Healthcare related open source software innovations: diffusion patterns and early adopter influence

Balaji Rajagopalan, Hemangini Deshmukh and Ashutosh Deshmukh

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2010, vol. 4, issue 3, 163-178

Abstract: The role of information technology in healthcare is receiving great attention owing to its ability to reduce costs, improve quality of healthcare and create distinct advantages for users. Open source software offers a viable alternative for expensive proprietary software for many small and medium organisations. In this paper, we focus on two important questions: a) What are the types of diffusion patterns for healthcare related to open source software? b) What is the influence of early adopters on the rate of diffusion of healthcare related open source software innovations? Our findings suggest that the widely used Bass model explains the diffusion of healthcare open source software innovations. In addition, we find four distinct takeoff patterns in the diffusion curves helping us understand the heterogeneity in the diffusion patterns. Finally, we find strong empirical evidence in support of the influence of early adopters on the diffusion process.

Keywords: healthcare technology; business innovation; open source software; OSS; diffusion curves; Bass diffusion model; early adopters; cost reduction; ICT; information technology; communications technology; proprietary software; takeoff patterns; R&D; research and development. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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