Marketing EDI

ters to move through several stages in order to reach a similar level of understanding as sponsors. Both differences in characteristics and differences in stage of the diffusion process explain the existence of a sponsoradopter gap. Sponsors tend to be innovators who, in addition, are at an advanced stage in their understanding of the systems; adopters can be anything from innovators to laggards and, at the same time, are at the first stage of the diffusion process. Once it is clear what are the differences between sponsors and adopters and why those differences are there, it is possible to identify ways to overcome the sponsor-adopter gap.