Diffusion and Innovation Theory

Abstract

The diffusion of new goods or standards is an object of interest in innovation as well as diffusion theory. Both fields of research differ from each other by examining the genesis or formation of innovations until the first implementation and usage in the market entrance phase (Bierfelder 1994) in the first case while the research on diffusion analyzes the interplay between the adoption and penetration of innovations in a market regardless of the origin of an innovation (Witt 1987). A further difference exists based on a different understanding of the term innovation. While innovation theory regards an innovation as a process, in diffusion theory an innovation is an object or the result of technological progress.