Awareness by consumers and the adoption of a new service: an HMO example

Researchers and managers of health care organizations must take two fundamental issues into account when examining the process by which consumers decide to use a new service. First, one cannot assume that if one member of a family uses the service, everyone in the family does. Historically, these points have not been given sufficient heed in the design of adoption studies. By using HMO enrollment as an example, the authors show the problems that could result from the above assumptions.