In: Operations Management
A car insurance company is considering a new process where customers can notify the company of an accident and track the claims process by cell phone. Explain how they can use the stages of the adoption curve to decide how to implement the new technology
First of all let us understand what is technology adoption curve and later we will link it with the process of the car insurance company. Please make sure you rate this answer with a thumbs up, it definitely helps me a lot. Thank you!
What is captured by the Adoption Curve is that markets embrace non-linear products. A fresh product's penetration begins slowly, then accelerates until approximately one third of the market has taken over, then decelerates to the speed of a possible snail. It's not a theory, this is an explanation of the stages of any adoption through a graphical curve representation. Adopting fresh products is a social method in essence. And it works through the links in our social network like any social process. "Hot New Things" tend to begin at the bottom of our social networks with Innovators, spread slowly to well-connected Early Adopters, cascade quickly from Early Adopters to their links (Early Majority) and then spread more slowly to the next level of links (Late Majority). By now they have become Cold Old Things, flushing out among Laggards that are poorly linked. This method generates a normal curve of acceptance over time in standard social network topologies: the mirror of which is the cumulative market penetration S-curve. Each phase of adoption (and adopters) has its own features and in some detail it is worth diving into them.
Now let us identify the each stage of the new technological process that the car insurance company is trying to adopt. The first stage is nothing but INNOVATORS, which means at this stage the company would try to start an activity and try to adopt a product. Innovators are the first to take action and embrace the technology the business is attempting to embrace, even if it could be buggy. These people are willing to take the risk, and those people will be willing to help you shape your product if it's not perfect. And at the second stage EARLY ADOPTERS are prepared to attempt the technology that the company is trying to adopt at an early point. They don't need to clarify why this technology should be used. The early adopter has already investigated it, and they are actually enthusiastic about the development behind it, but the innovator will embrace the high-tech product for the sake of the innovation behind it. An informed purchasing choice will be made by the early adopter. At that point, while the product appeals only to an early adopter's tiny niche, it's fantastic and ready. The EARLY MAJORITY is the psychographic profile of individuals who assist "cross the gulf." Traction implies an early majority attractive item, in this case the technology that the company is trying to adopt for their customers. Indeed, the early majority consist of more aware customers, who seek alternatives that are helpful but also care about possible fads. The LATE MAJORITY only comes after the company's technology is developed, has a more skeptical attitude to technological innovation and can only feel more comfortable when demand tracking is commonplace. The latter in this cycle of technology adoption monitoring claims are LAGGARDS. Although late majority is technological innovation skeptical, laggards are unwilling. Therefore these individuals hardly become adopters unless there's a clear and proven benefit when using a technology. For some reason, these are not interested to embrace a claim tracking technology, which could be linked to private or financial elements.