DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION
DIFFUSION
OF INNOVATION
The word diffusion is
used to denote the spreading process of an innovation. Diffusion is the process
by which an innovation is communicated over time, among the participants in a
social system.
The concept of Diffusion of
Innovation was introduced by Everett Rogers in the year 1962. He is well known
for the book titled “Diffusion of Innovation”. In this book, he explains the
theory of how innovations and ideas spread across the populations. He says, in
a social system the innovation is communicated by the process of diffusion. He
uses the word diffusion to express the idea of spreading the new
product.
According to Everett Rogers,
‘Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through
certain channels over time among the members of a social system.’
Diffusion of innovation is a
theory which explains how innovation is adopted by the population, how much
time it takes to spread, and finally whether the innovation actually succeeds
in bringing a change in society or whether it fails in the process. The
diffusion of innovation theory analyses how the social members adopt the new
innovative ideas and how they make the decision towards it.
Elements of Diffusion of Innovation
Rogers proposed four
elements of diffusion of innovation. These
four elements play major roles in the diffusion process. They are innovation,
communication channel, time and social system.
Innovations –Innovation
is a new idea, practice, or new method or product. The speed and nature of
diffusion process is highly depended on the innovation. This means that the new
product or innovation itself is the first important element in the diffusion
process.
Communication Channel –
The communication channels take the messages from one individual to another. It
is through the channel of communication the Innovations spreads across the
people. It can take any form like word of mouth, SMS, any sort of literary work,
print and electronic media etc.
Time – it
is the duration or length of time taken to spread the innovation among people. It
expresses the speed of getting the innovation adopted in a society. It is the
time people take to get used to new ideas.
Social System
–Social system refers to all kinds of components which construct the society
like religion, institutions, groups of people etc. The inter relationships and
interactions of various components of a society are relevant in the spread of
an innovation.
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