climb when more and more people begin to adopt the new idea. Eventually the line begins to level off when most have adopted the idea and the last to “give in” are accepting the new idea, these people are called laggards. “The rate of adoption is usually measured by the length of time required for a certain percentage of the members of a system to adopt and innovation (Rogers 22). This is why time is an element of diffusion.
The final element of diffusion of innovation is a social system. This is very important and has many factors. The social and communication structure of a system facilitates or impedes the diffusion of innovations in the system. There are four major factors a system deals with when faced with an innovation. First is “norms.” This is the established behavior patterns for members of a social system. Second is opinion leadership. This is the way an individual is able to influence other individuals’ attitudes or behavior. The third area is called innovation-decisions. There are three types of these. First; optional decisions, which are choices made by individuals independent of the other members of the system. The second is called collective innovation-decisions, choices made by a census, like a democracy. The last type of innovation-decision is one decided by authority, or a choice made by relatively few individuals who have power. “The final way in which a social system influences diffusion is consequences, the changes that occur to an individual or to a social system as a result of the adoption or rejection of an innovation (Rogers 37)
Diffusion of Innovations when explained a certain way can seem very simple. However, you can dive very deep into the different components of diffusion. To completely understand diffusion of innovations you must know know the four main elements that make it up. These are innovation, communication channels, time, and social systems. Diffusion of Innovations is fascinating.