Which group is described as the last to embrace new ideas and relies on neighbors and friends as information sources?

• A. Early adopters
• B. Late majority
• C. Laggards
• D. Early majority

Answer: (C)

Laggards are the last to embrace new ideas. In diffusion of innovations, they tend to be cautious and skeptical, often sticking with familiar practices until there’s little choice but to change. Because they rely on trusted, local networks, they look to neighbors and friends for information rather than mass media or formal sources. This personal, neighbor-to-neighbor information orientation fits their tendency to adopt only after widespread local validation and when alternatives become impractical. Early adopters, by contrast, embrace ideas quickly and influence others; the early and late majorities adopt after broader social proof, while laggards rely on those close personal ties before changing.