Decision mapping

Have you ever felt unsure if you wanted to try a new product or idea? Maybe you thought it would be hard to use or wouldn’t work with your infrastructure. Regardless of the idea or technology, humans go through a multi-stage path to adoption, which has been mapped out and described. As you read this article, think of a technology you have considered (and potentially decided to adopt) and see if you can identify with the process described below.

Step one: Knowledge

The first step to adopting something new is the knowledge stage, which begins when someone first becomes aware of the innovation and starts to understand how it works. Knowledge may be high for some industry-wide innovations and low for others. For example, one study showed as a whole, U.S. nursery and greenhouse growers were very knowledgeable about rainwater capture and not as knowledgeable about irrigation audits.

Step two: Persuasion

The second step is called the persuasion stage, where the individual develops either a favorable or unfavorable perception based on the innovation attributes measured through five characteristics.

• Relative advantage of the innovation is how much it improves on the technology or idea it replaces or solves an individual’s problems. Sometimes this means looking at economic factors.
• Compatibility of the innovation indicates whether it matches an individual’s values, systems, infrastructure, needs or a combination.
• Complexity of the innovation captures the relative difficulty to understand it or use it.
• Trialability indicates whether someone has an opportunity to test or experiment with the innovation before committing to it.
• Observability is whether someone has had the opportunity to see others using the innovation and observe its potential outcomes.

These five characteristics help the individual form their attitude toward the innovation and inform their decision in the next stage along the path to adoption. One study revealed that U.S. nursery and greenhouse growers tended to have strong perceptions of automated nursery technologies in terms of relative advantage and observability but had weaker perceptions of compatibility, complexity and trialability. They found that compatibility had the strongest correlation to adoption.

Step three: Decision

The third step is the decision stage. Here, the individual decides if they are going to adopt or reject this innovation based on their knowledge and their assessment of the five characteristics in the previous persuasion stage.

Step four: Implementation

The fourth step is the implementation stage. Once an individual has decided to adopt the innovation, they will now take the necessary steps to put it to use.

Step five: Confirmation

The final step is the confirmation stage, where the individual decides if they want to continue or stop using the innovation. If an adopter has a good experience, they will often continue using the technology or idea. Two studies of U.S. nursery and greenhouse growers’ adoption of water-related innovations revealed that once an innovation is adopted, its use is typically continued, which reflects the thought that goes into the adoption decision.

Laura Warner is a professor of extension education in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida, lsanagorski@ufl.edu. Vashti Tatman is a PhD student and research assistant in Warner’s lab, vashtitatman@ufl.edu.