chapter 5: tech innovation Flashcards
what is diffusion of innovations and what does it entail?
study of adoption and diffusion(adopted) of tech innovations in society or segments of society overtime
- shows that technologies are a result of social, cultural, political, and historical factors
what is one reason for this rapid growth?
pervasiveness of tech in out society and its increasing impact on how we work, play, socialize and communicate
what is innovation?
“idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or another unit of adoption”
- presents an individual or organization with a new alternative or alternatives, with new means of solving problems
- spread of ideas and tools
“decision to start using innovation for a specific goal (individual basis or organizational level)”
adoption
what is diffusion?
process by which, over time, innovation becomes adopted in a social group
- matter of tech superiority
- models didnt capture complexity of diffusion and failed to take political, social and cultural factors in account
what does Jared Diamond argue in terms of how tech spreads?
argues that central to understanding social change in society is studying the origins of technological innovations
innovations rarely developed locally; most taken from other social groups = copying technology
- social groups wont develop new was of dealing with issues and go with existing solutions
what are the 2 key factors that affect whether innovations are to be invented locally or copied from other societies?
Ease of invention = the extent to which an innovation can be easily discovered based on existing knowledge
- some difficult to discover as they require complex knowledge in an area and combo of knowledge from distinct areas
Interconnectedness = extent to which social groups are geographically or socially connected to one another allowing for the flow of goods and the exchange of ideas, information, knowledge, and innovations
- high degree - allows for the easy transfer of technologies and technological know-how
how does geographical location play a role in adaptation of tech?
Isolated societies needed to rely on their own creativity - could not easily borrow ideas or inventions from other social groups
- diffusion connected to need to retain power over rivals (depends on amount of military innovation countries can acquire)
centrally located - centres of innovation
non centrally located - not interconnected(takes while to get new tech)
“abandonment of new technologies” (eg. history of guns in japan)
technological regression
who developed the most influential model of diffusion and what were the 2 concepts that were central to his argument?
Everrett Rogers
concepts of: uncertainty and information
what does uncertainty entail?
adopters engage in risk because they do not know whether or not the new innovation will yield the expected outcomes
eg. adoption of new hardware/software
what does information entail?
reduces uncertainty and helps potential adopters make a decision about a particular technological innovation’s usefulness and efficiency
- can be through the tech itself, peers, media and ind’s outside social group
eg. should i get the new apple phone or is it the same as the one i have now?
what are the 4 main elements of the diffusions of innovations by Rogers?
- The innovation
- Communication Channels
- Time
- Social System
what is innovation and the 5 characteristics?
“consist of new ideas, practices, or objects linked to technology”
- relative advg.
- compatibility
- complexity
- trialability
- observability
relative advg.?
assesses the merits of an innovation in relation to the idea, practice, or object it is to replace
- if added value - more likely to adopt
“the good fit of an innovation with the existing norms, values, and attitudes of a social group”
compatibility
complexity?
“level of skill needed to comprehend the workings of a technology and its ease of use”
- more likely to adopt when tech is transparent in function and benefits
“provides potential adopters with the possibility to reduce the uncertainty associated with the innovation, gather evidence about its value and potential risks through prior experience”
trialbility