In this paper we investigate how two online services (a portal and a digital library) may influence the adoption of an innovation. It is known from prior surveys that the installation services branch of the Dutch building industry has a relatively slow adoption rate for innovations. We examine if these two online services can influence the attitude towards the adoption of innovations. From the academic literature we have derived a list of factors that influence the attitude towards adoption by individuals. We limited this project to a number of factors that are commonly referred to as technological factors. Using an online digital library and a custom-built portal, we conducted a field experiment with a post-test only control group design for one particular innovative product (a gas-analysis device); the test was performed using a survey. Our main finding is that the portal has a significant and positive effect towards the adoption of the innovation by an individual. We did not find a significant impact for the use of the digital library. On the basis of this experiment, we propose that online services that offer a high degree of interaction amongst their users are more likely to induce an increase in the willingness of an individual to adopt an innovation.

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Erasmus School of Economics
hdl.handle.net/1765/16331
Econometric Institute Research Papers
Report / Econometric Institute, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Erasmus School of Economics

Verkerk, M., van der Pijl, G., & van Asperen, E. (2009). ICT as an Enabler for Innovation Adoption (No. EI 2009-15). Report / Econometric Institute, Erasmus University Rotterdam (pp. 1–16). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/16331