The Power of Diffusion of Innovations

The power of innovation comes to maturity when it can be accessible to such a critical mass of people that the innovation will have a societal or global impact.

Why is diffusion of innovation and technology important?
Technology has proven to be important through the transformations of our societies; creating new consumption ways through e-commerce for example, new communication ways with the continuous development of the internet, the things linked to the internet, face talk applications, robotics as a service and professional conferencing tools. Technology has allowed growing international trade with tracing, gps and intelligent supply chain solutions.
“A market's hostility to innovations becomes stronger when players are interconnected. In a networked market, each participant will switch to a new product only when it believes others will do so, too. The players' codependent behavior makes it tougher for companies to dislodge the status quo than if each participant were to act autonomously.” Chakravorti (2004)
Nowadays, ideas alone are not strong enough to move societies and the world; it is the accelerated diffusion of technology based on those ideas that has brought the Arab spring through Twitter, YouTube and FaceBook. Diffusion of technology is now often driven by causes as people adopt and adapt innovations to the message they wish to push such as the fight to protect endangered species around the world or ease access to clean water. Accelerated diffusion of innovation and technology through smart phones accessible around the globe has reduced the inequality access to technology and even favored business development in regions where adoption is quick; for example farmers in sub-Saharan Africa that use their smartphones to know the market prices of goods and the affluence in markets; allowing to know when to go and sell and when not. We have also seen a strong m-commerce industry develop in Kenya and Nigeria.

What factors affect diffusion into the global marketplace?
Economic and sociological factors can affect the diffusion of innovation in the global marketplace. In his book Diffusion of Innovations, Rogers (1995) provides five categories classifying features that affect potential adopters of an innovation:
1) The advantage of the innovation.
2) Its compatibility, with the potential adopter’s social norms.
3) The complexity of the innovation.
4) The ease with which the innovation can be tested by a potential adopter.
5) The ease with which the innovation can be evaluated after trial.

What can or should you do to promote diffusion of your products and processes globally?
Tie the promotion of your solutions to significant issues such as the protection of the environment, well aging, wellness, access to banking, savings, economic empowerment, professional education, e-learning, etc. Understand that the importance is not just to think about an innovative solution, but rather the potential adoption of an innovation that can transform behaviors.

Turning on the Lights Global - We link innovation-focused companies with potential partners in the Americas and allow rapid diffusion of ideas through a structured channel across geographic regions. Creating meaningful cross-cultural experiences & building internationalization processes for success.​

​References:
Chakravorti, B. (2004). The new rules for bringing innovations to market. Harvard Business Review, 82(3). Retrieved September 14, 2007, from Business Source Premier database.
Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of Innovations, fourth edition. New York: The Free Press.