Diffusion of Innovation

The Diffusion of Innovation refers to the spread of new ideas and behaviors within a community or from one community to another. According to this theory, some individuals and groups in society are quicker to pick up new ideas or “innovations” than others. The theory identifies five categories of people with varying propensity to accept or adopt a new practice or technology:

1. Innovator: the quickest to adopt an innovation. However, they may be seen as fickle by other community members and are less likely to be trusted and copied.
2. Early Adopters: more mainstream within the community, and are characterized by acceptance of innovation and some personal/financial resources to be able to adopt the innovation.
3. Early Majority: amenable to change and persuaded of the benefits of the innovation by observing.
4. Late Majority: skeptical and reluctant to adopt new ideas until the benefits are clearly established.
5. Laggards: these are most conservative and resistant to change; sometimes, they may never change.

The likelihood of adopting a new behavior depends on the audience, environmental barriers and facilitators, the communication system and attributes of the innovation, such as:

• Relative Advantage: Does the new behavior offer an advantage over the current behavior?
  For example, does using quality medicine offer something (e.g., peace of mind or faster treatment) that the current option does not offer?
• Compatibility: Is the behavior compatible with prevailing social and cultural values?
  For example, is verifying medicine before purchasing a culturally acceptable thing to do?
• Complexity: How difficult is the new behavior to perform?
  For example, would a mother be able to start and continue verifying quality medicine?
• Triability: Can the behavior be tried out without too much risk?
  For example, will the service provider or pharmacist get angry at the mother if she checks the ACT packet and then refuses to buy it?
• Observability: Are there opportunities to see what happens to others who adopt the behavior?
  For example, does a mother have access to other women in her community who verify medicine to ask them what it’s like?

How Can Diffusion of Innovation Be Applied?

Diffusion of Innovation can be used to change behaviors that are influenced by social norms and social trends. The theory tells us how to promote the desired behavior by focusing on characteristics of your target audience. This can be done through agents of change, that is, the early adopters of a new behavior who promote it and encourage others to adopt it. Agents of change can be people working in the community or community members who have adopted the new behavior and can act as role models. Targeting effective agents of change, such as local leaders, influential individuals, peers and celebrities, can accelerate the adoption of a new behavior.