Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition

This book explains how new ideas spread via communication channels over time. Such innovations are initially perceived as uncertain and even risky. To overcome this uncertainty, most people seek out others like themselves who have already adopted the new idea. Thus the diffusion process consists of a few individuals who first adopt an innovation, then spread the word among their circle of acquaintances - a process which typically takes months or years. But there are exceptions: use of the Internet in the 1990s, for example, may have spread more rapidly than any other innovation in the history of humankind. Furthermore, the Internet is changing the very nature of diffusion by decreasing the importance of physical distance between people. The fifth edition addresses the spread of the Internet, and how it has transformed the way human beings communicate and adopt new ideas. Table of contents: * Chapter 1: Elements of diffusion (communication channels, time and social systems) * Chapter 2: A histroy of diffusion research * Chapter 3: Contributions and criticisms of diffusion research * Chapter 4: The generation of innovations * Chapter 5: The innovation-decision process * Chapter 6: Attributes of innovations and their rate of adoption * Chapter 7: Innovativeness and adopter categories * Chapter 8: Diffusion networks (models of communication flow, characteristics of opinion leaders, diffusion networks, critical mass and strategies for getting to critical mass) * Chapter 9: Change agents (change agents as linkers, communication campaigns, the use of opinion leaders) * Chapter 10: Innovation in organisations (types of innovation-decisions, organisational innovativeness, the innovation process in organisations, stages in the innovation process) * Chapter 11: Consequences of innovations *