Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory-an overview Diffusion of innovation is the process by which an innovation is communicated through a certain channel

over time among the members of a social system, (Roger 1983). Visiting the concept of Diffusion and adoption is important because this study deals with Email continuity which is a relatively new concept to SMEs in Malaysia. It is important to investigate how this new practice will be perceived by SMEs.

An innovation is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual. Communication is a process in which participants create and share information with one another to reach a mutual understanding.

The major basis for research on diffusion centers on the conditions which increase or decrease the likelihood that a new idea, product, or practice will be adopted by members of a given setting or behavior. Researchers who specialize in diffusion are most interested in establishing two things; (a) How the acceptance of new product spreads within a market, that is: the diffusion process and (b) The decision-making process that led the consumer to accepting or rejecting the new product, that is, the adoption process (Schiffman and Kanuk, 1991). According to his research, Rogers (1983) highlighted five fundamental characteristics of innovations in the Theory of Diffusion of Innovation, these are:

1) Relative advantage which is defined as the degree to which it is perceived to be better than the products that existed before it. 2) Compatibility which is defined as consistency with existing values, past experiences and needs. 3) Complexity which is defined as difficulty of understanding and use. 4) Trialability which is defined as the degree to which new innovation can be experimented with on a limited basis. 5) Observability is defined as the visibility of new innovation results.

Conceptual Model

Figure 4 The Adoption process Adoption process consists of stages through which an individual or organization weighs whether to try something or not, to continue using something or to stop using it. The adoption process provides a framework for establishing which type of information sources consumers find most important at certain stages in their process of decision making. Roger(1983) analyzed adoption into five different stages namely, awareness, knowledge, evaluation, legitimating and trial.

Application of the theory Tan and Teo (2000) conducted survey in 2000 on factors influencing the adoption of Internet banking. They came up with a research framework based on theory of planned behavior and

diffusion of innovations theory. They concluded that the important aspect that influences doing banking over the internet is privacy. In a study conducted by Kendall et al. in 2001, they used this model to investigate e-commerce (EC) as new innovation was embraced among SMEs in Singapore. In 2005, Syed et al (2005) conducted a survey for a study entitled Perceived Benefits of ECommerce Adoption in the Electronic Manufacturing Companies in Malaysia to find out perceived benefits of e-commerce adoption in Malaysian electronic manufacturing companies. According to Rogers (1983), adoption is a decision to make full use of an innovation whereas rejection is a decision not to adopt an available innovation. In this study, adoption is therefore defined as the decision to integrate Email Continuity in the business Continuity strategies of SMEs and in turn, rejection means decision not to make use of Email Continuity practices. In this study, I draw from the theory of Diffusion of innovation to come up with the conceptual framework for my research. Based on the theory I use Complexity, Compatibility, Relative advantage and Cost as my independent variables and Adoption as my dependent variable.