Innovation Adoption Overview

Principles

Definition

Innovation adoption is the process by which individuals, organizations, or other units of analysis accept and integrate a perceived novelty (idea, practice, or object) into their existing systems or behaviors. As a fundamental concept in diffusion research, it investigates the factors influencing this integration, the stages adopters move through, the characteristics of both the innovation and the adopter, and the communication channels facilitating uptake, thereby explaining the differential spread and utilization of new ideas and technologies within social systems.

Ontological type

Key Theories

Innovation Attributes

Adopter Characteristics

Key developments

Key Figures

Organizational Adoption Dynamics era

Izak Benbasat [1], a leading information systems scholar active in the 1980s and 1990s, engaged with institutions such as University of Minnesota [3] and University of British Columbia [4] during the organizational adoption dynamics era. His key contribution in this era centers on developing measurement tools to capture users' perceptions of adopting information technology innovations, notably the instrument described in Development of an Instrument to Measure the Perceptions of Adopting an Information Technology Innovation [7], which helped translate attitudinal signals into diffusion outcomes. Fariborz Damanpour [2] is a central figure in this period, with affiliations across Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey [5] and St Petersburg University [6]. His two papers, Organizational Innovation and Performance: The Problem of Organizational Lag [8] (1984) and The Adoption of Technological, Administrative, and Ancillary Innovations: Impact of Organizational Factors [9] (1987), advance the view that organizational design and the management of ambidextrous structures mediate adoption speed and scope, underscoring why governance and resource allocation mattered for diffusion in this era.

Open Collaboration Networks era

Viswanath Venkatesh [1] is affiliated with the University of Maryland, College Park [3] and Virginia Tech [4] during this era. His contributions include A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies [7] and Technology Acceptance Model 3 and a Research Agenda on Interventions [8], which extended models of technology adoption and provided a longitudinal framework for studying interventions in organizational settings, both crucial for understanding diffusion in open collaboration networks. Ammon Salter [2] is linked to Imperial College London [5] and the University of Sussex [6] during this era. His work Open for innovation: the role of openness in explaining innovation performance among U.K. manufacturing firms [9] and The role of technology in the shift towards open innovation: the case of Procter & Gamble [10] highlight how openness and external sourcing shape diffusion and adoption in networked ecosystems, underscoring the governance and absorptive-capacity dynamics of open collaboration.

Digital Open Ecosystems era

Luis R. Gómez‐Mejía [1] is associated with institutions such as Zhejiang University [3] and University of Iowa [4] during the Digital Open Ecosystems era. Luis R. Gómez‑Mejía [1] and the 2012 paper 'Necessity as the mother of ‘green’ inventions: Institutional pressures and environmental innovations' [7] show how institutional pressures catalyze environmental innovations, underscoring the importance of policy context for rapid adoption and co-creation in digital open ecosystems. Andréa Fosfuri [2] is associated with Boston University [5] and Duke University [6] during this era. Andréa Fosfuri [2] co-authored the 2012 paper 'Necessity as the mother of ‘green’ inventions: Institutional pressures and environmental innovations' [7], illustrating how institutional dynamics shape sustainable adoption and governance within open digital ecosystems.