INNOVATIVENESS: THE WILLINGNESS TO ADOPT
by
Charles Lamson
Innovators can be described by one word - "venturesome." It is almost an obsession with innovators. They are very eager to try new ideas, and even occasionally take a setback in finances in the hopes that he or she will make it up elsewhere. He or she is usually rash, daring, and a risk taker. Such a person is also able to deal with a high degree of uncertainty and ambiguity.
Most of us are not innovators. In a normal population only about 5 people in 200 (2.5 percent of the population) are innovators. They are willing to take risks and launch new ideas into the system. They understand that others may not want to take the risk, so they will take the risk of being the first to adopt a new idea. The biggest drawback to being an innovator is that innovators cannot communicate informally with their peers as easily as people in some other adopter categories.
Early adopters also can be described by one word - "respectable." These people are more integrated into the system, and usually can communicate on a similar level with others."Potential adopters look to early adopters for advice and information" (Rogers, 1995, pg. 249). These are people known in the system as the "individual to check with" before using a new idea.
Some of us may be early adopters. Approximately 13.5 percent of the population fall into this category. Early adopters are respected and held in high esteem by others in the system. They often are able to take the innovators' ideas and help diffuse them successfully into a system, because others respect them and are willing to listen to their advice. They help decrease uncertainty about the respectability of the innovation.
The early majority are usually referred to as "deliberate." These people "adopt new ideas just before the average member of a social system." The early majority interact frequently with their peers, but seldom hold leadership positions" (Rogers, 1995, pg. 249). They are unique in that they are between the very early to accept a new idea, and those late to adopt a new idea. They provide interconnectedness in the system.
Approximately 34 percent of the population are in the early majority. They are deliberate and think about the innovation for quite awhile before adopting. They usually adopt with deliberate willingness, but rarely lead the way. Their motto, as Alexander Pope put it, is "Be not the first by which the new is tried, nor the last to lay the old aside."
The late majority can be described best as skeptical. These people "adopt new ideas just after the average member of a social system." They usually adopt because of increasing peer pressure, or because of economic necessity. For example, some people would not give up their typewriters in favor of word processors, until most of their colleagues were using them, or until they found they could not get their typewriter fixed anymore. These people approach all innovations with an air of caution and skepticism.
Approximately 34 percent of the population are in the late majority, just as there were in the early majority, They will wait until most of the system has adopted before they adopt. They want to see that the innovation works, and have most of the uncertainty about the innovation removed before they adopt.
Finally, we have the laggards. They are the traditional people in the society. Whereas, the late majority may be skeptical, the laggards are truly suspicious of any new idea. When they do adopt something, it is no longer an innovation to most people in the society. It may even have already been superseded by another, newer idea. For example, laggards might adopt typewriters (rather than cursive) when almost everyone else has moved to word processors.
Approximately 16 percent of the population are in the laggard category. These people will slow down the change process when they can, and often do not understand why others adopted. This is not to suggest that laggards are bad people. They are not. They are simply not change-oriented. Most people in the society recognize that change is not always good, but these people go a step further. They think change is never, or almost never, good. Sometimes it turns out that they are right, but it can be a problem if laggards dominate a system. Some systems are so laggardly that they eventually "put themselves out of business," by not being willing to change when change is needed.
In conclusion, the rate at which people adopt innovations can influence how quickly a change is diffused throughout an organization. The categories mentioned demonstrate the various categories of potential adopters. Anyone attempting any change in any organization must be aware of the above. He or she needs to know that all are present in organizations and that some stimulate change and others impede change. In addition, employees also need to know what type of a system they work in - is it change-oriented or not? For example, if a highly innovative person is working in a laggardly system, he or she might be completely dissatisfied and need to move. If a laggardly person is working in a highly innovative system, then he or she might be completely dissatisfied and need to move. Change will be successful only if the people who can promote the change are persuaded that it is a needed change.
*SOURCE: ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION FOR SURVIVAL 3RD ED. BY VIRGINIA P. RICHMOND, JAMES C. MCCROSKEY AND LINDA L. MCCROSKEY, 2005, PGS. 163-165*
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