Influence of Personal Communication Networks on Innovation Adoption — Using Multi-Agent Simulations to Project the Launch of an Innovative Medical Device

Abstract

Adoption processes are often heavily in°uenced by interpersonal communication. Marketing managers are increasingly trying to use these relationships to foster the market penetration of their products. In an empirical study of the US market for an innovative medical device, we survey the social network of (mostly chief) anesthetists from 151 hospitals. We con¯rm the in°uences from personal communication on individual adoption decisions through hazard regressions. We then use a multi-agent modeling framework trying to identify what seeding strategies would have been optimal to achieve a fast market penetration, i.e. which and how many anesthetists should be selected to initiate personal communication processes.

Fostering knowledge sharing in the innovation process: Information and communication technology‐based versus face‐to‐face relationships

“…Innovation has also been largely studied in association with the importance of face‐to‐face contacts (Acs & Varga, 2002; Barrot, Kuhlmann, & Popa, 2013; Brown & Duguid, 2001). For example, actors with personal relationships are more willing and ready to communicate and interact spontaneously trough unscheduled face‐to‐face encounters and e‐mail (Haythornthwaite & Wellman, 1998; Wellman, 2009).…”

ResearchWatch

“…In it, Christian Barrot and his colleagues look at the influence of personal communication networks on the adoption of new technologies. 4 They argue that adoption processes are often heavily influenced by interpersonal communication and that marketing managers are increasingly trying to use these relationships to foster the market penetration of their products. They report an empirical study of the US market for an innovative medical device, in which they survey the social network of (mostly chief) anaesthetists from 151 hospitals.…”