Network anisotropy explains why diffusion data do not fit the logistic model

What is it about?

Diffusion of innovations and knowledge is in most cases accounted for by the logistic model. Fieldwork research however constantly report that empirical data utterly deviate from this mathematical function. This chapter scrutinizes net- work forcing of diffusion process. The departure of empirical data from the logistic function is explained by social network discreteness, heterogeneity and anisotropy. Results are illustrated by empirical data from an original study of knowledge diffusion in the medieval academic network.

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Why is it important?

A new mathematical index is proposed for network anisotropy.