Social Contagion and Innovation: Cohesion versus Structural Equivalence

TLDR

The debate between cohesion and structural equivalence models centers on whether physicians adopt new drugs through peer conversations or by aligning with their perceived role in the social structure. This study reanalyzes the classic case of medical innovation diffusion to test the social contagion hypothesis. The authors define, compare, and test two classes of network models representing cohesion and structural equivalence. The analysis shows that contagion was not the dominant driver of tetracycline diffusion, and when contagion occurs it coexists with personal preference influences.

Abstract

Two classes of network models are used to reanalyze a sociological classic often cited as evidence of social contagion in the diffusion of technological innovation: Medical Innovation. Debate between the cohesion and structural equivalence models poses the following question for study: Did the physicians resolve the uncertainty of adopting the new drug through conversations with colleagues (cohesion) or through their perception of the action proper for an occupant of their position in the social structure of colleagues (structural equivalence)? The alternative models are defined, compared, and tested. Four conclusions are drawn: (a) Contagion was not the dominant factor driving tetracyclene's diffusion. Where there is evidence of contagion, there is evidence of personal preferences at work.