Culture, Religiosity, and mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Adoption

Abstract

Prior research suggests that the tightness of cultural norms in a community acts as a deterrent to the adoption of disruptive innovation. Yet, culture is a multifaceted construct. While certain components of cultural tightness are primarily based on the strength of historical connectivity between members of the community (i.e., nativity), others are reinforced by the strength of everyday situations (i.e., religiosity). Building on this premise of culture as a multifaceted concept, we propose that religiosity will have a stronger deterrence on the adoption of disruptive innovation than nativity. We examine this nuanced tightness-looseness framework using U.S. state-level data on the adoption of the novel, quick-to-market, mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (i.e., Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines). The results demonstrate the importance of the strength of everyday situations that back up historical institutions in the determination of market response to disruptive innovation.