Diffusion of Innovations
Also known as: Adopter Categories · Innovators / Early Adopters / Majority / Laggards
New ideas spread through a population in a predictable sequence of adopter types.
A foundational social-science model describing how innovations are communicated and adopted over time across innovators, early adopters, early and late majorities, and laggards, shaped by attributes like relative advantage and compatibility.
Core concepts
Adopter CategoriesS-CurveInnovation Attributes
Best when
- Planning a rollout sequence for something genuinely new
Watch-outs
- Descriptive, not a go-to-market plan on its own