Global Journal of Management and Business Research, E: Marketing, Volume 21 Issue 4

channels, the social system, and time. Roger's diffusion model addresses the collective adaptation of an innovation over time. Roger's diffusion models basic premise is that there are different types of adopters whose purchase needs and characteristics differ and could be classified by their traits. Depending on the inventions adaptation swiftness, users can be classified as innovators, early adopters, early majority and laggards. The smooth transition from one segment to another segment of users is termed successful diffusion. An innovation gets diffused owing to the collective adoption of innovation by individuals. The decision to adopt and the time frame to do so vary between persons. In Moor's (1991) study titled 'Crossing the chasm', he identified a gap or a sales slump between the initial innovators and early adopters and the early majority who are the mainstream buyers. Moor argues that this slump is due to the personal characteristic difference between the two categories. People categorised as innovators, and early adopters are generally known to be technology enthusiasts, while the early majority are mainstream buyers who are risk- averse and require proven application. The speed of diffusion would depend on the innovations relative advantage. Increased efficiencies in use and cost will bring about the innovations' comparative advantage. If users do not see a relative advantage, they would not consider using the invention (Rogers 1995). The same sentiment reflects in the Adoption Theory, which addresses the adoption process on an individual basis. All theories on technology adoption and diffusion indicate that it is a complex social development process that needs to address the cognitive, emotional and contextual concerns of individuals (Straub, 2009). Past research clearly shows the adoption of innovation will occur depending on the characteristic of the invention itself, which stems from the ease of use and the compatibility with existing technology. However, the relative advantage alone does not guarantee the adoption or the diffusion of innovation as technological innovations generally undergo lengthy negotiation periods and more disclosure with would-be adopters, which may increase or decrease the relative advantage of the invention (Denis et al., 2002; Fitzgerald et al., 2002). The diffusion would also be depended on the compatibility with the adopter value norms and perceived needs and existing technology (Denis et al., 2002; Rogers, 1995). The complexity of the innovation, the trialability, (Roger 1995; Plsek, 2003), which in practice refers to the new technology's range of application in an industry or across many sectors (Chunbo, 2018), is yet another critical factor that has an impact on the innovated technology increasing its commercial potential (Slater & Mohr, 2006; Arvantis et al., 2008). This aspect of the characteristic of the new technology and its impact on the commercial potential is relatively under-researched and has not been addressed adequately in research studies (Tornarky & Klein, 1982). Therefore, the focus in this study for the diffusion construct will concentrate on the patent attributes and its impact on commercial success using a reliable scale to measure (Moore & Benbasat, 1991) while predicting the outcome of diffusion based on the success of commercialising the patented invention. Thus, it is reasonable to propose the following hypothesis: H2: The level of product diffusion has a positive relationship with the level of commercial success of the patent Patents are the closest to represent radical innovation. Being radical innovation theoretically, they should yield high economic value. However, a majority of patents do not get commercialised and do not contribute to the economy. The economic contribution would depend on the motive for patenting and depend on who owns the patent. Depending on who owns the patent would influence the probability of commercialising (Hellman, 2005; Agion & Tirole, 1994). Patents registered by academia such as IHL’s and GRI and individuals would need to attract commercial entities with manufacturing and financial capabilities to further the patents commercial potential. This transfer of technological knowledge could take the form of licensing, spin-offs, startups or contracted research (Mazzoleni, 2005). The ability or inability to attract commercial enterprise would either mean commercial success or failure. Therefore, ownership plays a significant role in commercialising. Based on past theoretical & empirical studies, this study draws a theoretical framework, depicted in figure 1, to test how the two independent variables of Market Orientation (MO) and Diffusion (DF) contribute to the commercialisation of patents. The model also tests the moderation of patent ownership on the commercial success of patents. © 2021 Global Journals Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXI Issue IV Version I Year 2021 ( ) E 34 The Impact of Market Orientation and Diffusion on Commercial Success of Patented Innovation in Sri Lanka