Space‐Time Synergetics in Innovation Diffusion: A Nested Network Simulation Approach

A nested logistic dynamic model is developed here, with particular emphasis on the dynamic growth rate of the logistic function expressing—by means of an accessibility cost function—the preference intensity concerning a given innovation for a certain region/country.

Abstract

The relevance of evolutionary dynamics theories for investigating the development of sociotechnical systems has recently been recognized. In this framework the logistic growth model is considered by many scientists as an extremely appropriate framework that is able to interpret the dynamics of innovation diffusion. Starting from recent results in the literature on technological dynamics, the present paper focuses on backgrounds leading to different shapes of the conventional logistic function. By embedding these motives in the socio‐attitudinal context of the system at hand, the present paper tries to give a new interpretation for the rapid/slow “take off” and dynamics of a given innovation in a spatial setting. In particular, a nested logistic dynamic model is developed here, with particular emphasis on the dynamic growth rate of the logistic function expressing—by means of an accessibility cost function—the preference intensity concerning a given innovation for a certain region/country. Finally, various simulation experiments are carried out for the case of both a two‐dimensional and a four‐dimensional network. The possibility of both stable and unstable diffusion patterns, depending on the parameter values in the nested “attitudinal” dynamic function, is also investigated.