Consequences of adoption

There are both positive and negative outcomes when an individual or organization chooses to adopt a particular innovation. Rogers states that this is an area that needs further research because of the biased positive attitude that is associated with the adoption of an innovation (Rogers 2005, p. 470). In the Diffusion of Innovation, Rogers lists three categories for consequences: desirable vs. undesirable, direct vs. indirect, and anticipated vs. unanticipated.

In her article, "Integrating Models of Diffusion of Innovations," Barbara Wejnert details two categories for consequences: public vs. private and benefits vs. costs.[29]

Public versus privatePublic consequences comprise the impact of an innovation on those other than the actor, while private consequences refer to the impact on the actor itself.[29] Public consequences usually involve collective actors, such as countries, states, organizations, or social movements.[29] The results are usually concerned with issues of societal well-being.[29] Private consequences usually involve individuals or small collective entities, such as a community.[29] The innovations are usually concerned with the improvement of quality of life or the reform of organizational or social structures.[29]

Benefits versus costsThe benefits of an innovation obviously are the positive consequences, while the costs are the negative.[30] Costs may be monetary or nonmonetary, direct or indirect.[30] Direct costs are usually related to financial uncertainty and the economic state of the actor.[30] Indirect costs are more difficult to identify.[30] An example would be the need to buy a new kind of fertilizer to use innovative seeds.[30] Indirect costs may also be social, such as social conflict caused by innovation [30] Marketers are particularly interested in the diffusion process as it determines the success or failure of a new product. It is quite important for a marketer to understand the diffusion process so as to ensure proper management of the spread of a new product or service.