THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THEORY (DOI)

The Diffusion Of Innovation Theory, one of the oldest social science theories of communication  was coined by E. M  Roger in 1962.The theory was discovered by E.Y Roger in 1962.The DOI theory explains  how a product or an  idea  spreads among a specific population.. In the process of adoption the social system diverts a previous way of  living  and accepts  a new  idea or behavior . The acceptance makes diffusion effective .The newness of the idea or  behaviour also makes  it innovative .

When introducing an innovation to a society, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of each group because the qualities of the various adopters vary depending on how fast or slow they adopt  to change. Below are the various classes briefly discussed.

Innovators are the first group. They are daring and always ready to try new ideas regardless of the risk involved .Little effort is needed to appeal to the innovators and they are mostly the beginners of innovation such as their name suggests.

The Early Adopters, popularly known in our societies as opinion leaders  are the second group of adopters. They are ever ready to lead a change since they regard the essence of change. This group can also be appealed to by the use of manuals and information  sheets.

Next is the Early Majority.  These adopters mostly needs a standard  prove of the innovation’s effectiveness before involving themselves. The early majority can be appealed to by success stories and evidence of  the innovation’s success.

There is also The Late Majority. They are quite difficult and skeptical towards change. They only get involved when they realise that majority has tried, tested and proven the progress of the innovation.. Measures to appeal to to this group is by the delivery of accurate information  from the majority who have tested the innovation..

The final group is the Laggard. Laggards are mostly binded  by traditional ties and are  extremely skeptical to change. In appealing to them statistics, pressure from the other adopters and fear appeal is needed because they are the hardest among all the adopters.

It is very important to research into the strategies to appeal to the senses of each of the five groups since that is the key to implementing change effectively.