Key Messages
The Diffusion Of Innovations: Understanding How And Why New Ideas Spread Around The World
Diffusion of Innovations by Everett M.
Rogers is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to understand how their innovation can become adopted.
Rogers provides necessary insight on the five stages in the process: Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision, Implementation and Confirmation.
With a deeper understanding of these stages, you will be able to increase your chances that your innovation will be adopted!
For example, Rogers writes about why some people in Germany filled their washing machines with fruit – this was because they were at different stages of adopting the technology.
He also highlights why people in certain countries adopt innovations quicker than others (e.g.
China or Japan).
Beyond this, he touches on why fewer people smoke now and why the elderly are always the last to adopt a new technology like smartphones.
All this combined knowledge will help you when it comes time to increase the chances that your innovation is adopted – whether it’s an idea, a practice or an object!
So if you want to see your product flourish and become adopted by many people make sure to read Diffusion of Innovations by Everett M.
Rogers!
The Decision-Making Process Involved In Adopting A New Technology Begins With Awareness Or Need
Being in the Knowledge stage of the Diffusion of Innovations process is when an individual first becomes aware of a new technology or innovation.
There are two ways that an individual can reach this stage; either they have a need for a specific technology and actively search it out, or they become aware of its existence due to word-of-mouth or other forms of communication.
In the need situation, someone develops a particular problem and needs to fix it.
For example, if you’re a farmer and your crops are getting eaten by bugs, then you’ll likely seek out some sort of pesticide to handle the issue.
Another way someone could enter this stage is by being informed about a product through word-of-mouth.
If one of your tech-savvy friends reads an article on the latest version of Apple’s iPhone, chances are they will tell you all about it because they know it’s something you would be interested in.
So whether someone seeks out or merely becomes aware of an innovation – both strategies can put them into the Knowledge stage where they learn about what’s available for them to use.
We Balance Our Feelings About A Product And Anticipate Its Evolution Before Making A Decision To Adopt It
When it comes to deciding whether or not to use an innovation, the Persuasion stage is key.
This is the stage where individuals form an attitude toward the product.
In this stage, a person forms an opinion about the product and does research on it.
However, most people tend to be selective about what information they seek and may even ignore any material that would challenge their positive attitude towards it.
To make sure they come to a decision that works for them, individuals must reconcile their own feelings towards the product with its features such as price, complexity, operation and more.
They also try to predict how its future evolution will play out and how other people might perceive it.
If after going through all this, the person still has a positive attitude about the product, then he or she will likely go ahead and start using it – even if there is negative sentiment surrounding it in general.
Adoption Or Rejection Of An Innovation Can Be Influenced By A Variety Of Factors
It’s the Decision stage when you choose whether or not to use an innovation.
This can be influenced by a number of factors, such as how easy it is to try out the product before purchase, or its relative advantage over other similar products.
If an individual is able to experiment and form a positive attitude towards the innovation, then they’re likely to adopt it.
On the flip side, an individual could decide to actively reject the innovation if they don’t find it suitable or find it too complicated to use after testing it out.
They could also passively reject the innovation if they forgot about its existence and never considered adoption in the first place.
Lastly, social norms will also play a crucial role in determining whether or not an individual decides to adopt or reject the product; those living in collectivist cultures may be more likely to accept certain innovations if others have already done so.
The Implementation Of An Innovation Involves A Change In Behavior, Reinvention And Dedication
The Implementation stage is the next step after deciding to adopt an innovation.
This involves getting the new product or service, learning how to use it and researching any potential side effects.
It can be quite a challenge for many people, as it requires them to change their behavior in order to use the product correctly.
For example, when someone starts taking a medication to regulate their high blood sugar levels, they must remember not to mix with alcohol and that it usually takes several weeks before they experience its full effects.
In some cases, users may also begin using the product in ways that aren’t necessarily intended by its creators – this is called “reinvention”.
For instance, some East Germans used a washing machine (the WM66) for preserving fruit instead of washing clothes!
Finally, higher levels of reinvention can significantly extend a product’s lifespan by ensuring that it’s used more actively than originally expected.
The Lego Mindstorms software was “hacked” and turned into an open source platform which fostered an immensely active fanbase – eventually even leading Lego themselves to make software development kits available on their website.
The Confirmation Stage Is Where Adopters Decide Whether An Innovation Is Worth Keeping Or Discarding
When it comes to adopting a new innovation or product, the Confirmation stage is an important part of the process.
During this time, after an individual has already made a decision to adopt the product, he may begin to experience internal dissonance regarding his decision.
This can lead to negative feelings and doubts about his decision.
In order to reduce these doubts and feel more confident about his choice, the individual may try to gain assurance by filtering out any information which disconfirms their decision or reinforces positive aspects about it.
However, there could still be drawbacks to adoption that may make an individual reverse his decision and discontinue using a new product or service even after having started using it.
A couple of examples include when an innovation is replaced by something perceived as better or worse yet, if the innovation fails in performance.
An example of this would be smoking – as its risks became increasingly evident and more restrictive laws were put into place, fewer people took up smoking.
Why Do Innovators Always Seem To Be Ahead Of The Crowd?
Innovators are always ahead of the pack when it comes to adopting new products, ideas or practices.
They have the knowledge and resources necessary to make sure they’re one of the first people on board with an idea.
Take John, for example.
He and his friends are obsessed with watches, so they stay abreast of trends in watchmaking and know which new watches are out there.
That makes him a perfect innovator – someone who’s always looking for something new and has what it takes to understand how something works and be willing to take a risk on it.
Innovators account for just 2.5% of adopters, while the other 97.5% is made up by Early Adopters (13.5%), Early Majority (34%) Late Majority (34%) and Laggards (16%).
Innovators have access to wealth and resources as well as technical knowledge that helps them lead the way in adopting innovations before anyone else does.
Not everyone has that kind of advantage, however – Laggards may not possess those same skills or financial capabilities when it comes to purchasing something like a smartphone that’s expensive upfront – but these are individuals who adopt an innovation much later than everyone else does.
Therefore, those who have the right knowledge and resources can be identified as innovators because they tend to be the first ones in line when it comes to new products, ideas or practices being adopted by society as a whole .
How Innovations Influence Adoption: Relative Advantage And Compatibility
When it comes to the rate of adoption for any innovation, relative advantage and compatibility play a major role.
For instance, if an innovation provides significant improvements over its predecessor, people will be more likely to accept it.
This could be seen in the example of the Iowa corn farmers mentioned earlier: By using the newer seeds they were able to increase their yields and profits substantially compared to their previous method.
Compatibility is also important.
If an innovation meets the existing values and needs of users, then it stands a greater chance of being adopted.
A great example is Facebook – as soon as it became available, people were eager to use it because they wanted to stay in touch with friends both near and far away.
The Importance Of Trialability: Why Testing A Product Before You Buy It Is More Critical For Early Adopters
It’s a fact that if products can be test-tried before purchase, they are more likely to be purchased.
This is known as trialability – the ability to try out an innovation before adopting it.
By testing out a new product prior to buying it, potential adopters can gain certainty about an innovation.
Not all innovations can offer an opportunity for trial though.
For example, you can take cars for a test drive at car dealerships but when it comes to deciding on an airline, you won’t able to test fly them!
For earlier adopters of an innovation, trialability is especially important as they have no previous user experience to refer back to.
Take those who bought smartphones back in their early days – they had to visit trade fairs or shops just so they could understand how it works.
How To Make Innovations More Accessible Through Tangible Examples
Innovations that can be seen or easily communicated are adopted more readily.
This is because allowing others to observe the product in action, or explaining its functions to people, provides them with a better understanding of the idea and helps to dispel any doubts about complexity or relative advantage.
For example, it’s easy to observe people using Facebook and understand what it’s all about.
Other innovations such as safe sex, however, may have both observable and unobservable aspects which can make it difficult to communicate.
Safe sex campaigns have so far had limited success due to a lack of tangible evidence that can be observed or understood quickly by others.
By contrast, hardware-dominant ideas like computers are easier for people to grasp since their software aspect is less visible but still understandable.
People can see the computer equipment, understand how it works and how much value it brings.
Thus, if you want your innovation adapted quickly then make sure it is something tangible that can be observed in use or communicated easily in order for faster adoption rates!
The Role Of Change Agents In Adopting Innovations: Empathy As The Path To Success
When it comes to the adoption of an innovation, having a change agent involved can make a big difference.
Change agents are those who work with potential adopters – like teachers, consultants or public health workers – to make them aware of a particular need for change and build rapport with them.
They can also identify difficulties that need fixing and rally people or groups behind thinking of innovative solutions to address these challenges.
Take Jen, for instance.
As a public health worker in Kenya she had strong ties within her community and worked hard to educate teachers, government officials and parents about the dangers of cervical cancer.
Consequently, more girls began getting vaccinated against it due to her efforts.
To be effective, change agents must have empathy and act always in their clients’ best interests instead of their own.
Those who do are likely to engage on a deeper level with clients, building trust and credibility for themselves.
For example, if a salesman points out how his company’s new fertilizer product solves an existing problem that the client has then he increases the chance of making a sale since he’s focused on his client’s needs .
Wrap Up
In conclusion, Diffusion of Innovations is a great book that explores the process of getting people to adopt new ideas.
According to the book, there are five stages of the innovation-decision process that every potential adopter goes through: Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision, Implementation and Confirmation.
There are also certain attributes of an innovation that can influence its rate of adoption such as relative advantage, complexity and trialability.
Change agents should focus on clients and opinion leaders in order to increase the rate of adoption for a particular product or service.
Finally, one actionable advice from this book is to make sure the product can be observed in action because it will help to generate more interest and get more people buying it.
