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The current knowledge concerning how organizations adopt innovations is considerably less than the sum of its parts. The aim of this paper is to review the innovation adoption and diffusion approach and connect it with the main related theoretical fields within business-to-business marketing.

The paper provides a conceptual discussion, the aim being to develop an integrative conceptual framework.

The adoption and diffusion approach gives little indication of the effects on adoption of the established relationships and the wider relational setting comprising the direct and indirect influences between the network actors. It is rather the innovation and the related communication that are in focus. As a result, the innovation and its adoption and diffusion are considered unique phenomena, the actors are assigned the static roles of opinion leaders and change agents, social system can be defined, and there is no competition. The current theoretical approaches within the business-to-business marketing could provide support in building a more realistic view of adoption and diffusion in industrial context.

The contribution of the proposed conceptual model lies in its capacity to take into account organizational behavior in the form of individual-level actions that underpin the adoption process and relate this intra-firm behavior to its wider network context, thereby facilitating the production of a system-level account and a holistic understanding of the phenomenon of adoption.

The purpose of this study is to examine the diffusion pattern of new products in Latin America, and to compare the results of principal component analysis with other descriptive approaches.

The author studies the introduction of eight new products in nine Latin American countries, analysing their diffusion rate, market potential, adoption and take-off. He performs a principal component analysis and presents a biplot. The results obtained are compared using the Mantel test.

The results indicate that the approaches used are complementary. The biplot describes 92 per cent of the explained variance. Except for a few cases, in general, the diffusion pattern in Latin America is mainly determined by cross-country wealth differences.

This study only analyses durable goods, and does not include any Central American country.

This study helps companies to predict which will be the characteristics of the diffusion pattern of other new products and to forecast their future sales.

This study helps public actors to decide how to segment the Latin American market when implementing policies that encourage the diffusion of new products.

This research extends our current knowledge on the diffusion of innovations in emerging and less developed countries. This is the first study to compare the characteristics of innovation diffusion patterns in Latin America.

El propósito de este estudio es examinar el patrón de difusión de nuevos productos en Latinoamérica, y comparar los resultados obtenidos del análisis de componentes principales con otros métodos descriptivos.

Se analiza la introducción de ocho productos nuevos en nueve países latinoamericanos. Se analizan la tasa de difusión, mercado potencial, adopción y el tiempo de despegue. Se realiza un análisis de componentes principales y se presenta en un biplot. Los resultados obtenidos se comparan a través del test de Mantel.

Los resultados indican que los enfoques usados son complementarios. El biplot describe el 92% de la varianza explicada. El patrón de difusión en Latinoamérica está principalmente determinado por la diferencia entre la riqueza de los países. Sin embargo, en algunos casos el patrón de difusión no sigue esta tendencia.

Este estudio solo analiza productos duraderos y no incluye ningún país de Centro América.

Este estudio ayuda a las empresas a predecir cuáles serán las características del patrón de difusión de otros productos nuevos y pronosticar sus futuras ventas.

Este estudio ayuda a actores públicos a decidir sobre cómo segmentar el mercado Latinoamericano a la hora de aplicar políticas que incentiven la difusión de nuevos productos.

Esta investigación avanza en el conocimiento actual sobre la difusión de innovaciones en países emergentes y menos desarrollados. Es el primer estudio que compara las características del patrón de difusión de innovaciones en Latinoamérica.

There are several approaches trying to explain the diffusion of renewable energy technologies (RET). The most commonly used instruments are learning and experience curves, followed by further economic, policy- and barrier-related analyses. In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding, additional influence factors on RET diffusion have to be studied. This paper aims to contribute to research on RET diffusion by adding the raw material price perspective.

The authors develop a regression model to test the influence of raw material prices on RET diffusion, using investments in RET capacities as indicators of diffusion, and crude oil and natural gas prices as well as public R&D subsidies as main independent variables. The model is then applied to emerging RET (wind and solar power) for electricity generation in 18 OECD-countries.

In the case of wind power, the model shows an adequate fit and a highly significant impact of oil as well as gas prices on investments in RET capacity. In the case of solar power, the impact of raw material prices proves to be highly significant as well, but the weak model fit demands further adjustments of the parameters.

Theoretical implications include the expansion of existing RET diffusion models to a raw material price component. From a practical point of view, the authors provide a starting basis for the systematic integration of raw material price developments into companies' planning and forecasting processes.

This study aims to focus on a reinforcement supplier’s efforts to diffuse solutions, more or less innovative, in the construction sector to gain understanding of what facilitates and complicates innovation diffusion from a supplier perspective.

The interpretative research presented builds on 28 semi-structured interviews with the supplier and its customers and document studies. The research emphasizes dynamics in the diffusion process and rests on the assumption that the innovation content, innovation context and the innovation process interacts in the diffusion process.

The findings and the contribution from the study provide significant details concerning how the dimensions interact and how the diffusion process may unfold over time, but also that different solutions interact to push diffusion forward.

The study relates to one supplier’s work and the interplay implies uniqueness in different cases. Studies in other contexts could, therefore, also be suitable to develop findings and their transferability.

The study provides understanding for suppliers diffusing innovations in construction on how to act.

A major contribution from the study is that it puts emphasis on how the diffusion process proceeds in interaction with its content and context and problematizes this dimension. Furthermore, the importance of nuancing sub-contexts to display decisive factors in the diffusion process is emphasized.

Researchers began investigating the diffusion of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in the late 1990s, and, up to today, a variety of authors have presented different approaches to understand the special characteristics of RET diffusion. However, one factor has been thus far disregarded in the research: the influence of raw material prices on RET diffusion. The dependence of a multitude of technologies on raw material prices became especially apparent in recent years due to rather sudden and volatile price movements in raw material markets. Thus, the aim of this work is to contribute to the research by providing evidence for a direct linkage between raw material price developments and RET diffusion.

A theoretical framework used in this article derives from the concept of induced diffusion. This empirical study is based on publicly available data of 18 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over 20 years and uses multivariate regression analysis to identify the corresponding diffusion models for selected established and emerging RETs.

Results reveal that crude oil prices play a crucial role in the diffusion of emerging RETs. In addition, a joint reflection of induced diffusion and path dependencies as the theoretical foundation of RET diffusion models might be reasonable.

This paper makes a significant contribution to the literature on induced diffusion in the field of renewable energies by providing insights from publicly available data from 18 OECD-countries. The findings are highly relevant for managers of the energy industry and policymakers in this field.

British construction industry KPI data collected over recent years shows a trend in projects exceeding their time schedules. In 2013, the UK Government set a target for projects timeframes to reduce by 50 per cent. Proposed interventions included more rapid project delivery processes, and consistent improvements to construction delivery predictions, deployed within the framework of 4D Building Information Modelling (BIM). The purpose of this paper is to use Rogers’ Innovation Diffusion theory as a basis to investigate how this adoption has taken place.

In total, 97 construction planning practitioners were surveyed to measure 4D BIM innovation take-up over time. Classic innovation diffusion research methods were adopted.

Results indicated an increasing rate of 4D BIM adoption and reveal a time lag between awareness and first use that is characteristic of this type of innovation.

Use of a non-probability sampling strategy prevents the results being generalisable to the wider construction population. Future research directions and methods are suggested, including qualitative investigations into decision-making processes around 4D BIM, and case studies exploring the consequences of 4D BIM adoption.

Recommendations of how to facilitate the adoption of 4D BIM innovation are proposed, which identify the critical aspects of system compatibility and safe trialling of the innovation.

This paper reinforces 4D BIM as an innovation and records its actual UK industry adoption rate using an accepted diffusion research method. By focusing on UK industry-wide diffusion the work also stands apart from more typical research efforts that limit innovation diffusion exploration to individual organisations.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the post-adoption stage of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony diffusion, examining usage behavior based on Shih and Venkatesh’s use-diffusion (UD) model.

The research model incorporates technology sophistication, complementary technologies, personal innovativeness, self-efficacy, trust propensity, media exposure, subjective norms, and word-of-mouth (WOM) referrals as UD determinants; rate of use and variety of use as usage variables; intense use, specialized use, nonspecialized use, and limited use as UD patterns; and satisfaction and intention to use future-related technologies as UD outcomes. Data used to test the research model were collected using a web-based online questionnaire form; 360 valid responses were obtained. Partial least squares, multinomial logistic regression, and analysis of variance were used to analyze data.

The results reveal that variety of use, self-efficacy, propensity to trust, media exposure, subjective norms, and WOM referrals increase rate of use, while complementary technologies, personal innovativeness, self-efficacy, media exposure, and subjective norms widen variety of use; variety of use is essential in predicting UD outcomes; when choosing limited use as the reference category, more than half of the UD determinants are capable of predicting UD patterns; and generally, intense users are more satisfied with VoIP telephony, while limited users have less intention to use future-related technologies.

The present study focuses on the post-adoption stage, thereby extending the frontiers of research on the diffusion of VoIP telephony. Academics can obtain some evidence of the explanatory power of the UD model in the context of VoIP telephony use, and practitioners can obtain fresh insights into the dynamics of VoIP telephony usage behavior.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the implementation of accrual accounting among two layers of government in Sri Lanka. This study examines the process of diffusion and application among and between provincial governments and local governments to assess the barriers and enablers on the implementation of accrual accounting.

The study relies on data collected through interviews with 30 accounting and finance personnel from all levels of government active in the diffusion process. Interviews were conducted to gather and assess their insights and perceptions on the diffusion of accrual accounting. The data are examined initially using Rogers (1995) “diffusion of innovation” theory to explain the factors influencing the diffusion and adoption of accrual accounting at two levels of government but the analysed primarily by comparing the perspectives of respondents between the different layers of government.

The findings show that the adoption of accrual accounting was more effective among local governments compared with provincial governments. The lack of effective communication and engagement from the leaders of the innovation failed to persuade provincial government adopters of the true value of the accounting reform. This is contrasted with local governments who openly adopted accrual accounting but not in response to pressure from provincial government, who have oversight responsibility for local governments, but in response to funding protocols initiated by the central government to account for grant funding.

The findings of the study should be interpreted with caution as the data are obtained from the narrow cohort of accounting and finance professionals and may not reflect the views or experience of all stakeholders involved in the diffusion of accrual accounting.

The paper contributes to the diffusion of accounting innovation literature by examining the role of key players in different layers of government, particularly visible among provincial governments where the lack of engagement delayed its commitment to the implementation of accrual accounting.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT) among small indigenous agribusinesses operating in southeast Nigeria. The study emphasises the role played by social networks in the process of innovation and technology diffusion.

The research was conducted utilising a qualitative approach. The authors conducted semi‐structured interviews with agribusiness proprietors and data were subsequently analysed using template analysis.

Based on interviews of 27 small indigenous agribusinesses proprietors, the major findings from the interviews appear to point to four major social imperatives that impact on ICT diffusion in developing countries.

The main objective of the authors is to show how interaction between different actors and their engagement in the social process plays a major role in ICT diffusion. In particular, the authors highlight the role played by cultural imperatives in sustaining the diffusion of innovation process.

The incorporation of social network theory in innovation and technology diffusion scholarship is recent and very much at the developmental stage. Its contribution has however been accentuated by the role enterprises play during the diffusion process.

The purpose of this paper is to propose distributed learning-based three different metaheuristic algorithms for the identification of nonlinear systems. The proposed algorithms are experimented in this study to address problems for which input data are available at different geographic locations. In addition, the models are tested for nonlinear systems with different noise conditions. In a nutshell, the suggested model aims to handle voluminous data with low communication overhead compared to traditional centralized processing methodologies.

Population-based evolutionary algorithms such as genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and cat swarm optimization (CSO) are implemented in a distributed form to address the system identification problem having distributed input data. Out of different distributed approaches mentioned in the literature, the study has considered incremental and diffusion strategies.

Performances of the proposed distributed learning-based algorithms are compared for different noise conditions. The experimental results indicate that CSO performs better compared to GA and PSO at all noise strengths with respect to accuracy and error convergence rate, but incremental CSO is slightly superior to diffusion CSO.

This paper employs evolutionary algorithms using distributed learning strategies and applies these algorithms for the identification of unknown systems. Very few existing studies have been reported in which these distributed learning strategies are experimented for the parameter estimation task.