The overview of the innovation and a list of innovation adoption theories

To be more specific about corporate blog per se, the author looks into the factors of technology adoption that what the main characters make corporate blog as a new successful innovation. The author looks into the theories that can be used in stressing the points to be made in further analyzing the research questions. Innovation has been defined in different ways. From the research, Freeman defined “innovation as a process comprising technical design, manufacturing, management, and commercial activities of new product.

” The table1 below illustrate that the whole process of the innovation adoption. The idea from Rogers will be taken into consider as the main theory to analyzing the research questions. A list of innovation adoption theories Innovation channel. A communication channel is the means by which messages get from one individual to another. The nature of the information exchange relationship between a pair of individuals determines the conditions under which a source will or will not transmit the innovation to the receiver and the effect of such a transfer (Rogers 1995, 18).

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Mass media channels basically are those conveying messages that involve a mass medium such as radio, television, newspapers, Web sites and so on. Mass media channels are usually the most rapid and efficient means of informing and audience of potential adopters about the existence of an innovation – that is, to create awareness-knowledge (Rogers 1995, 18). Rogers (1995, 18) defines Interpersonal channels as channels which involve a face-to-face exchange between two or more individuals.

Blogging might be considered as an interpersonal blogs which is much more efficient and thus explains the reasons why some corporations engage in promotional blogs to pump up the market value of their product.

As Rogers (1995, 18) discussed that, interpersonal channels are more effective in persuading an individual to accept a new idea, especially if the interpersonal channel links two or more individuals who are similar in socioeconomic status, education, or other important ways. Heterophily and Homophily of individuals must also be taken into consideration.

As these determine how interpersonal channels should function. Time. Time is the third important element in the diffusion process. As discussed by Rogers (1995, 20), the time dimension is involved in diffusion in (1) the innovation decision process by which an individual passes from first knowledge of an innovation through its adoption or rejection, (2) the innovativeness of an individual or other unit of adoption compared with other members of a system, and (3) an innovations rate of adoption in a system, usually measured as the number of members of the system who adopt the innovation in a given time period.

Time is used as a basis of measurement of the efficiency in the methods of diffusion, and the occurrence of such processes. Social structure and diffusion. A social structure consists of different individuals with different networks of interpersonal communications present. A social structure may contain, more homophilous sets of individuals interacting together with their different interest groups. The well-developed social structure in such a system consists of hierarchal positions, giving individuals in higher-ranked positions the right to issue orders to individuals of lower rank (Rogers 1995, 24).

A complete lack of communication structure in a system would be represented in a situation in which each individual talked with equal probability to each other member of the system. In corporate blog, those systems who use such blogging systems with hierarchal considerations might affect the individuals employee’s capability to voice out his or her comments regarding the corporation or products of the corporation. System norms and diffusion. Norms are established behavior patterns for the members of a social system.

Norms define a range of tolerable and serve as a guide or standard for the behavior of members of a social system (Rogers 1995, 26). Corporations who don’t consider blogging as norms in the context of their areas would not consider corporate blogging as an alternative way of reaching out innovations to their stakeholders, the diffusion of such innovation in that context would relatively be slower. Innovation-decisions. There are three types of innovation decisions, these innovation decisions are defined according to how decisions are made through them..

Optional innovation-decisions are choices to adopt or reject and innovation that are made by an individual independent of the decisions of the other members of the system (Rogers 1995, 28). However, the individual decisions are still affected by the norms of the social system. Collective innovation-decisions are choices to adopt or reject an innovation that are made though a consensus among the members of a system. All units in the system usually conform to the system’s decision once it is made (Rogers 1995, 28).

These are usually innovations wherein a group agrees to take the decision and most if not all of them agree to the innovation. Authority innovation-decisions are choices to adopt or reject and innovation that are made by a relatively few individuals in a system who possess power, status, or technical expertise (Rogers 1995, 28-29). Individuals with no authority over the system, only agrees to the group with such expertise and power. Generally, the fastest rate of adoption of innovation comes from authority decisions.

Authority and Collective decisions meanwhile are the most common in the types of innovation decisions. Decisions may also be changed in time according to the validity of the innovation. If a corporation’s top executives would be in favor of corporate blogging, then of course corporate blogging would definitely be included in their system. Their authority would be sufficient enough for them to push such innovation into the corporation and would definitely make their corporations better.