ERIC Number: EJ1084560
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1533-015X
EISSN: N/A
Rethinking Diffusion Theory in an Applied Context: Role of Environmental Values in Adoption of Home Energy Conservation
Priest, Susanna Hornig; Greenhalgh, Ted; Neill, Helen R.; Young, Gabriel Reuben
Applied Environmental Education and Communication, v14 n4 p213-222 2015
Diffusion theory, developed and popularized within communication research by Everett Rogers, is a venerable approach with much to recommend it as a theoretical foundation for applied communication research. In developing an applied project for a home energy conservation (energy efficiency retrofit) program in the state of Nevada, we utilized key concepts from diffusion theory but also confronted its limitations. Ultimately, in this project, the diffusion of home energy conservation to individual households depended primarily not on general adoption propensity, a personality characteristic postulated by diffusion theory, or even on financial (cost-benefit) considerations, but on an environmental orientation. This result suggests revision to the diffusion of innovations idea may be needed.
Descriptors: Communication (Thought Transfer), Adoption (Ideas), Energy Conservation, Housing, Surveys, Factor Analysis, Regression (Statistics), Values, Environment
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Nevada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A