Social networks and innovation adoption: A look at burt's use of structural equivalence*1

This paper examines Burt's 1982 model of innovation adoption based on an application of structural equivalence. The proposition that two structurally equivalent actors will adopt an innovation at approximately the same time is explored. The diffusion of two innovations through a network of commercial fishermen provides the basis for an empirical test. Tentative support for this proposition is found, particularly if the effects of information availability, economic competition, and the appropriateness of the innovation are taken into account.