This document discusses key concepts from the Diffusion of Innovation theory, including: - There are different types of adopters (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards) who adopt innovations at different rates. - Factors like relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability influence how quickly an innovation is adopted. - The innovation adoption process involves knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation stages. - Communication channels, time, and the social system all impact the spread of new ideas through a population.

1. Human Centered Computing
IFI7172, Lesson 7
@ Sónia Sousa, 2014 1

2. Objective
• The objective of this lesson is to
– Address the fundamental notions behind the
Diffusion of Innovation theory.
• Lecture (45m)
– Finish the second case study 2 (task 3); (45m)
– present the fourth and final reading assignment.
(5m)
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3. DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION
Fundamental notions
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4. Contextualization
• So… yesterday we played a reflection “game”
– Match initial propose and validated Heuristics
with layers of development
• Conclusions

5. Main Ideas
• It is unrealistic to match
– Heuristics with layers of development
• As all layer are intertwined
– And take parte of a bigger part
» The “HUMAN”
– Some heuristics need to come together
– As one is a complement of the other and VS
• Some heuristics can be implemented from different
development perspectives
– Providing a technical affordance (lower layer)
– Fostering a personal/individual perception (upper layer)

6. Main Ideas
• It is unrealistic to assess heuristics as
– Positive or negative (+/-) in terms of influence as
• This influence depend on the user perception
– How user perceive the visual cues provided by the technical part
of the system
– How user perceive the visual cues provided by the socio part of
the system
» the context of use and the goal desire
• Social, professional, educational; and
• On what I expected to gain when using it
• Social status
• Competency (knowledge or skills)
• Time efficiency

7. Technology acceptance model
• Connection with our finds
– When we design a STS we design it to be
adopted/accepted
• But, that not necessary happens
– There is a gap between goal desire and action
intentions

8. Technology acceptance model
• This model has 2 main ideas behind
– HOW and WHEN they they will use it
• Our findings say
– How depends on
• How we use
– Context
» Social,
professional,
educational
– The need for using
» Õis example
– When depends on
• Our expectations
– What we gain when
using it
» Social status
» Competency
(knowledge or
skills)
» Time efficiency

9. Technology acceptance model
• What we have learned
– First version of TAM replaced
This model was upgraded
until 2003 - UTAUT
• TRA’s measures attitude; and
• TPB links beliefs and behaviors by
• TAM added the technology acceptance measures
– ease of use, and usefulness (pragmatic/practical)
– 2007
• Bagozzi proposes The Legacy of the Technology
Acceptance Model and a Proposal for a Paradigm Shift

10. TAM paradigm shift
• Our intentions are
– triggered by Goals (expectations) that regulates
• our intentions to perform an activity;
– influenced (+/-) perceptions
• Self-regulation external factors
• Our intentions reflect
– By our actions (more or less predispose to)
Social or self-conscious emotions; social identity;
caring, love, and empathy
õis

11. Overall vision UTAUT
Self-regulation external factors
Unified theory of acceptance and use of
technology
Action desires
(predisposition to)
Decide to act
more or less
Observable visual cues
Social or self-conscious emotions; social identity; caring, love, and
empathy

12. Diffusion of innovation theory
• Connection with our finds as
– Roger research claims that
• adoption and adaptation of usability evaluation
methods
– cannot be fully understood devoid of context
» As they do not offer the
» contextual factors such as
• application domains,
• organizational factors and project constraints
– Do not help to understand
» The gap between intentions to use and real use
» The Self-regulation external factors

13. Diffusion of innovations
• Key questions:
– What is the rate of adoption and innovation?
– What variables affect this rate?
– How does policy affect diffusion?
– How consumers adopting the new technology

14. Diffusion of innovation
• Emerges from the diffusion concept
– The act of spreading something more widely
• (1) Adoption of innovation
• (2) Technology transfer
• This theory focus on
– explaining how, why, and at what rate new ideas
and technology spread through cultures

15. Diffusion of Innovation
• An innovation is
– an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as
new by an individual or other unit of adoption.
• Diffusion is defined
– as the process by which
Everett Rogers view
• (1) an innovation; is
• (2) communicated through certain channels;
• (3) over time; and
• (4) among the members of a social system.

16. How a new idea is spread
• Elements that influence the spread of a new
idea:
– Innovation
– Adopters
– Communication channels
– Time
– Social system
• This process relies heavily on human capital

17. Innovation happens when
• An new idea, practice, or object is perceived
as new by an individual
• Characteristics for adopt innovation
– Potential adopters evaluate an innovation based
on:
• The perceived efficiency
• Compatibility with the pre-existing system
• Efforts expectancy or learnability,
• Trialability or testability
• Facilitation conditions

18. So adopter have
• Their role in How new ideas are spread.
– Starts in the Adopters
• Can be individuals; or
• Organizations (businesses, schools, hospitals, etc.),
• Social networks clusters; or
• Countries.
• They help in the diffusion process
– To assess
• (1) an innovation; and
• (2) communicated through certain channels;
– Instigate other adopter to adopt the innovation
• (3) over time; and
• (4) among the members of a social system.

19. Diffusion of innovations
• Elements that influence the spread of a new idea:
– Adopters
• Innovators
• Early adopters
• Early majority
• Late majority
• Laggards
Accept innovation
Fast
Slow
– Communication channels
• channels that allows you to transfer information from one
unit to the other in a efficient way

20. Diffusion of innovations
• Other elements that influence the spread of a
new idea:
– Time
• Time is a variable necessary for innovations to be adopted;
– Technology adoption rarely comes instantaneously.
– the adoption degree in time is measured by
» time of adoption
» number of new product adopted in a interval of time
– Social system combine
• external influences
– mass media, organizational or governmental mandates; and
• internal influences
– strong and weak social relationships, distance from opinion
leaders.

21. There are different profiles of adopter some adopt innovation relatively
earlier than others
ADOPTERS

22. Type of adopters
Innovators
• the first individuals to adopt
an innovation.
– are willing to take risks,
• Profile:
– young in age,
– Highest social class,
– Great financial lucidity
– closest contact to scientific
sources
– Interact with other
innovators.
Early adopters
• Second category of individuals
who adopt an innovation
– Take the leadership role among
other adopters
• Profile
– young in age
– higher social status,
– more financial lucidity,
– advanced education,
– more socially forward than late
adopters

23. Type of adopters
Early majority
• Adopt an innovation after a
varying degree of time.
– Third in adoption curve
• Innovators/early adopters
• Profile:
– Slower in the adoption
process,
– above average social status,
– contact with early adopters,
– show some opinion
leadership.
Late majority
• adopt an innovation after the
average member of the
society.
– Approach innovations with a
high degree of skepticism
• Profile:
– typically skeptical in the
adoption
– below average social status,
– very little financial lucidity,
– late contact with the majority
of adopters
– Very little opinion leadership.

24. Type of adopters
Laggards
• the last to adopt an
innovation.
– have an aversion to change
• Profile:
– advanced in age.
– tend to be focused on
“traditions”,
– lowest social status,
– lowest financial fluidity,
– Contact only family and close
friends,
– show little to no opinion
leadership.
• Innovators
• Early adopters
• Early majority
• Late majority
• Laggards
Accept innovation
Fast
Slow

25. Adopter classes
• Innovators - 2.5%
• Early adopters – 13.5%
• Early majority – 34%
• Late majority – 34%
• Laggards – 16%

26. Innovation success
• Relative advantage
– Success is related with
• appeal to adopter needs
• Compatibility
– consistent degree
• Adopt existing values; and
• Adopt past experience
• Complexity
– perceived degree of
• difficulty to understand and
use
• Trialability
– make trials easy for new
products
• without economic risk to the
consumer
• Observability
– Social visibility degree
• For using a new product to
friends and neighbours

27. What to observe
• Hardware
– the physical and tangible aspects of a product
• Software
– Understanding individuals’ values and lifestyles
• Characteristics that encourage rejection
– Value barrier
– Usage barrier
– Risk barrier

28. What to observe
• The value chain
Cockton, G., &
Vermeeren, A. (2013).
– By creating a‘value chain’ we are assuring
• Our differentiation in the market because we are
– Adding critical attributes that are important to the consumer
• Economic determinants
– Benefits
• Costs
• Risk and uncertainty/information
• Environment and institutions
• market and/or regulations
Griliches’ (1957)

29. What to observe
Personality and attitude
• Empathy
• Ability to deal in abstraction
• Rationality
• Intelligence
• Favorable attitude towards
change
• Ability to cope with uncertainty
• Favorable attitude towards
education
• Favorable attitude towards
science
• High aspirations
Communication variables
• Social participation
• Interconnectedness with the
social system
• Cosmopoliteness
• Mass media exposure
• Exposure to interpersonal
communication channels
• Knowledge of innovations
• Opinion leadership
• Belonging to highly
interconnected systems

30. The Adoption – Decision Process
Everett Rogers
Knowledge
Persuasion
Decision
Implementation
Confirmation

31. Communication channels
Diffusion of innovation model.
Source: Rogers (1995)

32. Diffusion of Innovation
READING ASSIGN 4

33. Reading assignment 4
• Selecting the papers
– see the resources available in eliademy
• Note:
– You can use your own sources. It is up to you.
• But please justify
• After selecting the article to read
– Go to ID Key concepts
– Verify if no one else chose the same article; and
• If not
– add your name and source to the list
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