Notes from the Field

"Educating the Norwegian Nation: Traffic Engineering and Technological Diffusion" is an excellent example of the diffusion of technological innovation. It defines the significant actors and stakeholders from the public and private sectors, and the major issues and conflicts between technocrats, bureaucrats, politicians, citizens, and customers. As a case study, it also documents a transformation from the sleepy times of the past, by transportation standards, toward the vibrant and vital transportation systems of the 21st century.

Along the way, it becomes obvious that resistance to change—regarding the automobile as immoral and dangerous to then-existing Norwegian values—was overcome with "modern" education and training techniques. The Norwegian transportation experts went to the state-of-the-art traffic engineering programs in America at Yale, and returned home to educate Norwegians about the enormous economic and social possibilities to be achieved by embracing the notion of "private motor vehicles."

This lure, presented with "missionary" zeal, awakened an essentially rural country to the promises of a more urban, integrated, culturally rich, and complex future. It also prepared Norway for the 21st century and the realities of the evolving European Union and its complex transportation, economic, and political presence.

This engaged the battle between politics (with its often local flavor) and administration (with its often rational and technocratic focus). Road transportation benefited as a result. The marketplace also secured a presence. Centralized government planning (e.g., in the rail, bus, and boat modes), with their "Swiss-watch" precision planning emphasis, was significantly displaced by the shift toward promoting auto traffic, with its promise of freedom, innovation, and creativity.

With the assistance of Norway's Information Council for Road Traffic (OFB), and the Committee for Transport Economy (TØU)—later named the Institute for Transport Economy (TØI)—the Norwegian people were educated about the benefits of modern transportation. Behind the scenes, private corporations, like Shell and Ford, also provided support. We have known for some time that "If technology is to spread throughout the nation, policy and programs must be designed to elicit a positive response toward acceptance of new techniques by systems and organizations operating in the country" (Bright & Johnston, 1982).

That is precisely what happened in Norway with the infusion of the automobile, with both public and private organizations aligning to support the transition. The result was a proactive blending of knowledge, technology, and values that transformed Norway's transportation system, which now finds itself positioned to be a significant actor and stakeholder in the increasingly complex and dynamic world of the 21st century.

One of the key findings of this case study is that the misalignment of cultural, technological, and political factors can hinder the classical diffusion of innovation. Second, the technical knowledge of "traffic science" was largely centralized in America and the medium of communication came through knowledge experts who played the role of early adopters who advocated for the need for change, while not appearing to be politically motivated.

Fast forward, if you will, to modern-day Norway and the diffusion of innovation over the Internet. Realizing that the Internet has created new avenues of collecting information, reliance on a centralized knowledge base is diminished; at the same time, the avenues used to disseminate the information are significantly increased.

The Internet itself, in Norway and beyond, is a modern-day case study of perhaps the first technology since the car to have a significant impact on society. This time, the political, technological, and cultural factors in Norway were aligned to accept this new technology, and between 1997 and 2001 (Figure 1) the acceptance of the technology followed the standard diffusion of innovation process (Rogers, 2003).

Beyond the resistance of government and culture, there is another reason the diffusion of automotive use within Norway did not follow the classical diffusion model. The diffusion of cars in Norway was not only a technology or a product that was spreading throughout society, but also an example of society learning to adjust along with the technology. This type of technology diffusion is more consistent with the learning systems model of innovation proposed by Donald...