The original study on which this study was based on was conducted by Jacob Goldenberg, Sangman Han, Donald R.Lehmann, and Jae Weon Hong and published in 2009. In a slight contrast to Goldenberg et al (2009), this study was conducted among a bottom of the pyramid (BOP) network in South Africa using one non discretionary product whilst the original study was conducted on multiple high tech products in Korea This study explores the role of hubs (people with an outstanding number of social ties) in diffusion and adoption of products. The study was conducted using data on a large network and its adoption of a product (electricity) to identify two types of hubs – innovative and follower hubs and their role in influencing adoption ala Goldenberg et al (2009). Even though hubs are not necessarily opinion leaders nor are they necessarily innovators (as described by Rogers, (1962)) they tend to adopt earlier in the diffusion process. Innovator hubs have a greater impact on speed of adoption whilst Follower hubs have greater impact on the size of the market or total number of adoptions. Interestingly and crucially this early adoption behaviour of hubs can be a useful predictor of future product success. Among BOP network nodes, relationships and trust are important in determining the amount or degree of influence one can exert on a fellow network member. Homogeneity increases trust which in turn impacts the role of a hub as a force of influence. The centrality of hubs to networks is also a factor behind their role as information to the rest of the network passes through them, to a degree giving them control over the dissemination of information. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

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Background: The fashion retail industry has undergone a major transformation due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise of technical innovations. This transformation led to the emergence of digital fashion, a new concept integrating experimental technologies, including artificial intelligence, and augmented reality, which further has progressed towards the Metaverse. The Metaverse is a new consumption space without precedent changing how people communicate, create value, and generate economies. The emergence of the Metaverse is predicted to generate trillions of users in the upcoming ten years across user and enterprise use cases, altering the fashion retail industry. Research problem: Despite heavy investments in digital innovations in the retail fashion industry, the topic of innovation adoption remains understudied. As innovation is deemed one of the main drivers of business success, companies must know how to introduce them and understand the impacting factors of success. With Metaverse being the newest innovation that could alter the retail fashion industry, it requires more research and understanding of the impacting external factors that will influence its diffusion over time. Research purpose: The purpose of this study is to close the identified gap by identifying the external factors that influence the adoption and diffusion of Metaverse in the fashion industry. Further, it aims to generate a greater comprehension of the overall attitude toward this innovation.  Research question: What are the external factors and how do they influence the adoption and diffusion of Metaverse innovation in the fashion industry? Method: This is an exploratory qualitative study with an inductive approach. It follows the social constructionism epistemology and the relativistic ontology. Along with the grounded theory, the data is collected through interviews and from the social platform Reddit and analyzed through thematic analysis.  Conclusion: Our findings identify five external factors influencing the diffusion of Metaverse: Regulations, Technology, Digital skillset, Attitude, and Network effects. These factors interact with each other in the innovation process, and our conceptual framework offers a deeper understanding of its diffusion.

Background:Rising greenhouse gas levels through the use of traditional ICE technology in the transport industry have created a worldwide environmental crisis. Battery Electric Bus adoption is a prominent alternative currently being discussed in the public transport industry and represents an inevitable change towards a sustainable future. Purpose:The establishment of a theoretical framework that analyzes primary and secondary data todefine the factors promoting BEB implementation. Method:The study follows a qualitative research approach gathering data in the form of semi-structured interviews which are analyzed to develop an objective theory. Conclusion:The results show that the primary factors influencing diffusion of BEBs are technology factors, macro-economic factors, and socio-political factors. The research defines the relationships between them to further understand their effects on BEB diffusion. The findings develop a theoretical framework around these factors and their effects on one another and the diffusion of BEBs in the industry.

Federal legislation, the Office of Technology Assessment of the U. S. Congress, and national and state technological standards strongly encourage faculty to use computer technology in their lessons as a teaching tool. Technological standards have existed for several years that strongly encourage the use of computer technology in colleges and universities as a teaching tool. Yet it is difficult for faculty to infuse technology into their teaching. The purpose of this study was to assess and identify the factors that influence business teacher educators to adopt computer technology methods and utilize them in their instruction and to determine the extent to which business teacher educators are adopting computer technology in their teaching. The population consisted of 95 members of the National Association of Teacher Educators for Business Education. Findings from the descriptive statistics revealed that the largest percentage of the business teacher educators were early adopters. They indicated that they always used word processing and almost always integrated computers, projectors, and email in their instruction during the past semester. The study also found certain social, organizational, and personal motivational factors that the business teacher educators considered as very important in influencing them to adopt emerging computer technology for use in their instruction. The means revealed differences within the respondents' personal and employment characteristics and the extent to which they adopt current computer technology as a teaching tool; however, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated no significant difference between these variables. Also, multiple regression analysis revealed that the importance of students, a specific adoption category, and the importance of physical resources (hardware) significantly predicted computer technology adoption. The study also revealed that the business teacher educators in this study have the potential to serve as change agents and role models for their student clientele and peers since the findings suggest that these faculty members are among the first individuals to adopt computer technology for use in their instruction. The findings from the study have the potential to contribute to the development of an adopter profile that could be used to identify potential adopters of emerging computer technology. / Ph. D.

This research was about the continuous intention of healthcare professionals to use internet of medical things (IoMT) embedded with artificial intelligence (AI). IoMT and AI are evolving innovations and diffusing at the same time. It was not known in what way the two complex technologies diffusing concurrently could influence continuous intention to use IoMT. In addition, behavioural aspects namely motivation and training to use IoMT have been argued to intervene in the relationship between an AI based IoMT and continuous intention to use IoMT. Diffusion of Innovation theory was applied to explain the relationship between diffusion factors that aid the diffusion of AI based IoMT and continuous intention to use IoMT. The five factors relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability and trialability were chosen as determinants of continuous intention to use IoMT using DoI theory. Self-determination theory and theory of planned behaviour were used to introduce the interventions in the relationship between diffusion factors and continuous intention to use IoMT. UTAUT was used to explain the influence of the moderators artificial intelligence awareness, novelty seeking behaviour and age of healthcare professionals. The central issue investigated was the determinants of continuous intention of healthcare professionals to use IoMT with behavioural attributes of motivation and training conceived as mediators of the relationship between diffusion factors and continuous intention to use IoMT in the presence of moderators. Quantitative research methodology was used to test the research model developed to understand the relationship between the five diffusion of innovation theory factors and continuous intention to use IoMT when AI based IoMT is still diffusing. The concurrent diffusion of two new technologies was investigated using a research model that was developed for studying the healthcare professionals and their intention. The research was conducted in Bahrain in the healthcare sector. A sample of 354 healthcare professionals participated in the research. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data and test the hypothesis. The research showed that healthcare professionals will continue to use concurrently diffusing technologies depending on the relative advantage, complexity and compatibility of the innovations that diffuse. In addition, the results show that healthcare professionals will be motivated by the compatibility of AI-based IoMT if they have to continuously use IoMT. Furthermore, training enables both the organization and the healthcare professionals to overcome dilemma in case they have to continue to use an innovation during its diffusion or when new innovation surface in the market. Finally, artificial intelligence awareness is able to moderate the relationship between relative advantage, complexity and training to use IoMT. Thus, this research contributes to the discipline of behavioural intention of healthcare professionals in determining the influence of an artificial intelligence based IoMT on continuous intention to use IoMT when artificial intelligence embedded in IoMT diffuses concurrently with IoMT. Where IoMT diffusion factors can be used as a determine of continuous intention to use IoMT, artificial intelligence could be understood as a moderator of the relationship between diffusion factors and training to use IoMT, thus demonstrating the combined diffusion of the two technologies diffusing concurrently.

The spread of new technologies takes place at different speeds across different places and between different individuals in a society. This essay focuses on examining and analyzing how the distribution pattern and pace of electric and hybrid cars, commonly called electric vehicles, has taken place in Sweden since the beginning of the 2000s and the following two decades. This trend analysis has been done at national, regional, and local level. Furthermore, a binary logistical regression analysis has been conducted at the individual level for the corresponding geography, based on the goal of finding the personal conditions that affect the acquisition of an electric vehicle.  The study shows that Sweden is at a turning point regarding the diffusion of innovation where the next phase that follows is the “early acceptance”- face in a society. Regional primary locations lead the development and the individuals who most likely own electric vehicles are generally married, highly educated men who own their own housing, have a yearly income above the national median income level and are between 40-80 years old.

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