Reflections on the Diffusion of Innovations model

By Mia and Rainbow

Rogers's (2003) Diffusion of Innovations model illustrates the process of organization members through specific channels to accept new things, new concepts or new targets. Different from other models, members need to be regarded as a whole in the process. We are no longer just focus on the leaders, senior staff. In this process of change diffusion, the participants need to work together to help and share useful information, eventually to reach a consensus. In addition, in the adoption process, the new things, new ideas or new target is not static, which can be accessed and changed by participants, in order to improve efficiency.

We need to consider the following factors before we adopt this model:

Innovation, include Relative advantage, Compatibility, Complexity, Trialability, Observability.

Channels, in fact, this is a special kind of communication process, we need more than just lecturing or forcing of passive acceptance, but through some people, who are able to accept new things or have experience with the use of some new things, to share useful information with people without experience in this area, helping out those who are not familiar with the new things to change attitudes and behavior to accept and adapt to the innovation as quickly as possible.

Social system, include the roles of opinion leaders, Change Agent, change aides. Although Change Agent can affect other people because of its expertise and technology, it is lack of a common ground that will keeps people apart, and often leads to communication invalid. The Opinion Leader due to the smaller gap with other participants, able to offer people information and advice, and informal influence attitudes and behavior of others, so they have played a very active role the process of change.

Time, it will be a long time before someone start from a contact, to understand its features, finally to adopt and develop habits for the innovative things. It can be divided into Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision, Implementation, and Confirmation. Acceptability of the participants in the innovation process is particularly important. On the Basis of Innovativeness, adopter was classified as an Innovator, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, Laggards.

Here I want to talk about the model of change in my internship place. I have worked in local electric enterprises over a period of time. Its goal is to create market demand as the direction, to meet customer needs for new power marketing mechanisms, accurate groups demand for electricity, with market economy point of supply and services. After the "sell", we must keep up after-sales service work. It means power supply companies through concept of innovative service, establish a perfect service system, to improve the service levels, continuously provide high quality power to the user. So innovators consciously promote innovation, experts be organized to conduct comprehensive service standards of general, professional and special occasions. They have made a program of "Code of Conduct Marketing Service Manual." The manual rested on a basis of “Power Supply Service Specification” of State Grid, and based on the actual need of power supply service, to be distributed into 8 detailed species: common services, business office services, “95598” telephone services, repair services, electricity consumption and load management services, etc. At the beginning, only a small part of the employees accept and implement the service content of the manual. These people generally think the new program is useful, and the service is better than the old model, so their operations more quickly. Early adopters comprise leaders, supervisors, and the persons who received training and have related practice experience. Other persons still to be content with things as they are. Then, the early majority have been adopting new service manual because they aware of this program is feasible and does not want to lag behind the others. The reason why they are later than the early adopters, is due to they are more cautious than early adopters, and have their own thoughts. When services start to receive results, and gain user acceptance, with the help of experienced staff, most of them have reduced confusion, which means late majority can better service in accordance with the manual. However, in the process of innovation, there have laggards who do not want to transfer the traditional marketing model. They are often accustomed to conservative, they can be passively accept only when the development of new services become mainstream. All in all, we need to take different measures according to different levels of acceptance and situation.
    I used to work in a trade company. We persuade the subsidiary company and customer to employ new equipment and new product. The subsidiary company need to pass some official audit and the audit requires new equipment. This is a process of diffusion of innovation. It is interesting that some companies are willing to adopt the new equipment and some are not. They can be regarded as the early adopters and the other companies who do not adopt can be regarded as the late majority or laggards. The reason why they do not adopt is it costs money and the effect does not show so soon. Once the advantage of the new equipment is discovered, they will be adopted by the late majority. There are always innovators who advocate new things and products and late adopters who are reluctant to change. Oftentimes, new things always have their vitality because there are new functions and reinventions added into the old things. They can be accepted by people according to the change diffusion.