Lessons from the History of Technology Adoption and Diffusion

Technology adoption has been identified as a weakness in UK innovation ecosystems and has emerged as a priority across government. The IUK Horizon Scanning team developed this study to draw lessons from historical and contemporary experiences to identify barriers and opportunities in technology adoption and diffusion. Unlike studies centered on early adopters, this research explores broader societal, behavioral, and cultural influences that shape mass adoption, alongside traditional economic and regulatory factors. The report explores factors that influence the willingness, capability, and capacity of businesses to adopt new technologies and demonstrates that adoption decisions are multidimensional and incorporate technology impacts across the entire business.

The report contributes two main outputs. First, it introduces frameworks designed for UKRI and government departments to identify and address challenges related to innovation adoption and diffusion, with the aim to improve the design of future policy interventions. Second, it presents case studies across three technology families—advanced materials and manufacturing, energy and environmental, and health and wellbeing—to analyse historical patterns of adoption and derive insights for emerging technologies. These frameworks aim to guide policymakers in recognising where and how to intervene effectively, acknowledging that adoption processes vary across contexts.

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