Invasive rapid innovation: An introduction and exploration of their acceptance

We introduce the concept of invasive rapid innovations, technologies characterized by both their novelty and the speed of their development, which significantly affect daily routines, personal privacy, or bodily autonomy. The introduction of such innovations is typically accompanied by limited knowledge and heightened uncertainty. Consequently, individuals’ assessments of the benefits, costs, and risks associated with adopting these innovations are often shaped by broader factors, including their trust in government, perceptions of the severity of the threat the innovations are designed to address, and their aversion to ambiguity. To capture these dynamics, we propose an integrative framework that examines these relationships and highlights the social environment as a key factor that can strongly override the influence of such determinants. We validate our framework through an empirical study (n = 916) focusing on vaccine uptake and the adoption of contact-tracing apps. Our findings suggest that policymakers, who often struggle to effectively communicate the benefits and costs of innovations, should leverage the power of social influence to enhance acceptance. For example, an individual’s mistrust in government becomes less consequential when they perceive that their social environment favors the innovation.