Diffusion of innovation is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. The major players in innovation diffusion are participants or the unit, hereafter referred to as adopters, in the social system that is making the decision to adopt or reject an innovation, the change agent who is brought in by the change agency to promote and encourage the innovation and the change agency who wants successful implementation of the innovation.
Diffusion of innovations identifies five essential characteristics that enhance the rate and effectiveness of diffusion. The first concerns the relative advantage of the innovation over the idea it supercedes�, underscoring the imperative to demonstrate that any new idea is more effective than the one it is replacing. The second characteristic concerns gauging compatibility of the idea with the existing values, past experiences and needs of adopters. The third characteristic relates to level of complexity or the ease with which an innovation can be understood. Finally, the fourth and fifth related characteristics are described as trialability, or the degree to which adopters can implement an innovation). Both are connected to what diffusion of innovations posits as the heart of the diffusion process�, that is, its essentially social nature. |
