Modelling the faddish, fashionable and efficient diffusion of agricultural technologies: A case study of the diffusion of wool testing technology in Australia

This study investigates the nature of innovation diffusion in an agricultural context. The dominant agricultural diffusion models assume that an economically rational choice is made to adopt or reject agricultural technologies. However, recent studies of agricultural innovation highlight the ‘irrati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Technological forecasting & social change 2011-03, Vol.78 (3), p.468-480
Main Authors: Sneddon, Joanne, Soutar, Geoffrey, Mazzarol, Tim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adoption of Innovations
Agricultural economics
Agricultural Research
Agricultural technologies
Agricultural Technology
Agronomy
Australia
Bass model
Diffusion
Economics
Fad
Farm machinery
Fashion
Innovation
Innovations
Rational Choice
Rejection
Social change
Studies
Technological change
Technology
Technology adoption
Typology
Wool
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Summary:This study investigates the nature of innovation diffusion in an agricultural context. The dominant agricultural diffusion models assume that an economically rational choice is made to adopt or reject agricultural technologies. However, recent studies of agricultural innovation highlight the ‘irrational’ and potentially ‘inefficient’ nature of the diffusion in this context. To investigate how and why agricultural technologies are adopted or rejected, we examine the diffusion of wool testing technologies in the Australian wool industry using the Bass diffusion model and Abrahamson's diffusion and rejection typology. The results show that diffusion of agricultural innovation is not simply an efficient choice made to close observable performance gaps. The findings suggest that the adoption of inefficient innovations and the rejection of efficient innovations can be driven by an adopter's social context, powerful external influences and imitation within an adopter group and that these drivers change over time, suggesting an evolutionary social process underlies the diffusion of agricultural technologies.
ISSN:0040-1625
1873-5509
DOI:10.1016/j.techfore.2010.06.005