The diffusion of the Bookstart programme in Taiwan : description, concepts and research design

Service delivery innovations have taken hold in local governments across the globe. Attention is largely focused on innovations in the West. This symposium of the Asian Journal of Public Policy provides evidence from Taiwan and examines an early years education programme called Bookstart. This introductory article presents a framework of competing concepts for the study of innovation diffusion. The framework draws attention to questions of partnership, organizational variables, personnel characteristics, constraints and opportunities in the external environment, knowledge utilization and the consequences of innovation. In conclusion, the common methods used in the studies are laid out and the articles described. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.