Communication for Development
Concept and Stages of Innovation – Decision Process
The ultimate aim of any diffusion is to influence farmers/farmwomen to adopt the new idea. It is therefore important to know what exactly we mean by adoption, is adoption instantaneous? Or are there steps in the adoption. All these questions will be answered in this class.
Adoption is defined as a decision to make full use of an innovation as the best course of action available.
Adoption process
Diffusion of innovations refers to the spread of innovations through a population, and is simply the result of a bunch of individual adoption decisions. If individual adoption decisions can be predicted, then the larger diffusion process is also predictable. Adoption usually follows a pattern, Therefore the diffusion process can be explained with the terms given by Rogers as “the spread of a new idea from its source of invention or creation to its ultimate use of adopters”. The diffusion of innovations is essentially a social process in which subjectively perceived information about a new idea is communicated.
An innovation diffuses within a social system through its adoption by individuals and groups. The decision to adopt an innovation, however, “is not normally a single, instantaneous act”, it involves as a process. The “adoption process” is a decision-making process goes through a number of mental stages before making a final decision to adopt an innovation.
Decision-making involves the following steps
(i) Observing the problems
(ii) Making analysis of it
(iii) Deciding the available courses of action
(iv) Taking one course and
(v) Accepting the consequence of the decision
Decision – making is a process comprising a sequence of stages with a distinct type of activity occurring during each stage. Similarly, the way in which an individual adopts an innovation is viewed as a process, a series of related events in a time sequence.
The adoption of specific practices is not the result of a single decision to act but series of actions and thought decisions. Entire process undergoes five stages, popularly known as AIETA
(1) Awareness
(2) Interest
(3) Evaluation
(4) Trial
(5) Adoption
- Awareness Stage
This is the starting stage wherein the farmers/farm women come to know the existence of the new idea but he doesn’t have full information about the idea. At this stage farmer is aware of the idea, but lacks detailed information about it. For instance, the person may know only the name and may not know what the idea is, what it will do or how it will work.
- Interest Stage
The farmer develops interest in the innovation and seeks additional information about it either from extension officer or from fellow farmers or from any source, which he feels credible. That means the farmer at the interest stage acquires more information about an innovation or idea. Farmer wants to know, what the innovation/idea is, how it works and what its potentialities are.
- Evaluation Stage
The farmer here makes mental application of the new idea in the present and anticipated future situations and decides whether or not to try it. The farmer at this stage judges the utility of the innovation. He/she makes an assessment whether the idea is applicable to own situation and if applied what would be the result.
- Trial Stage
At the first instance, the farmers may not take up any new idea and an innovation right away on a large scale because he/she doesn’t want to take risk even though the potential of the idea has been proved. The farmer actually applies the new idea on a small scale in order to determine its utility or feasibility & applicability in own situation. Even though, the farmer takes a decision to try the idea by virtue of its plus points or merits, generally the effectiveness of the idea is tested taking this as small scale trials in their own field standards, even though farmers has thought about it for longtime and gathered information concerning it.
- Adoption Stages
Being satisfied with the performance of the new idea tested on small scale in his own situation, the farmer uses the new idea continuously on a full scale. Trial may be considered as the practical evaluation of an innovation. The innovation becomes a part of his normal farming activity. It provides the advantage of the innovation and hence the farmer takes final decision and applies the innovation in a scale appropriate to own situation on a continued basis.
We shall now take an example and see how a farmer/farmwoman actually goes through all these stages before adopting a new idea. Here we can take an example of adopting Ragimalt to feed a child.
- Awareness stage: The woman is just aware that there is a new type of food to feed the baby. She has become aware about this either from mass media, or an anganwadi/ balwadi worker of the village.
- Interest stage: in this stage she seeks more information from the original source or other sources about the food.
- In the evaluative stage, she weighs the plus and minus points about the new food. She evaluates as to whether the food is worth buying from the market, or she should make it at home? These are some questions she will ask at this stage.
- Trial stage: in this stage she does not want to take the risk of making the food in bulk and storing it, hence she will prepare or purchase in a small quantity and they do feed the child. Hence she wants to try on a small scale because the child may or may not accept the food.
Note: here we should remember that when we are dealing with human beings or their health, the results may not be easily visible within a short time. It is the extension worker to convince the mother about the advantages of feeding the baby with ragi.
- Adoption stage: if she is satisfied that the baby has accepted the new food she may actually adopt on a larger scale.
If however you take the example of a woman buying a new product in the market like a soap powder. The five stages can be very well understood.
The stages of adoption may keep changing. All the stages may not occur with every individual. Some may skip one stage while some may repeat the same stage. Similarly some may take more time to move from one stage to the other while others may take a very short time.
The stages can be summarized as
Innovation decision process
In the previous class you studied about adoption, however in this model it was assumed that the process of adoption always ends with the adoption of the new idea. But in reality it may not be so. In order to overcome this lacuna Rogers suggested the Innovation Decision model. In this class you will study the steps in the ID model as suggested by Rogers.
Concept:
The Innovation – Decision process is the process through an individual (or other decision making unit) passes from first knowledge of an innovation, to forming an attitude toward the innovation, to a decision to adopt or reject, to implementation of the new idea, and to confirmation of this decision to adopt or reject and to confirmation of this decision.
This process should be distinguished from the diffusion process. The major difference between the two processes is that diffusion occurs among the units in a social system, whereas innovation-decision making takes place within the mind of an individual.
The innovation-decision is a special type of decision-making; it has certain characteristics not found in other kinds of decision-making situations. In the case of the adoption of an innovation, an individual must choose a new alternative over those previously in existence. Therefore, the newness of the alternative is a distinction of innovation-decision making.
A Model of the Innovation-Decision Process
Rogers has come up with a model of Innovation-Decision Process
The model consists of essentially the four functions / stages viz., knowledge, persuasion, decision, and confirmation.
The model contains three major divisions
(1) Antecedents,
(2) Process
(3) Consequences.
Antecedents are those variables present in the situation prior to the introduction of an innovation.
Antecedents consist of
- The individual’s personality characteristics, such as his general attitude toward change,
- His social characteristics, such as his cosmopoliteness,
- The strength of his perceived need for the innovation.
All these variables and others affect the way in which the innovation-decision process occurs, for a given individual.
Process is the composition of actions that are occurring
Consequences are the results
Paradigm on Stages in the Innovation-Decision Process
Knowledge
Innovation-decision process begins with knowledge stage, which commences when the farmer is exposed to the innovation’s existence and gains some understanding of how it functions. Knowledge function is mainly cognitive or knowing. Knowledge seeking is initiated by an individual and is greatly influenced by one’s predispositions. Generally, individuals tend to expose themselves to choose ideas which are in accord with their interests, needs, or existing attitudes. The tendency is called “Selective exposure”.
A need is a state of dissatisfaction or frustration that occurs when one’s desires outweigh one’s actualities. An individual may develop a need when he learnt that an improved method, an innovation, exists. Therefore, innovations can lead to needs, as well as vice versa. Some change agents use this approach to change by creating needs among their clients through pointing out the desirable consequences of new idea. Thus, knowledge of innovations can create motivation for their adoption.
Questions such as ‘what is the innovation?’ ‘How does it work?’ and ‘Why does it work?’ are the main concerns of an individual about an innovation. The first of these three types of knowledge, awareness-knowledge, is information that an innovation exists. Awareness-knowledge then motivates an individual to seek ‘how-to-knowledge and ‘principles’ knowledge. This type of information-seeking is concentrated at the knowledge stage, but it may also occur at the persuasion and decision stages.
Most of the extension officers seem to concentrate their efforts on creating awareness knowledge, although this goal can be achieved more efficiently in many client systems by mass media channels. Extension officers/change agents could perhaps play their most distinctive and important role in the innovation-decision process if they concentrate on “how-to-knowledge, which is probably most essential to clients at the trial and decision function in the process. Most extension workers perceive that creation of principle-knowledge is outside the purview of their responsibilities and is a more appropriate task for formal schooling and general education
Knowing about an innovation is often quite a different matter from using the idea. Most individuals know about many innovations which they have not adopted. Why? One reason is because the individual knows about the new idea but does not regard it as relevant to his situation, as potentially useful. Therefore, attitudes toward an innovation frequently intervene between the knowledge and decision functions. In other words, the individual’s attitudes or beliefs about the innovation have much to say about his passage through the decision process. Consideration of a new idea does not pass beyond the knowledge function if the individual does not define the information as relevant to him or if he does not seek sufficient knowledge to become adequately informed so that persuasion can take place.
Persuasion
At the persuasion function in the innovation-decision process the individual becomes more psychologically involved with the innovation and forms a favourable or unfavourable attitude towards the innovation. The mental activity at the knowledge function was mainly cognitive (or knowing), the main type of thinking at the persuasion function is affective (or feeling). Until the individual knows about a new idea, he/she cannot begin to form an attitude toward it.
Her/his personality as well as the norms of her social system may affect where he seeks information, what messages he/she receives, and how he/she interprets the information he received. Thus, selective perception is important in determining the receiver’s communication behaviour at the attitude formation stage. For it is at the persuasion stage that a general perception of the innovation is developed. Such perceived attributes of an innovation as its relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity are especially important at this stage.
The main outcome of the persuasion function in the decision process is either a favourable or unfavourable attitude toward the innovation. It is assumed that such persuasion will lead to a subsequent change in overt behaviour (i.e. adoption or rejection) consistent with the attitude held.
Formation of a favourable or unfavourable attitude toward an innovation does not always lead directly or immediately to an adoption or rejection decision. Nevertheless, there is a tendency in this direction, that is, for attitudes and behaviour to become more consistent.
Decision:
It occurs when an individual puts an innovation into use. At this stage, an individual seeks innovation- evaluation information in order to reduce uncertainity about an innovation’s advantages and disadvantages in his or her own situation. Interpersonal network of friends and family particularly help to carry such evaluative information about an innovation which ultimately helps an individual at decision and confirmation stage.
Implementation:
At this stage an individual or other decision making units starts seriously considering as to how the innovation will bring about changes in their existing practices. The innovation-decision process can lead to either adoption, a decision to make full use of an innovation as the best course of action available or to rejection, a decision not to adopt an innovation. Such decisions can be reversed at a later point. For example, discontinuance is a decision to reject an innovation after it had previously been adopted. Discontinuance may occur because an individual becomes dissatisfied with an innovation are because the innovation is replaced with an improved idea. It is also possible for an individual to adopt the innovation after a previous decision to reject it.
Confirmation:
Confirmation is the last stage of the innovation – decision process when the merits and demerits of innovation are weighed for its adaptability to the specific situation to which it will be used.