Innovation Constructs: An Exploratory Study

• Published in: Journal of college teaching and learning Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 33 - 44
• Main Authors: Sauer, Paul L, O'Donnell, Joseph B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Clute Institute 01.01.2007
• Subjects: Administrators; Adoption (Ideas); College Faculty; Educational Improvement; Educational Innovation; Evaluation; Factor Analysis; Higher Education; Information Technology; Majors (Students); Marketing; Measures (Individuals); Perception; Surveys; Teachers; Undergraduate Students
• DOI: 10.19030/tlc.v4i1.1636
• ISSN: 1544-0389

Many organizations strive to improve performance by creating and marketing new products and/or services. Understanding why some new products and services succeed while others fail is critical to managers and marketing researchers. Diffusion of innovation theory addresses the reasons for, and rate of, the adoption of new ideas, products, and services. This theory and its related constructs have been successfully applied to new products while there has been less on emphasis on new services such as educational innovations. Further, research of educational innovations, has focused on adoption by teachers and administrators rather than students. This research study addresses this gap by empirically investigating whether diffusion of innovation theory and constructs apply to student adoption of new academic programs. The study involves surveying undergraduate students from a northeastern college on their perceptions of newly launched and traditional majors. Survey items are adaptations of previous scales as well as new items that relate to the new major decision. The proposed scale utilizes innovation constructs of relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. Study results suggest that the diffusion of innovation constructs apply to the new major decision, but contrary to prior research some of the scales are mutli-dimensional rather unidimensial as reported in prior studies. This research study provides useful scales that can be used by marketing professionals and designers of new services, especially in the area of education. Also, study results raises issue for the research community regarding stability of innovation constructs in different settings. (Contains 7 tables.)