QIM 501 INSTRUCTIONAL
DESIGN AND DELIVERY
Diffusion of Innovations Theory
By Everett M.Rogers
Prepared By:
ZAMRIYAH BINTI ABU SAMAH (P-QM0040/10)
Lecturer:
DR. BALAKRISHNAN MUNIANDY
INTRODUCTION
 Helping an organization to adopt a new technology is not
easy. Often resistance is encountered and people become
frustrated. To help organizations understand this process of
how an innovation (new technology) is adopted among
members of a group, researcher Everett M. Roger has done
extensive study of how new technologies are accepted among
social groups.
 Rogers is the author of the well-known book, “Diffusion of
Innovations.”
 The origins of the diffusion of innovations (DOI) theory are
varied and span across multiple disciplines. Rogers identifies
six main traditions that impacted diffusion research:
anthropology, early sociology, rural sociology, education,
industrial, and medical sociology.
 The diffusion of innovation theory has been largely influenced
by the work of rural sociologists. In the book Diffusion of
Innovations, Rogers synthesizes research from over 508
diffusion studies and produces a theory for the adoption of
innovations among individuals and organization.
GET TO KNOW…
o Everett M. Rogers (March 6, 1931 - October
21, 2004) was a communication scholar,
sociologist, writer, and teacher.
o Rogers was born on the family Pinehurst
Farm in Carroll, Iowa
o After pursuing a degree in agriculture, Rogers earned his PhD in
Sociology and Statistics at Iowa State University (1957).
o His doctorate work stemmed from both his personal interest in
understanding why farmers in Iowa, including his father, resisted
using such new inventions in their fields as high-yielding hybrid
seed corns, chemical fertilizers and weed sprays as well as how
such new applications diffuse among farmers over time.
What is Diffusion?
 According to Rogers,
“Diffusion is the process in which an
innovation is communicated through
certain channels over time among the
members of a social system”
Main Elements of Diffusion
 The Innovation
 Communication Channels
 Time
 A Social System
Main Elements of Diffusion
The Innovation
A new idea such as training, instruction,
etc.
an idea, practice, or object that is
perceived as new by an individual or
other unit of adoption
Examples: PPSMI (Teaching of
Science & Mathematics In English)
Main Elements of Diffusion
Communication Channels
 the means by which messages get from
one individual to another
Etems Course=attend by the teacher of
Science & Maths to develop their skills in
teaching in English
Main Elements of Diffusion
Time
Decision process in which an innovation
is adopted
the length of time required to pass
through the innovation-decision
process
PPSMI starts from 2003-2012
Main Elements of Diffusion
 A Social System
Members of that society engaged to
accomplish a common goal
 a set of interrelated units that are engaged
in joint problem solving to accomplish a
common goal
Minister of Education, Educational
Officers, teachers,Students, parents
& Malaysian People
The 5 Stages of Adoption – Decision Process
Knowledge
Persuasion
Decision
Implementation
Confirmation
Reject
Accept
KNOWLEDGE
 Knowledge: when an individual (or other decision-making
unit) is exposed to an innovation’s existence and gains an
understanding of how it functions
 introduced to new product
 In this stage the individual is first exposed to an
innovation but lacks information about the innovation.
During this stage of the process the individual has not
been inspired to find more information about the
innovation.
PERSUASION
 Persuasion: when an individual (or other decision-making
unit) forms a favorable or unfavorable attitude towards
the innovation
 initial feelings about the product
 In this stage the individual is interested in the innovation
and actively seeks information/detail about the
innovation.
DECISION
 Decision: when an individual (or other decision-making
unit) engages in activities that lead to a choice to adopt
or reject the innovation
 use the product or not
 In this stage the individual takes the concept of the
innovation and weighs the advantages/disadvantages of
using the innovation and decides whether to adopt or
reject the innovation. Due to the individualistic nature of
this stage Rogers notes that it is the most difficult stage
to acquire empirical evidence
DECISION
Types of Innovation-Decisions
 Optional Innovation-Decision
 Collective Innovation-Decision
 Authority Innovation-Decision
Optional Innovation-Decision
 This decision is made by an individual who is in some
way distinguished from others in a social system.
 Example: In rural area school (in rural Sabah/Sarawak),
teachers cannot apply PPSMI because of language &
technology adoption.
Collective Innovation-Decision
 This decision is made collectively by all individuals of a
social system.
 Examples: In some premier school, all class have aircondition because the parents & the school itself willing
to provide it.
Authority Innovation-Decision
 This decision is made for the entire social system by few
individuals in positions of influence or power.
 Example: The new Minister of Education has agreed to
cancel the PPSMI starting on the year 2012.
IMPLEMENTATION
 Implementation: when an individual (or other decision-making
unit) puts a new technology to use
 use new product
 In this stage the individual employs the innovation to a
varying degree depending on the situation. During this
stage the individual determines the usefulness of the
innovation and may search for further information about
it.
CONFIRMATION
 Confirmation: when an individual (or other decision-making
unit) seeks to reinforce or revoke (reject) an innovationdecision
 ceases or continues to use the product
 Although the name of this stage may be misleading, in
this stage the individual finalizes their decision to
continue using the innovation and may use the
innovation to its fullest potential.
Adoption of Change
 The rate of adoption of innovations usually occurs in an
“S” curve. The variation in the slope is due to the rapid
or slower rates of adoption. Individuals who are
involved with the change fall into adopter categories.
 Begins with slow change, it is followed by rapid change
and ends in slow change (constant) as the product
matures or new technologies emerge
S-Curved of Diffusion
Adopter Classes
 Innovators - 2.5%
 Early adopters – 13.5%
 Early majority – 34%
 Late majority – 34%
 Laggards – 16%
Who Is The INNOVATORS?
 An innovator or pioneer is a person or an
organisation who is one of the first to do something
and often opens up a new area for others and achieves
an innovation.
@ the first individuals to adopt an innovation
 The characteristics:
- willing to take risks
- youngest in age
- have the highest social class
- have great financial lucidity
- very social
- have closest contact to scientific sources and
interaction with other innovators
Who Is The INNOVATORS?
 Some people that are often called innovators:
 Isaac Newton - pioneered classical mechanics
 Albert Einstein- pioneered quantum physics
 Sir Richard Arkwright - credited for inventing spinning
frame
 Wright Brothers - pioneered controlled flight
 Thomas Edison - developed the first economically feasible
light bulb
 Henry Ford - pioneered mass produced motor cars
 Isambard Kingdom Brunel - revolutionised public
transport and engineering
 Nikola Tesla - pioneered the induction motor
 Robert H. Goddard - pioneered the liquid rocket engine
 Tim Berners Lee- invented the World Wide Web
Who Is The EARLY ADOPTERS?
 Is an early customer of a given company, product, or
technology; in politics, fashion, art, and other fields, this
person would be referred to as a trendsetter.
 A customer who, in addition to using the vendor's
product or technology, will also provide considerable and
candid feedback to help the vendor refine its future
product releases, as well as the associated means of
distribution, service, and support.
 The characteristics:
- have the highest degree of opinion leadership among
the other adopter categories
- typically younger in age, have a higher social status,
have more financial lucidity, advanced education, and
are more socially forward than late adopters
Who Is The EARLY MAJORITY?
 Individuals in this category adopt an innovation after a
varying degree of time
 This time of adoption is significantly longer than the
innovators and early adopters
 The Characteristics:
-Early Majority tend to be slower in the adoption
process, have above average social status, contact
with early adopters, and seldom hold positions of
opinion leadership in a system
Who Is The LATE MAJORITY?
 Individuals in this category will adopt an innovation after
the average member of the society
 These individuals approach an innovation with a high
degree of skepticism and after the majority of society
has adopted the innovation.
 The Characteristics:
-Late Majority are typically skeptical about an
innovation, have below average social status, very little
financial lucidity, in contact with others in late majority
and early majority, very little opinion leadership
Who Is The LAGGARDS?
 Individuals in this category are the last to adopt an
innovation
 Unlike some of the previous categories, individuals in
this category show little to no opinion leadership.
 The Characteristics:
-have an aversion to change-agents and tend to be
advanced in age.
-tend to be focused on “traditions”, have lowest social
status, lowest financial fluidity, oldest of all other
adopters, in contact with only family and close friends,
very little to no opinion leadership.
How does this relate to
Instructional Design & Technology?
 Understand why certain technologies are adopted while
others are not. Don’t just blame the teachers.
 Be able to utilize this theory in introducing and adopting
new technologies in your own school.
 Create a model to use in systematically implementing
new innovations in the future.
What to Consider About the
Innovation:
 Relative Advantage: how much better is it?
 Compatibility: meet a need or improve an existing
product
 Complexity: easy to use?
 Trialability: way to try it out
 Observability: can you see results?
How To Adopt Innovations in
Instructional Design Field:
 5 steps of Burkman's User Oriented Instructional
Development process:
1. Identify the potential adopter
2. Measure relevant potential adopter perceptions
3. Design and develop a user-friendly product
4. Inform the potential adopter (of the product's userfriendliness)
5. Provide Post Adoption Support
Examples of Innovations In
Education
 Web-based education
 Digital Learning Environments – using technology to
fundamentally redesign the learning experience in ways
that lead to increased student engagement and
academic success; can include innovations in online
learning, virtual worlds, gaming for learning, and
simulations
CONCLUSION
 An instructional technologist & designers who
understands the innovation process and theories of
innovation diffusion will be more fully prepared to work
effectively with clients and potential adopters.
 The study of diffusion theory could lead to the
development of a systematic, prescriptive model of
adoption and diffusion. Instructional technologists &
designers have long used systematic models to guide
the process of instructional development (ID). These
systematic ID models have resulted in the design and
development of effective and pedagogically sound
innovations. A systematic model of diffusion could help
guide the process of adoption and diffusion in a similar
manner and, perhaps, with similarly effective results.
REFERENCES
 Rogers, Everett M.(1962). Diffusion of Innovations. Free Press of
Glencoe, Macmillan Company.
 Rogers, Everett M. (1983). Diffusion of Innovations. New York: Free
Press.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations
 http://www.zonalatina.com/Zldata99.htm
 http://www.futurelab.org.uk/
 http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/technology/front_tech.htm
o
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwitr/docs/diffusion/
 Rogers, Everett M. "New Product Adoption and Diffusion". Journal of
Consumer Research. Volume 2 March 1976 pp. 290 -301.
 Center for Educational Technology. (1989).Schoolyear 2000: Models
for excellence. Tallahassee, FL: Center for Educational Technology,
Florida State University.
THAT’S ALL
Thank You