Understanding Digital Media Penetration in a Formal Group Setting | Rahul Thakurta

The market of digital content (music, publishing, news etc.) has evolved over the past few years, as new players (e.g. internet services, digital service providers, etc.), many of them originally from other sectors, enter the space of the traditional actors. There is an enormous increase in the shelf-presence of digital technologies for content dissipation (e.g. cellular phones, televisions, computer, interactive media, etc.) with provision of features like interactive multimedia, content customization, etc. with media industry becoming increasingly digital and with rapid technological innovations, proper selection of digital media is likely to play a key role in judging a media performance. In this research, we try to identify the factors that can significantly influence the coverage or penetration of a digital media in a formal group setting. In order to carry out the research, we construct a model to explain the penetration of digital media based on well accepted theories related to technology adoption and diffusion. In order to simulate the model, we construct four usage scenarios in order to understand the dynamics associated with the penetration of the digital media within a formal group. Simulation of the model following the four scenarios identifies some of the challenges impacting the diffusion process and some counter measures. The results point to the following sets of pointers to achieving a better success rate in penetration viz. influencing the user demographic characteristics (i.e. interest, intention, etc.), and influencing the system characteristics (i.e. increased usability, etc.). The theoretical and practical implications of our study have also been identified.