Editing Diffusion of innovations (section)

{{Merge from|Sociological theory of diffusion|discuss=Talk:Diffusion of innovations#Proposed merge of Sociological theory of diffusion into Diffusion of innovations|date=April 2025}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2023}}
{{short description|Theory on how and why new ideas spread}}
[[File:Diffusion of ideas.svg|thumb|330px|The diffusion of innovations according to Rogers. With successive groups of consumers adopting the new technology (shown in blue), its [[market share]] (yellow) will eventually reach the saturation level. The blue curve is broken into sections of adopters.]]

'''Diffusion of innovations''' is a [[theory]] that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new [[idea]]s and [[technology]] spread. The theory was popularized by [[Everett Rogers]] in his book ''Diffusion of Innovations'', first published in 1962.<ref name="Rogers5">{{cite book|first=Everett|last=Rogers|title=Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=9U1K5LjUOwEC}}|date=16 August 2003|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-7432-5823-4}}</ref> Rogers argues that diffusion is the process by which an [[innovation]] is communicated through certain channels over time among the participants in a social system. The origins of the diffusion of innovations theory are varied and span multiple disciplines.

Rogers proposes that five main elements influence the spread of a new idea: the innovation itself, adopters, [[communication channel]]s, time, and a social system. This process relies heavily on [[social capital]]. The innovation must be widely adopted in order to self-sustain. Within the rate of adoption, there is a point at which an innovation reaches [[Critical mass (sociodynamics)|critical mass]]. In 1989, management consultants working at the consulting firm [[Regis McKenna#Regis McKenna, Inc.|Regis McKenna, Inc.]] theorized that this point lies at the boundary between the early adopters and the early majority. This gap between niche appeal and mass (self-sustained) adoption was originally labeled "the marketing chasm".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schirtzinger |first=Warren |date=1989-08-22 |title=Crossing the Chasm Summary |url=https://www.hightechstrategies.com/crossing-the-chasm-summary/ |access-date=2022-07-19 |website=High Tech Strategies |language=en-US}}</ref>

The categories of adopters are innovators, [[early adopters]], early majority, late majority, and laggards.{{sfn|Rogers|1962|p=150}} Diffusion manifests itself in different ways and is highly subject to the type of adopters and innovation-decision process. The criterion for the adopter categorization is innovativeness, defined as the degree to which an individual adopts a new idea.