Organizational viscosity and the diffusion of controversial innovations

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Abstract
This paper draws on the biological work of Boorman and Levitt's Genetics of Altruism to develop a model of diffusion in organizations specifically when the innovation being diffused is controversial. By “controversial”, I mean an innovation whose value (and subsequent adoption) is socially determined and not rationally determined ‐ that is, there is no exogenous superior or inferior quality to the innovation that determines its eventual adoption. The purpose of this paper is to model the conditions under which the innovation may come to dominate the organization. The results parallel those of Boorman and Levitt's: (1) In a large undifferentiated organization, no controversial innovation can survive unless it begins with a large proportion of believers in the innovation. (2) However, there are structural conditions under which even a very small minority of innovators can take over a large organization. Contrary to intuition and some of the literature on innovation, these conditions that lead to unexpected innovative adoptions are enhanced by the organization's viscosity, that is, the lack of free movement and exchange of ideas and people throughout the organization.