Technological Diffusion: Alternative Theories and Historical Evidence

Sarkar, Jayati

doi:10.1111/1467-6419.00051

Cited by 70 publications

(64 citation statements)

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“…The initial studies (and a good share of the publications) about diffusion of innovations have taken place in the field of agriculture [3]. More recent references [4][5][6][7] provide literature reviews concerning theories of diffusion models. Historically, there have been two major approaches to the diffusion of innovations; those trying to reproduce the patterns of diffusion [8] and those trying to understand the underlying factors that affect decision-making mechanisms determining the market roll-out of innovations.…”

Section: How This New Approach To the Diffusion Of Technology Innovatmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, as the proposed approach relies on some explanatory reasons to describe how the technologies evolve, we check in Section 3.1 the goodness of an ARMAX model that uses the prices of scrap, electricity, and steel to model EAF production in Japan. The purpose of using the ARMAX model is to define a linear combination of parameters that work, and can be used in function f (t) in (4), that is, that can be used as the driving force of the innovations in the new approach. Once we check the ability of those variables to depict the evolution of EAF, we apply in Section 3.2 the approach to the diffusion processes discussed in Section 2 to the diffusion of EAF technology in Japan.…”

Section: Application To the Case Of The Diffusion Of An Energy Efficimentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Natural Analogy to the Diffusion of Energy-Efficient Technologies

Moya

2016

Energies

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Abstract:A new mathematical approach to the diffusion of energy-efficient technologies is presented using the diffusion of natural processes as an analogy. This approach is applied to the diffusion of the electric arc furnace in Japan. The main advantage offered by the new approach is the incorporation of an average effect of barriers to, and support measures for, innovation. This approach also incorporates some of the parameters influencing the cost-effectiveness of the investment in the new technology as the main driver for adopting the innovation. The straightforward equivalence between natural phenomena and the diffusion of innovation requires the conceptual abstraction of setting a dimension (and defining) the medium in which the diffusion takes place. This new approach opens new research paths to analysing under what circumstances innovations can take-off, the effect of barriers in the diffusion of energy efficient technologies, or how the diffusion process is incorporated in energy-system models.

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Section: How This New Approach To the Diffusion Of Technology Innovatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Application To the Case Of The Diffusion Of An Energy Efficimentioning

confidence: 99%

A Natural Analogy to the Diffusion of Energy-Efficient Technologies

Moya

2016

Energies

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“…It has been a very popular research topic, especially after World War II, when Schumpeterian economics took off and the idea of economic growth became a strong driver for governments (Sarkar, 1998). Schumpeter (2003Schumpeter ( [1943) claimed that institutions, technological progress and innovators were the promoters of economic growth.…”

Section: Technology Adaptation: the Social Acceptance Of Technology Imentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is not just any claim, as it has to a large extent justified the reliance on innovations, mainly technological, for the improvement of nations during the last seventy years. Although the processes of invention and innovation are central to the development of new technology, the process of diffusion is what actually determines the extent to which this technology will be put into productive use (Sarkar, 1998).…”

Section: Technology Adaptation: the Social Acceptance Of Technology Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Technology and its Role in the Search for Urban Environmental Sustainability : The Dynamics of Adaptation

Mejía-Dugand¹

2015

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Sweden Cover artArmando Paez says that scarcity is not inherent to nature, but it has emerged from the tendency of looking at everything in terms of domination and submission, from the misunderstanding of the relations between humanity and the rest of nature. This cover expresses how close humans are to nature, even when they insist on distancing themselves from it. The reticulate patterns in this leaf resemble the streets and waterways of a city. In nature, this structure works in a way that ensures that every single cell has access to water and nutrients. Cities are places for everyone and they should work in the same way, providing everything their inhabitants need: clean air, water and soil, food, spaces for social interaction, and security. The foundations for more sustainable cities are laid; perhaps we need to improve our cities' ability to adapt to the nature that supports them. AbstractThe aim of this thesis is to analyze the role that environmental technology plays in the solution of environmental problems in cities, and discuss models and conditions that can facilitate the processes of selection, implementation and use of environmental technologies in and by cities.The technological component is perhaps one of the most important characteristics of modern cities. The dependence of humans on technology is in most cases a given, something that is not ignored in the sustainability debate. The development and implementation of new, "better" technologies is however hindered by the inertia that modern societies have and the influence of the dominant systems (e.g. economic systems based on growth, extraction of natural resources and environmental disturbance). So-called environmental technologies are not always able to efficiently compete against other technologies that are embedded in societies by lock-in mechanisms, e.g. learning by doing and using, scale economies, subsidies, and network externalities.Even with the "right" technologies, an exclusively techno-centered approach to sustainability can result in other problems, and it might reduce the sustainability debate and the cities' role in it to discussions of an administrative nature. The actual role of local actors and their agency must be also considered in the models and frameworks directed at understanding sustainability transition processes. It is thus important to analyze the dynamics of technology selection, implementation, use and diffusion in cities from a stakeholders' perspective as well.Not only is the availability of technology of interest for understanding the impact it has on the environment, but also the intensity of its use. This has resulted in increased attention from politicians and scholars on the so-called global cities (e.g. London, New York, Tokyo), which are characterized by their intense use of e.g. transport, security and surveillance, and information and communication. Paradigmatic models of sustainability can however be contested when the role of local actors, power and agency are considered in detail and not isolated from ...

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“…Technology adoption and diffusion models (e.g. Thirtle and Ruttan, 1987;Sarkar, 1998), both at the micro-economic and the aggregate level, can provide valuable insights for a better understanding of actual and required transitions in the energy-converting capital stock composition, related fuel consumption patterns, underlying investment decisions, and technological trajectories followed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%