Diffusion research in the industrial setting: Some conceptual clarifications

This paper deals with some conceptual and methodological issues concerning research into the diffusion of innovations. In particular, it examines differences in the research traditions of anthropological and sociological work on the one hand, and economic research on the other, and evaluates the usefulness of each field's paradigms in the study of industrial technological change. Such differences are found to exist with respect to the appropriate measure of diffusion, the role of information flows in the spread process, and the meaning of resistance to change. It concludes that explanations of diffusion processes in industry couched in terms of economic variables form a more solid basis for purposes of technological forecasting and planning.