Agent-based Modeling for the Study of Diffusion Dynamics

www.nda.ac.jp/~nama Diffusion is the process in which the successful introduction of new products and practices into society along with invention. Many studies of the diffusion of individual innovations exist, and exhibit some commonalities such as the famous S-shaped diffusion curve. New ideas, products, and innovation often take time to diffuse, a fact that is often attributed to some form of heterogeneity among people. Then a basic puzzle posed by innovation diffusion is why there is often a long lag between an innovation’s first appearance and the time when a substantial number of people have adopted it. There is an extensive theoretical and empirical literature on this phenomenon and the mechanisms that might give rise to it. The diffusion process enhances an innovation via the feedback of information about its utility across different users that can be used to improve it. This aspect is similar to the micro-macro loop which is essential part of emergent dynamics. In this paper we discuss how micro-macro loop formed via social network impacts on the qualitative aspects of diffusion process. The diffusion process enhances an innovation via the feedback of information about its utility across different users that can be used to improve it. This aspect of the diffusion process is characterized as the micro-macro loop. Understanding the nature of the relationship between different levels at which macroscopic phenomena can be observed has been made possible due to the tools and insights generated in the agent research. The direction of the research to come is to understand how the agent based modeling is essential for the study of emergence in the diffusion process