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Revised Technology Adoption Life Cycle
Innovator
Early Adopter
Early Majority
Late Majority
Laggard
Product Lifecycle
Adoption Rate
Innovator
- Technologist
- Visionary
- Seeks out innovations
- Willing to experiment with possibilities of new technology
Early Adopter
- Visionary
- Willing to experiment with possibilities of new technology
- Interested in new product concepts
- Seeking change/a fundamental breakthrough
Early Majority
- Pragmatists
- Willing to adopt new technology
- Willing to become technologically competent
- Looking to increase productivity of existing processes
- Need a value proposition
- Seek references from other pragmatists
- Do not want to debug or beta test the product
Late Majority
- Conservatives
- Unwilling to become technologically competent
- Unwilling to change behavior
- Want new technology to make current practices more productive
- Wait for an established standard
- Want lots of support
Laggard
- Skeptics
- No interest in new technology
Innovator-Early Adopter Gap
Hot technology product cannot translate into a new major benefit (e.g., virtual reality)
Early Adopter-Early Majority Chasm
Early majority is unwilling to change current practices, and/or wants technology to enhance current status quo rather than innovative technology
Vendor is without a support base in a market that demands support
Catch-22: Need for good references when references are scarce or non-existent
Early-Late Majority Gap
Lingering demands for users to be technologically competent (e.g., programmable home appliances)
Late Majority-Laggard Gap
Need skepticism neutralized
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End
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Figure: "Technology Adoption Life Cycle," from Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore. Copyright © 1991 by Geoffrey A. Moore. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
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