Innovationsdiffusion

Innovationsdiffusion, commonly referred to as diffusion of innovations, is the study of how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technologies spread through societies. The theory was formalized by Everett M. Rogers in 1962 and has since become a foundational framework for understanding adoption processes across diverse domains such as agriculture, healthcare, education, and information technology. It emphasizes that diffusion is a social process that unfolds over time within a social system through communication channels and influenced by individual and collective decisions.

A central component is the adoption process, typically described in distinct stages: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. Individuals and organizations move along this path at different speeds, producing an S-shaped diffusion curve. People who adopt early can influence others, while late adopters may require different incentives or demonstrations of value. Adopter categories are commonly cited as innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.

The rate and pattern of diffusion depend on several perceived attributes of the innovation: relative advantage, compatibility with existing practices, complexity, trialability, and observability of results. These attributes interact with the communication channels used (mass media, interpersonal networks), the time available for adoption, and characteristics of the social system, including norms and leadership.

Critiques note that diffusion models can oversimplify cultural and institutional contexts and may overlook power dynamics and accessibility issues. Nevertheless, innovationsdiffusion remains a widely used lens for analyzing how new ideas spread and what accelerates or hinders their adoption in real-world settings.