This important book is about the origins and diffusion of innovation, in theory and in practice. The practice draws on a variety of industries, from electronics to eyewear, from furniture to mechatronics, in a range of economies including Europe, USA and China.

Original innovation holds great promise for economic development, however its effects on the economy materialise only after technology becomes widely available. Technology diffusion and from a micro-analytical perspective, adoption, is the major interface between technical change and events of economic significance. Unequal access to technology is one of the major reasons for global income disparities. Identifying and lifting barriers to the spread and adoption of economically useful innovations is a major concern for policy makers everywhere. This concern is amplified given the recent proliferation of technologically-driven network industries such as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Biotechnology. The rapid pace of technical change in such industries as well as the strong lock-in effects they exhibit, increase the impetus for improving technological receptiveness.The above have contributed to a vibrant academic interest in innovation matters, albeit one that has focused overwhelmingly on the contextual factors affecting the creation of new ideas; and while there have been numerous recent empirical contributions to the study of diffusion, they have yet to be accompanied by a comprehensive update of the 'big picture' as is emerging in literature. Through this monograph, the author hopes to contribute towards closing this gap.The present monograph presents an up-to-date collection of major empirical contributions to diffusion literature, mainly from an industrial economics perspective. The volume begins with a theoretical outline of the diffusion process and a presentation of analytical tools for the study of diffusion. These include definitional and measurement issues, a diffusion-centred taxonomy of technology as well as an outline of applicable econometric methods. The author then uses summaries of topical case studies to examine the varying importance of a technology's characteristics, the adopter set and other contextual factors. Recent works highlight that technology diffusion is often far from a mechanical, positive-yields driven process and underline the importance of strategic considerations, social networking and contextual specificities.The volume aims to help researchers with an interest in the study of diffusion, its empirical applications and policy interpretations. Nevertheless, conclusions drawn would be of interest not only to academics, but also to policy makers, company managers and marketers.

Getting an innovation adopted is difficult; a common problem is increasing the rate of its diffusion. Diffusion is the communication of an innovation through certain channels over time among members of a social system. It is a communication whose messages are concerned with new ideas; it is a process where participants create and share information to achieve a mutual understanding. Initial chapters of the book discuss the history of diffusion research, some major criticisms of diffusion research, and the meta-research procedures used in the book. This text is the third edition of this well-respected work. The first edition was published in 1962, and the fifth edition in 2003. The book's theoretical framework relies on the concepts of information and uncertainty. Uncertainty is the degree to which alternatives are perceived with respect to an event and the relative probabilities of these alternatives; uncertainty implies a lack of predictability and motivates an individual to seek information. A technological innovation embodies information, thus reducing uncertainty. Information affects uncertainty in a situation where a choice exists among alternatives; information about a technological innovation can be software information or innovation-evaluation information. An innovation is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or an other unit of adoption; innovation presents an individual or organization with a new alternative(s) or new means of solving problems. Whether new alternatives are superior is not precisely known by problem solvers. Thus people seek new information. Information about new ideas is exchanged through a process of convergence involving interpersonal networks. Thus, diffusion of innovations is a social process that communicates perceived information about a new idea; it produces an alteration in the structure and function of a social system, producing social consequences. Diffusion has four elements: (1) an innovation that is perceived as new, (2) communication channels, (3) time, and (4) a social system (members jointly solving to accomplish a common goal). Diffusion systems can be centralized or decentralized. The innovation-development process has five steps passing from recognition of a need, through R&D, commercialization, diffusions and adoption, to consequences. Time enters the diffusion process in three ways: (1) innovation-decision process, (2) innovativeness, and (3) rate of the innovation's adoption. The innovation-decision process is an information-seeking and information-processing activity that motivates an individual to reduce uncertainty about the (dis)advantages of the innovation. There are five steps in the process: (1) knowledge for an adoption/rejection/implementation decision; (2) persuasion to form an attitude, (3) decision, (4) implementation, and (5) confirmation (reinforcement or rejection). Innovations can also be re-invented (changed or modified) by the user. The innovation-decision period is the time required to pass through the innovation-decision process. Rates of adoption of an innovation depend on (and can be predicted by) how its characteristics are perceived in terms of relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. The diffusion effect is the increasing, cumulative pressure from interpersonal networks to adopt (or reject) an innovation. Overadoption is an innovation's adoption when experts suggest its rejection. Diffusion networks convey innovation-evaluation information to decrease uncertainty about an idea's use. The heart of the diffusion process is the modeling and imitation by potential adopters of their network partners who have adopted already. Change agents influence innovation decisions in a direction deemed desirable. Opinion leadership is the degree individuals influence others' attitudes.

Wee felt it before in sense; but now wee know it by science. Edward Misselden (1623) The collective effort reported in this volume is the outcome of the diffusion of the idea of diffusion as a fundamental process in society. The considerable number of disciplines represented here indicates the weight of the problem area. The editors are to be congratulated for their initiative in drawing together present thinking at a vivid meeting, now also in print. An old timer in the business has not much to add. But maybe some things, bearing in mind that a Preface is a celebration and not a review. As always with ideas it is hard to identify those who first gave shape to the idea of diffusion. In a general sense it is probably an observation as old as human self-reflection that groups of populations exchange ideas and copy habits and implements from each other. Sometimes it has even been recommended, as a Chinese proverb suggested millenia ago, "If you want to become a good farmer, look at your neighbor" .

This book presents a detailed overview of the economics of technological diffusion in all its various dimensions. Topics covered include: Game-theoretic approaches to the modelling of technological change Finance and technological change Technological change in international trade.

Much of the existing economic literature on innovation has taken a particularly functional viewpoint as to what innovation might be. This book explores 'soft innovation', found in the creative industries such as publishing, film-making, advertising, and architecture, which has been, hitherto, ignored in innovation studies.