Diffusion of innovations

Diffusion of innovations is the process by which an innovation spreads over time through communication channels among members of a social system. Its pace and reach depend on the innovation, the channels, time, and the social system.

Innovation-decision process: The sequence of knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation through which a person adopts or rejects an innovation. It describes the stages through which diffusion becomes an individual adoption decision.
Innovators: The first adopter category in diffusion theory, characterized by willingness to try new ideas despite uncertainty. They introduce an innovation into a social system before most others adopt it.
Everett Rogers: An American communication scholar who synthesized and popularized diffusion research in his book Diffusion of Innovations. His framework organized decades of research into the theory’s widely used account.
Technology adoption: The decision and process through which individuals or organizations begin using a technology. Technology studies use diffusion concepts to explain uneven uptake and persistent nonuse.
S-curve: A curve that begins slowly, rises rapidly, and then levels off as growth approaches a limit. Cumulative adoption often follows this shape as awareness and social reinforcement build.
Communication channel: A route through which information moves between people or organizations. Diffusion depends on channels that carry information about an innovation across a social system.
Early adopters: An adopter category that adopts innovations early and often serves as a respected source of advice. Their endorsement can make an unfamiliar innovation credible to later adopters.
Diffusion of hybrid corn: A series of rural sociology studies examining how Iowa farmers adopted hybrid corn seed. These studies supplied an influential empirical foundation for adopter categories and interpersonal influence.
Public health communication: The practice of conveying information to improve health decisions and outcomes across populations. Health programs use communication networks and trusted intermediaries to encourage protective innovations.
Network effect: A phenomenon in which a product or service becomes more valuable as more people use it. Network effects can strengthen adoption once an innovation has an established user base.

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