This document discusses the diffusion of innovation theory. It defines diffusion as the process by which an innovation is communicated over time through certain channels among members of a social system. Key aspects of diffusion include the innovation itself, communication channels, time, and the social system. The document also discusses factors that influence adoption rates like relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability, communication channels, and time. It provides examples of different types of adopters and the innovation decision process. The document concludes with a case study on the diffusion of hybrid seed corn in Iowa in the 1940s.

1. Diffusion Of Innovation
BY:-
RUQAIYA (QA A017)
ANKIT (QA B020)
SAGAR (CEUTICS A016)

2. WHAT IS DIFFUSION?
DIFFUSION IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH AN
INNOVATION IS COMMUNICATED THROUGH
CERTAIN CHANNELS OVER TIME AMONG THE
MEMBERS OF A SOCIAL SYSTEM.
IT IS A SPECIAL TYPE OF COMMUNICATION, IN
THAT THE MESSAGES ARE CONCERNED WITH
NEW IDEAS.

3. • INNOVATION
• CHANNELS
• OVER TIME
• SOCIAL SYSTEM

4. INNOVATION IS ANY NEW IDEA, NEW BEHAVIOUR, NEW PRODUCT, NEW MESSAGE I.E., A
NEW THING THAT ONE BRINGS TO YOU FOR YOUR ADOPTION.
INNOVATION

5. •
•
•

7. RELATIVE ADVANTAGE COMPATIBILITY
COMPLEXITY OF
TRANSITION
POSSIBILITY OF
TESTING
VISIBILITY OF
BENEFITS

8. RELATIVE ADVANTAGE
ADOPTION PROBABILITY GROWS IF
INNOVATION HAS CLEAR ADVANTAGES
FOR PRODUCT, SERVICE OR CURRENT
BEHAVIOUR
RELATIVE ADVANTAGE MAY BE
MEASURED IN MANY WAYS INCLUDING
ECONOMICS
SOCIAL PRESTIGE
SATISFACTION

10. COMPATIBILITY
• THE DEGREE TO WHICH AN INNOVATION IS
PERCEIVED AS BEING CONSISTENT WITH THE
EXISTING VALUES, PAST EXPERIENCES, AND
NEEDS OF POTENTIAL ADOPTERS.
• COMPATIBLE INNOVATIONS WILL BE MORE
RAPIDLY ADOPTED.

12. •
•

13. •
•

14. THE MEANS BY WHICH MESSAGES GET FROM ONE
INDIVIDUAL TO ANOTHER.
THE NATURE OF THE INFORMATION-EXCHANGE
RELATION DETERMINES THE CONDITIONS UNDER
WHICH A SOURCE WILL/WILL NOT TRANSMIT
THE INNOVATION TO THE RECEIVER AND THE
EFFECT OF THE TRANSFER.

15. WIDELY USED MEDIUM…..
MASS-MEDIA – MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO CREATE
AWARENESS KNOWLEDGE OF AN INNOVATION
INTERPERSONAL CHANNELS – MORE EFFECTIVE IN
PERSUADING IN INDIVIDUAL TO ACCEPT A NEW
IDEA.

16. VS.
MOST INDIVIDUALS EVALUATE AN INNOVATION, NOT ON THE BASIS OF SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH BY EXPERTS,
BUT
THROUGH THE SUBJECTIVE EVALUATIONS
OF NEAR-PEERS WHO HAVE ADOPTED THE INNOVATION.

17. •
•

20. TIME

21. “TIPPING POINT”
Ideas and products and messages and
behaviors spread just like viruses do.
The change happens not gradually but
at one dramatic moment, called
“Tipping Point”or “Critical mass” (the
message makes an impact) .

22. TYPES OF INNOVATION DECISIONS
1. Optional
innovation
process
• Made on an
individual basis.
2. Collective
innovative
process
• Made in mutual
agreement with
others.
3. Authority
innovation
process
• Made by people
who are in
power.
4.Contingent
innovation
process
• Made after, but in
relation to, another
innovation decision

23. THE INNOVATION DECISION PROCESS
1. Knowledge
stage
2. Persuasion
stage
3. Decision
stage
4. Implementation
stage
5.Confirmation
stage

24. THE INNOVATION DECISION PROCESS
Taking an example
of a smartphone

25. CRITICISMS OF INNOVATION RESEARCH
Overadoption
eg. Too much use of
antibiotics
Pro innovation bias
Individual- Blame
bias
eg. Financial inability,
religious beliefs
Exploitation of
weaker social
systems
Issues Related to
Furthering
Inequalities

26. CRITICISMS OF INNOVATION RESEARCH
Exploitation of Weaker
Social Systems
Economic Leakage
Dependency
Political influence

27. INNOVATIVENESS AND ADOPTER CATEGORIES
Innovativeness is the degree to which an individual or other unit of adoption is relatively
earlier in adopting new ideas than the other members of a system.

28. Rate of adoption is the relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of
a social system.
S-shaped rate of adoption
When the number of individuals adopting a new
idea is plotted on a cumulative frequency basis
over time, the resulting distribution is an s-shaped
curve.
Innovations that are perceived by individuals as
possessing greater relative advantage,
compatibility, and the like, have a more rapid rate
of adoption

29. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

30. Norms are: the established
behaviour patterns for the
members of a social
system. They define a
range of tolerable
behaviour and serve as a
guide or a standard for the
members’ behaviour in a
social system.
The norms of a system tell
an individual what
behaviour is expected. Thus
a system’s norms can be a
barrier to change.
Norms can operate at the
level of a nation, a religious
community, an
organisation, or a local
system like a village.

31. The degree to which an individual is able to informally influence other individuals' attitudes or overt behaviour in desired
way with relative frequency
Characteristics
of opinion
leader
External communication
Socio-economic Status
Accessibility
Innovativeness
“Invention can start from the lowest ranks of the people, but its extension depends upon the existence of some lofty social elevation”
-Tarde(1903)
Opinion Leaders

32. •

33. CHANGE AGENT
An individual who influences clients'
innovation decisions in a direction deemed
desirable by a change agency

34. ‘ One of the main roles of a change agent is to facilitate the flow of innovations from a
change agency to an audience of clients ’
Change agent
linkage
Client’s
needs and
feedback
Innovation
Flow to
clients
Change
agency
Client
system

35. Sequence of
change
Agent roles
LOADING…

36. Develop need for
change
1
2
3
45
6
7
8
Sequence of
change
Agent roles

37. 1
2
3
45
6
7
8
Sequence of
change
Agent roles
Establish an
info
exchange
relationship
Develop need for
change

38. 1
2
3
45
6
7
8
Sequence of
change
Agent roles Diagnose the
problems of
clients
Establish an
info
exchange
relationship
Develop need for
change

39. 1
2
3
45
6
7
8
Sequence of
change
Agent roles
Create intent to
change in client
Diagnose the
problems of
clients
Establish an
info
exchange
relationship
Develop need for
change

40. Translate
intent into
action
1
2
3
45
6
7
8
Sequence of
change
Agent roles
Create intent to
change in client
Diagnose the
problems of
clients
Establish an
info
exchange
relationship
Develop need for
change

41. Stabilize
adoption
1
2
3
45
6
7
8
Sequence of
change
Agent roles
Translate
intent into
action
Create intent to
change in client
Diagnose the
problems of
clients
Establish an
info
exchange
relationship
Develop need for
change

42. Prevent
discontinuance
1
2
3
45
6
7
8
Sequence of
change
Agent rolesStabilize
adoption
Translate
intent into
action
Create intent to
change in client
Diagnose the
problems of
clients
Establish an
info
exchange
relationship
Develop need for
change

43. Achieve a terminal
relationship
1
2
3
45
6
7
8
Sequence of
change
Agent roles
Prevent
discontinuance
Stabilize
adoption
Translate
intent into
action
Create intent to
change in client
Diagnose the
problems of
clients
Establish an
info
exchange
relationship
Develop need for
change

44. Desirable Versus
Undesirable
Consequences
Direct Versus
Indirect
Consequences
Anticipated Versus
Unanticipated
Consequences
• Functional effects on individuals or more
• Dysfunctional effects
• Changes that occur in immediate
response
• The consequences of consequences
• Changes that are recognized and
intended
• Neither recognized nor
intended

45. CASE STUDY: DIFFUSION OF HYBRID
SEED CORN IN IOWA, USA

46. Background
-Hybrid seed corn: Introduced to Iowa farmers in 1928 and remained as one of the most
important new agricultural technologies.
-Characteristics:
. Increased productivity by 20%.
. Suitable for mechanical corn pickers -> Reduced the need for a large number of farmers to
harvest the corp.
. More drought-resistant.
Reproduced from Urban Farmer 2012 Reproduced from Urban Farmer 2011

47. Background
- In 1941, Ryan and Gross investigated on the diffusion of hybrid seed corn in the area. In
general, their findings suggested that
(a) The diffusion process took 12 years to reach widespread diffusion.
(b) The average farmer needed 7 years to progress from initial awareness of the innovation
to full-scale adoption.
- Specifically, a qualitative research was conducted in 2 communities in Iowa and a total of
259 famers were interviewed to understand farmers’ decision to adopt the hybrid seed corn.
 Most farmer-respondents recognized that they went through a series of stages.

48. Knowledge
-Salesmen from the seed corn company introduced the innovation to Iowa farmers.
- Influencing factors:
Socioeconomic characteristics: The seed lost it hybrid vigor after the first generation ->
required annual purchase -> costed quite amount of money given the Depression
context.
Previous practice: Previously, farmers had selected the best-looking corn plants to use
as seed for the following years -> the adoption of hybrid corn meant an important
change in the corn-growing behavior.
 Obstructed knowledge-gaining process.
 Slowed down the diffusion process as a whole.
Innovation-Decision process

49. Innovation-Decision process
Persuasion
-Iowa farmers mentally applied the new idea to their present or an anticipated future
situation before deciding whether or not to try it.
- However, like any innovation, hybrid seed corn carried some degree of uncertainty.
 Sought social reinforcement for their attitude toward the innovation by referring to the
neighbors .
 The neighbor gave meaning to the innovation, leading to the forming of positive attitude
and persuasion.

50. -The small-scale trial is often an important part of the decision to adopt.
-In 1930s, the seed corn salesmen gave a small bag of the new seed, which was enough to
plant about an acre of corn, to Iowa farmers entering the decision stage.
 A large enough trial to convince the farmer to adopt the new idea on all of his corn acreage
in the next few years.
Innovation-Decision process
Decision

51. - Implementation usually follows the decision stage rather directly.
 With such facilitations from the seed corn company, the famers-respondents
trialed the seed corn.
Innovation-Decision process
Implementation

52. WINTERTemplate
- Innovators and early adopters were more likely to positively confirm their decision to implement
the innovation than later adopters, meaning that the rate of adoption was faster.
Innovation-Decision process
Confirmation

53. “You cannot discover new oceans
unless you have courage to lose sight
of the shore.”