Diffusion of Innovation

Rogers, Everett M. (1962). Diffusion of Innovation. New York, NY: New York: Free Press.
(now in fifth edition, year??...4th edition was in 1995)

In his studies of adoption of technologies, he classified four types of people:
- innovators
- early adopters
- adopters (early majority and late majority)
- laggards (comparative slowness or retardation)

Rogers achieved academic fame for his Diffusion of innovations theory; his book, Diffusion of Innovations, is now in its fifth edition. He proved that adopters of any new innovation or idea could be categorized as innovators (2.5%), early adopters (13.5%), early majority (34%), late majority (34%) and laggards (16%), based on Bell curve mathematic division. Each adopter's willingness and ability to adopt an innovation would depend on their awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption. People could fall into different categories for different innovations -- a farmer might be an early adopter of hybrid corn, but a late majority adopter of VCRs.