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Similar to Attributes of innovations
Attributes of innovations
- 1.
- 7. Rate of Adoption •Rate of Adoption- the relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of a social system.
- 9. Attributes of Innovations •Relative advantage • Compatibility • Complexity • Trialability • Observability
- 10. Other Variables • Typeof innovation-decision • Communication channel • Nature of the Social System • Extent of Change Agents Promotion Efforts
- 12. Relative Advantage • Degreeto which an innovation is perceived as being better than the idea it supersedes
- 13. Compatibility • Degree ofconsistency with existing values, past experiences and needs of adopters
- 14. Complexity • Degree towhich an innovation is perceived as difficult to understand and use
- 15. Trialability • Degree towhich an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis
- 16. Observability • Degree towhich the results of an innovation are visible to others
Editor's Notes
- #2 Some innovations diffuse from first introduction to widespread use in a few years; for example, in 12 years, from 1989 to 2002, some 71 percent of adult Americans adopted the Internet. Another consumer innovation may level out at less than 20%. In this lecture we will work to answer the question, what characteristics of innovations affect the rate at which they are adopted? This lecture will identify five characteristics that predict the rate of adoption if innovations.
- #8 Rate of Adoption is the relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of a social system. It is generally measured as the number of individuals who adopt a new idea in a specified period, such as a year. So the rate of adoption is a numerical indicator of the steepness of the adoption curve for an innovation.
- #10 The perceived attributes of an innovation are one more important explanation of the rate of adoption of an innovation. Most of the variance in the rate of adoption of innovations, from 49 to 87 percent, is explained by five attributes: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability.
- #11 In addition to these five perceived attributes of an innovation, other variables affect an innovation’s rate of adoption. These include the type of innovation-decision, the nature of communication channels diffusion the innovation at various states in the innovation-decision process, the nature of the social system in which the innovation is diffusion, and the extent of change agents’ promotion effects in diffusion the innovation.
- #13 Relative advantage is the degree to which in innovation is perceived as being better than the idea it supercedes. Potential adopters want to know the degree to which a new idea is better than an existing practice. So relative advantage is often an important part of the communication/message content about the innovation. The exchange of such innovation information among peers lies at the heart of the diffusion process. The relative advantage of an innovation, as perceived by members of a social system, is positively related to its rate of adoption.
- #14 Compatibility is the Degree of consistency with existing values, past experiences and needs of adopters. An idea that is more compatible is less uncertain to the potential adopter and fits more closely with the individuals situation.
- #15 Complexity is the degree to which an innovation is perceived as relatively difficult to understand and use. Any new idea may be classified on the complexity-simplicity continuum. Some innovations are clear in their meaning, while others are not. The complexity of an innovation, as perceived by the social system, is negatively related to its rate of adoption.
- #16 Trialability is the Degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis. New ideas that can be tried on the installment plan are generally adopted more rapidly than innovations that are not divisible. The trailability of an innovation, as perceived by the members of a social system, is positively related to its adoption rate.
- #17 Observability is the Degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others. Some ideas are easily observed and communicated to other people, whereas other innovations are difficult to observe or to described to others. The observability of the innovation, as perceived by members of a social system, is positively related to its rate of adoption.