L300TPWK
Diffusion
of Innovations is a theory propounded by Everett Rogers
in his 1962 book Diffusions of Innovations. The theory seeks to explain how
innovations, ideas, behaviors or objects are perceived or accepted by a new
audience or the population in general.
However
“An innovation is an idea, practice, or project that is perceived as new by an
individual or other unit of adoption” (Rogers, 2003, p. 12). An innovation may
have been invented a long time ago, but if individuals perceive it as new, then
it may still be an innovation for them. The newness characteristic of an
adoption is more related to the three steps (knowledge, persuasion, and
decision) of the innovation – decision process that will be discussed later.
Rogers
anticipated that a population can be divided into five distinct segments based
on inclination to adopt a specific innovation namely; innovators, early
adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards.
He
added that there are four factors that influence adoption of
an innovation. These include a) the innovation itself, b) the communication
channels used to spread information about the innovation, c) time, and d) the
nature of the society to whom it is introduced (Rogers, 1995).
Rogers
(2003) described the innovation-decision process as “an information-seeking and
information – processing activity, where an individual is motivated to reduce
uncertainty about the advantages and disadvantages of an innovation. Rogers further
proposed that consumers followed a hierarchical process of Awareness, Interest,
Evaluation, Trial and Adoption (AIETA) in the adoption of innovations.
The
Innovation-diffusion process starts with Awareness; an individual learns about
the existence of a product and seeks information about the product. “What?”
“how?,” and “why?” are the critical questions in the awareness phase(Rogers,
2003 p21). During this phase, the individual attempts to determine “what the
innovation is and how and why it works.
The
next stage in the Innovation – diffusion process is the Interest stage; the
individual shapes his or her attitude after he or she knows about the product,
so the persuasion stage follows the knowledge stage in the innovation-decision
process. He becomes more interested, seeks information and begins to gather
details about the product.eg.
The
individual shapes his or her attitude after he or she knows about the product,
so the Evaluation stage follows the Interest stage in the innovation – decision
process. The individual imagines him – or herself using the product. At this
point, the prospect asks the question, “Can I do it? Can I see myself as the
owner of this product?” At the evaluation stage individuals are able to form
their impressions about the product.
At the Trial stage, an innovation is put into practice. The
prospect experiments with the product on a small scale in an effort to become
intimate with it and learn how to use it to his or her best advantage.
Finally, is the Adoption Stage the prospect begins large – scale
use, which hopefully leads to preference, satisfaction, and repeat purchases.
Criticisms of AEITA
Model
Various
authors have been critical of the models put forward to explain the process of advertising.
All of the hierarchy models (which include the AEITA model) presume that those
exposed to advertising respond to those messages in an ordered and sequential
manner.
Weilbacher
(2001) notes that the models are concerned with advertising but in the vast
majority of scenarios, sales are as a result of a combination of marketing
factors. Additionally the models are overly simplistic in their portrayal of
human behavior and response. Such models are based on the now discredited
theories of "behaviorist formulation' hierarchy models which make an
assumption that all advertising works in the same way.
REFERENCES
Rogers,
E.M. (2003). Diffusion of
innovations (5th ed.). New York: Free Press.
Weilbacher (2001). Point of View: Does
Advertising Cause a "Hierarchy of Effects"? The University of
Manchester
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