Two sides of the same diffusion: The adopter-non-adopter influences in police technology innovation adoption

Information technologies in policing have garnered significant interdisciplinary attention; however, limited research has examined the facilitators and barriers to adoption through a diffusion lens. This study investigates the diffusion of Electronic Patrol Signature Systems (EPSS) across Taiwanese local police departments, employing a Dual-Force Dyadic Analysis (DFDA) framework to model the bidirectional influence of both adopters and non-adopters. Grounded in social network theory and policy inaction literature, the study identifies three network metrics—tie strength, centrality, and structural equivalence—to capture decision interdependence via different diffusion mechanisms and address the oversight of non-adopter influence in current empirical studies. A cross-sectional analysis of EPSS adoption between 2019 and 2021 reveals that decisions are strongly interdependent and shaped by the relations with both adopters and non-adopters. Combined with qualitative data, the study finds that competition in digital innovation is the most likely primary diffusion mechanism, with departments striving to align with and distinguish themselves from structurally similar peers via EPSS adoption to earn public recognition. Geographic clustering and the diffusion-inhibiting role of high-centrality non-adopters are also observed. Overall, this study advances the theoretical understanding of technology diffusion among police organizations and highlights the importance of modeling both adopter and non-adopter influence. These insights are broadly applicable across policy domains.