The Diffusion of Innovations: A Communication Science Perspective - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1433110830 ISBN 13: 9781433110832

Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers, 2011

Synopsis

In the last edition of the Diffusion of Innovations, Everett Rogers challenged diffusion scholars to move beyond the methods and models of the past, recognize the limitation of prior approaches, and broaden the conceptions of the diffusion of innovations. This book answers that call. It brings together noted diffusion scholars and presents a communication perspective for the study of the diffusion process. Using approaches ranging from mathematical modeling and multidimensional scaling to network analysis and agent-based modeling, chapters critically examine the current theoretical and methodological approaches in diffusion research and present novel ways to understand the process. Each chapter expands the scope of diffusion theory and lays the groundwork for the next generation of scholarship. The book is a must-read for anyone wishing to study trends in diffusion research, including diffusion scholars, marketers of ideas and products, communication and management consultants, policy makers, and individuals and organizations working on changing the status quo. It is recommended as a supplementary text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in communication, business and management, information science, and sociology.

About this title

About the Author

Arun Vishwanath is Associate Professor of Communication at the University at Buffalo. His research focuses on the cognitive, affective, and behavioral determinants of technology adoption. His research looks at how individuals conceptualize new innovations and the role of interpersonal and mass mediated messages in the adoption and utilization of innovations.
George A. Barnett is Professor of Communication at the University of California, Davis. His research interests focus on social and cognitive system dynamics, and the examination of social and communication networks and how they change over time as a function of perturbations in the system in which they are embedded.

Review

«These chapters truly do ‘advance’ the study of the diffusion of innovations. They expand the conceptual domain of adoption (with relations and appropriation), the process (using mathematical and agent-based models), the nature of diffusion (with alternate perspectives), the challenges provided by new media, and complementary theoretical perspectives.» (Ronald E. Rice, University of California, Santa Barbara)
«‘The Diffusion of Innovations: A Communication Science Perspective’ charts out a compelling and refreshing twenty-first century research agenda for a topic that captured the intellectual imagination of many scholars in the twentieth century. The chapters in this book showcase the breadth and depth of novel conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and practical approaches that will advance our understanding of the multi-level and contextual dynamics associated with the diffusion of innovations.» (Noshir Contractor, Jane S. & William J. White Professor of Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University)

Edition details

• Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1433110830
• ISBN 13: 9781433110832
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 239
• Editor: Vishwanath Arun, Barnett George A.