Diffusion processes and consumer behaviour
Throughout history our food consumption patterns have been changing
continuously. Remarkable changes took place as regards the type of foods we
eat (e.g. the introduction of the potato in Europe, the consumption of organ
meat), the way we grow our food (e.g. the introduction of pesticides,
bio-industry), how we process our food (e.g. frozen food, microwaves) and our
table manners (e.g. the introduction of the fork in medieval Europe, fast food).
All these changes more or less slowly conquered the food consumption habits
of the masses, may it be in centuries (the use of the fork) or within a decade (the
microwave). Many factors determine the speed and degree to which such
changes diffuse through the population. Theory on the diffusion of innovation
provides an inventory of the factors that affect the rate of adoption of this
diffusion process. Moreover, this theory draws a perspective on consumer
characteristics that determine if people are ``innovators’’, or belong to the group
of people that follow later in adopting a new practice.