DIFFUSION MODELING AS A DESCRIPTIVE TOOL FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS: A HOLOGRAPHIC IMAGE OF REALITY

                         ARNOLD, DOUGLAS GEORGE; PHD

                         THE UNION INSTITUTE, 1993

                         BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, GENERAL (0310); SOCIOLOGY, THEORY AND METHODS
 

                         There is a general lack of in-depth information regarding diffusion models and their descriptive capacity
                         for providing insights into the functioning of social systems. Specifically, their is little information on what
                         diffusion models can tell us regarding the functioning of professional associations and the propagation of
                         innovations (i.e. new technologies, processes, practices, etc.) in their respective professions. Diffusion
                         modeling theorizes about the spread of innovation from the beginning to the end of the innovation's life
                         cycle. In the context of a social system innovation, diffusion models should help describe the different
                         levels of innovativeness with which individuals in a given social system respond to new ideas. That is,
                         diffusion models should help describe the degree to which individuals are relatively early or late in
                         adopting innovations in the system. Therefore, diffusion modeling should be a useful 'descriptive' tool
                         for analyzing social organizations and the diffusion of innovations there in. This PDE was designed to
                         study the question: How are diffusion models useful tools for the analysis of social organizations?
                         Grounded in transformational theory and processes of analysis, the PDE undertakes to resolve this
                         research challenge. The PDE studies two innovations which were introduced to a specific social
                         system--The Pacific Northwest Organization Development Network (PNODN). The research design
                         consisted of a three phase methodology. Phase I was a survey of the PNODN membership. The survey
                         was designed to gather base data regarding the social system and membership memory concerning two
                         specific innovations which had been introduced to this professional group prior to the survey. This base
                         data was necessary for operating the diffusion model. Phase II was the use of an innovation diffusion
                         model for descriptive analysis. This phase included (a) the development of the underlying analytical
                         assumptions, (b) the postulation of diffusion elements, (c) the selection of a specific diffusion model to
                         be applied, and (d) the diffusion simulations and their results. Phase III, based on transformational theory
                         and analysis, evaluates the diffusion analysis process. In the end, from the perspective of
                         transformational research, the study concludes that diffusion models, in certain situations, are useful
                         tools for the study of social organizations. Specifically, diffusion modeling can provide directionality for
                         transformational social researchers as they work within a given social system.

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