Technology Diffusion Dynamics: The case of Chile’s Forestry Industry

Based on Everett Rogers’ diffusion model, the article explores diffusion dynamics in Chile’s Forestry Industry. Technology adoption is defined as depending upon innovation attributes, collaboration, communication channels, research and development (R&D) capacity, and institutional environment. The attributes of innovation are in turn divided into five sub-factors: comparative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability, and trialability. Our case study analysis is based on 21 interviews with various actors in the Chilean forestry industry and on secondary information sources. Our conclusion is that the attributes of innovation in terms of comparative advantage, observability, and compatibility are technology diffusion drivers, and that the industry needs higher collaboration, better R&D capacity, less bureaucracy, and a more flexible public funding system to achieve a better performance.