Is economic efficiency the only factor influencing the diffusion of a new practice?

We examine the level of diffusion of technology in two countries, wondering why the inflection points of the diffusion occurs at different times and levels. This landmark study is based on inductive and comparative analysis of archives covering a period of 20 years between 1945 and 1965. Innovation in question is the prefabrication import Taylorist concepts of the automotive industry in the construction sector . Principal contribution of this paper is to show that sociopolitical legitimacy determines the amount of diffusion when pragmatic legitimacy of the adoption is not guaranteed. This socio-political legitimacy has three sources: the technology selection, resource allocation and administrative support.

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