The Diffusion of Innovations

Abstract

This chapter addresses the questions: how does the use of a new process, or the production of a new good, spread—and what will determine the rate of this process of diffusion? It looks at the production of new goods or the use of new processes by firms. The chapter examines the major factors which appear to affect the diffusion rate, drawing on the simple model of the adjustment process. It considers how the characteristics of potential users affect the diffusion rate. The potential users of process innovations will be firms or farmers. The chapter describes that product innovations are quantitatively more important; and here the potential users will include consumers as well as firms and farmers. It notes that the adoption of an innovation appears approximately to follow a normal distribution curve. The chapter summarizes some attempts to explain formally the rate of diffusion of certain innovations.

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