Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition

Zusatztext Engineering Management Society Holds several important lessons for anyone planning the introduction of new ideas in a firm....Introduces the latest and probably some of the best thinking in that area. Informationen zum Autor Everett M. Rogers Klappentext A classic since its first appearance in the 1980s, this comprehensive reference continues to be the history of the spread of new ideas, for academics and professionals alike. In an age of ever-increasing technological innovation, this renowned volume--which has sold more than 30,000 copies in each edition--is more important than ever. Diffusion of Innovations lucidly explains how inventions and new concepts spread via communication channels over time. As professor Everett Rogers explains, such innovations are almost always perceived as uncertain or even risky. To overcome this, most people seek out others like themselves who have already adopted the new idea. The diffusion process, then, is most often shaped by a few individuals who spread the world amongst their circle of acquaintances, a process that typically takes months or years. But there are exceptions: use of the Internet in the 1990s, for instance, may have spread more rapidly than any other innovation in human history--and it continues to influence the very nature of diffusion by decreasing the significance of physical distance between people. As thought-provoking as it is instructive, this fully updated, widely acclaimed work of scholarship is itself a great idea that continues to spread. Chapter 1 ELEMENTS OF DIFFUSION There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new order of things....Whenever his enemies have the ability to attack the innovator, they do so with the passion of partisans, while the others defend him sluggishly, so that the innovator and his party alike are vulnerable. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince (1513) Getting a new idea adopted, even when it has obvious advantages, is difficult. Many innovations require a lengthy period of many years from the time when they become available to the time when they are widely adopted. Therefore, a common problem for many individuals and organizations is how to speed up the rate of diffusion of an innovation. The following case illustration provides insight into some common difficulties facing diffusion campaigns. Water Boiling in a Peruvian Village: Diffusion That Failed The public health service in Peru attempts to introduce innovations to villagers to improve their health and lengthen their lives. This change agency encourages people to install latrines, burn garbage daily, control house flies, report cases of infectious diseases, and boil drinking water. These innovations involve major changes in thinking and behavior for Peruvian villagers, who do not understand the relationship of sanitation to illness. Water boiling is an especially important health practice for Peruvian villagers. Unless they boil their drinking water, patients who are cured of an infectious disease in a medical clinic often return within a short time to be treated again for the same disease. A two-year water-boiling campaign conducted in Los Molinas, a peasant village of two hundred families in the coastal region of Peru, persuaded only eleven housewives to boil water. From the viewpoint of the public health agency, the local health worker, Nelida, had a simple task: to persuade the housewives of Los Molinas to add water boiling to their pattern of daily behavior. Even with the aid of a medical doctor, who gave public talks on water boiling, and fifteen village housewives who were already boiling water, Nelida's diffusion campaign failed. To understand why, we need to take a closer look at the culture, the local environment, and the individuals in Los Molinas. Mos...

Engineering Management Society Holds several important lessons for anyone planning the introduction of new ideas in a firm....Introduces the latest and probably some of the best thinking in that area.

Auteur

Everett M. Rogers

Texte du rabat

A classic since its first appearance in the 1980s, this comprehensive reference continues to be the history of the spread of new ideas, for academics and professionals alike. In an age of ever-increasing technological innovation, this renowned volume--which has sold more than 30,000 copies in each edition--is more important than ever. Diffusion of Innovations lucidly explains how inventions and new concepts spread via communication channels over time. As professor Everett Rogers explains, such innovations are almost always perceived as uncertain or even risky. To overcome this, most people seek out others like themselves who have already adopted the new idea. The diffusion process, then, is most often shaped by a few individuals who spread the world amongst their circle of acquaintances, a process that typically takes months or years. But there are exceptions: use of the Internet in the 1990s, for instance, may have spread more rapidly than any other innovation in human history--and it continues to influence the very nature of diffusion by decreasing the significance of physical distance between people. As thought-provoking as it is instructive, this fully updated, widely acclaimed work of scholarship is itself a great idea that continues to spread.

Échantillon de lecture
Chapter 1

ELEMENTS OF DIFFUSION

There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new order of things....Whenever his enemies have the ability to attack the innovator, they do so with the passion of partisans, while the others defend him sluggishly, so that the innovator and his party alike are vulnerable.

Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince (1513)

Getting a new idea adopted, even when it has obvious advantages, is difficult. Many innovations require a lengthy period of many years from the time when they become available to the time when they are widely adopted. Therefore, a common problem for many individuals and organizations is how to speed up the rate of diffusion of an innovation. The following case illustration provides insight into some common difficulties facing diffusion campaigns.

***Water Boiling in a Peruvian Village:

Diffusion That Failed*

The public health service in Peru attempts to introduce innovations to villagers to improve their health and lengthen their lives. This change agency encourages people to install latrines, burn garbage daily, control house flies, report cases of infectious diseases, and boil drinking water. These innovations involve major changes in thinking and behavior for Peruvian villagers, who do not understand the relationship of sanitation to illness. Water boiling is an especially important health practice for Peruvian villagers. Unless they boil their drinking water, patients who are cured of an infectious disease in a medical clinic often return within a short time to be treated again for the same disease.

A two-year water-boiling campaign conducted in Los Molinas, a peasant village of two hundred families in the coastal region of Peru, persuaded only eleven housewives to boil water. From the viewpoint of the public health agency, the local health worker, Nelida, had a simple task: to persuade the housewives of Los Molinas to add water boiling to their pattern of daily behavior. Even with the aid of a medical doctor, who gave public talks on water boiling, and fifteen village housewives who were already boiling water, Nelida's diffusion campaign failed. To understand why, we need to take a closer look at the culture, the local environment, and the individuals in Los Molinas.

Most residents of Los Molinas are peasants who work as field hands on local plantations. Water is carried by can, pail, gourd, or cask. The three sources of water in Los Molinas…