Diffusion of Innovations in a Small World Network

Abstract

The diffusion of innovations in a social network, which is a complex process, has been shown to display a rich behavior: critical points, fluctuations etc. In this paper, we study the dynamic characteristics of the innovation diffusion process based on the complex network theory. A model of diffusion of innovations in the network composed by a number of agents which all have their own technology level is studied. Agents can follow Nash or Pareto strategies when they decide whether to improve their technology level or not. The simulation result indicates that the payoff value of the agent is higher when the agent uses Pareto rule under the condition of k is 4. Furthermore, the average payoff value of the agents is higher when more agents use Pareto rule under the condition of k is smaller than 3.7, and the average payoff value of the agents is lower when more agents use Pareto rule under the condition of k is larger than 3.7.