What Is the Diffusion Theory?

The theory of diffusion of innovation is one of the classic theories of the study of communication effects. The theory focuses on the social and cultural impact of mass communication.

Innovation diffusion theory

The theory of innovation diffusion is one of the classic theories of communication effect research.

Innovation

Relative superiority: The degree to which an innovation is considered superior to the old idea it replaced.

Compatibility: The degree of coexistence of an innovation with existing values, past experience, and the needs of expected adopters.

Complexity: the difficulty of understanding and using an innovation.

Experimentability: The degree to which an innovation can be tested on a limited basis.

Observability: The degree to which an innovation result can be seen by others.

Thinking variability: The prescribed thinking mode cannot have innovative results.

Learn: Get in touch with innovation and know how it works

Persuasion: Formation of attitudes about innovation

Decision: Determine whether to adopt or reject an innovative activity

Implementation: Invest in innovation

Confirmation: Strengthen or withdraw decisions on innovation

Innovator: boldly keen to try new ideas, and more informed social relations

Early adopters: Respected status, usually the highest-level opinion leader within the social system

Many early followers: thoughtful, often communicated with colleagues, but rarely in the position of opinion leader

Many followers in the later period: they have more doubts, usually because of economic necessity or pressure from social relations

The latter: due to the old-fashioned and confined to local concepts, it is relatively occluded. The reference materials are past experience

There is a clear difference in the attitude of people trying new products. There are pioneers and early adopters in each product area. After them, more and more consumers have started to use this innovative product, and product sales have peaked; when not adopted With few consumers left on the product, sales have begun to decline.

Innovator: 2.5%

Early adopters: 13.5%

Early Majority: 34%

Late Majority: 34%

Laggards: 16%.

Another factor affecting new product adoption is personal influence, that is, the ability of individuals to influence others' attitudes and purchase probabilities. ^[1]

The Iowa Hybrid Maize Seeds study (the promotion of new corn varieties) conducted in 1927-1941 showed that mass communication can provide new information more powerfully, and interpersonal communication is more powerful in changing people's attitudes and behaviors.

In 1962, Professor Everett M. Rogers of the University of New Mexico studied multiple cases of innovation diffusion and co-authored a book entitled Diffusion of Innovations (1 edition), he examined the process of innovation diffusion and various influencing factors, summarized the basic law of the diffusion of innovation in a social system, and proposed the famous innovation diffusion S-curve theory. The book divides the process of innovation diffusion into five stages of awareness, persuasion, decision, application, and determination, and puts forward the basic assumption of "innovation diffusion".

In the 1970s and 1980s, research on the diffusion of innovation turned to the study of media and audiences in social and cultural contexts. Coding and decoding, media and social development, and other research that focus on two-way and macro levels have become hot spots.