Development of a hierarchical technology diffusion assessment framework through multiple perspectives: case of rural electrification in USA and China

In this paper, we wanted to provide an insight on the rural electrification programme through two successful case studies in the USA and China. The reason for choosing those two is one represents a developed economy which is the USA while the other represents a developing economy embodied by China. It is very difficult to compare the numbers of the two programmes directly due to the time and geographical differences between the two. Multiple perspectives theory was used to generate criteria for the analysis. These criteria also show the areas of benefits that come of the rural electrification programme. Such programme is the basic infrastructure for any economy to develop and is especially important for bridging the digital divide within a country. A set of guidelines were established from the comparison of the two programmes that could help any developing economy to successfully implement such a programme. Finally, a hierarchical framework is provided for future research.