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The Incentives Lab
HBT-COG-0235 · Dimension COG · Cognition

Diffusion of Innovations

Innovators → early adopters → early majority → late majority → laggards.

Markets·Mental Model·Grade B·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Innovators → early adopters → early majority → late majority → laggards.

Plain-English Definition

Innovators → early adopters → early majority → late majority → laggards.

Feynman Explanation

If you're selling to the late majority, the innovation is over.

Core Principle

Innovators → early adopters → early majority → late majority → laggards.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

Innovators → early adopters → early majority → late majority → laggards.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Marketing, change management, and strategy phasing.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

If you're selling to the late majority, the innovation is over.

Examples

Everyday
  • AI adoption curves inside companies.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Marketing, change management, and strategy phasing.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Know which adopter segment you're talking to today. The pitch changes.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
B (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★★☆☆
Intervention Confidence
3 / 5
Consensus
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Limitations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Open Research Questions

Pending editorial review.

Primary References

Pending editorial review.

Signature Section

The Perverse Incentive Lens™

How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.

Exploitation
Marketing, change management, and strategy phasing.
Amplifying Incentives
Marketing, change management, and strategy phasing.
Org Failure Modes
Marketing, change management, and strategy phasing.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Know which adopter segment you're talking to today. The pitch changes.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Know which adopter segment you're talking to today. The pitch changes.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Know which adopter segment you're talking to today. The pitch changes.
Team
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Organization
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Policy
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
AI Implications
Detection
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Measurement
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Mitigation
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Responsible Use
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).

Interactive Mini Network

Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.

HBT-COG-0235 · COG
Diffusion of Innovations
DOChChurnCTCrossing the ChasmDTDisruption TheoryEBEconomic BubbleEMEfficient Market Hyp…IDInnovator's DilemmaJTJobs to Be DoneLTLong TailReReflexivitySCS-Curve

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

v1.1.0 · 2026-06-28Initial auto-seed from corpus.