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为何有的城市更早尝试新技术，有的却更慢？阿姆斯特丹大学与圣加仑大学新研究提示：除经济与基础设施外，当地居民的心理开放性也可能影响激进创新的早期采纳。研究者分析逾320万美国人的人格数据，并对照Airbnb、Uber与Flickr在美国349个都市区的早期扩散；在控制多种结构因素后，开放性更高的地区仍更早采纳。研究将区域开放性形容为“看不见的社会基础设施”，并提醒勿直接外推至AI。文中据阿姆斯特丹大学2026年10月16日报道及《研究政策》论文改写。

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Why do some cities try new technologies early, while others wait? Money, roads and internet access clearly matter. A new study from the University of Amsterdam and the University of St Gallen points to another factor that is harder to see: the psychological openness of local people. Regions where residents are more open to fresh ideas, the authors say, are more likely to become early adopters of radical innovations.

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为何有的城市更早尝试新技术，有的却观望更久？资金、道路与网络接入显然重要。阿姆斯特丹大学与圣加仑大学的一项新研究指向另一个更难看见的因素：当地人的心理开放性。作者认为，居民对新想法更开放的地区，更可能成为激进创新的早期采纳者。

The team studied personality data from more than 3.2 million Americans across 349 metropolitan regions. They then compared those patterns with the early spread of three digital platforms — Airbnb, Uber and Flickr. Across all three, places with higher openness showed stronger early adoption. That link held even after the researchers accounted for economic, demographic, infrastructural, social and geographical differences. The findings appear in the journal Research Policy.

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研究团队分析了美国349个都市区逾320万居民的人格数据，再与Airbnb、Uber和Flickr三种数字平台的早期扩散对照。在三者上，开放性更高的地方早期采纳都更强。即便在控制经济、人口、基础设施、社会与地理差异之后，这一联系仍然成立。结果发表于期刊《研究政策》。

Openness is one of the Big Five personality traits. It covers curiosity, interest in new experiences and a willingness to meet unfamiliar ideas. The researchers call regional openness a kind of “invisible social infrastructure.” Unlike highways or universities, it cannot be photographed, yet it may still shape how quickly a city engages with something new. Professor Tobias Ebert of St Gallen notes that openness was the only factor reliably linked to adoption across all three innovations in the study.

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开放性是“大五人格”特质之一，涵盖好奇心、对新体验的兴趣，以及接触陌生想法的意愿。研究者把区域开放性称作一种“看不见的社会基础设施”：它不像公路或大学那样可被拍摄，却仍可能影响一座城市接触新事物的速度。圣加仑大学的托比亚斯·埃伯特教授指出，在这项研究的三项创新中，开放性是唯一与采纳稳定相关的因素。

Regional gaps were large. The share of highly open people ranged from about 21% to 48%. Cities such as San Francisco, Portland and Austin often ranked among the strongest early adopters, while El Paso, Flint and Jackson were among the lowest. Early use of these platforms asked for unfamiliar behavior: letting strangers stay in a home, offering rides in a private car, or uploading photos in public before that habit felt normal.

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地区差距很大。被归为高开放性的人口比例约在21%到48%之间。旧金山、波特兰和奥斯汀等城市常位居最强早期采纳者之列，而埃尔帕索、弗林特和杰克逊则常处最低端。早期使用这些平台需要陌生行为：让陌生人住进家里、用私家车接送乘客，或在公开上传照片尚不普遍时先这么做。

Professor Martin Obschonka of the Amsterdam Business School says someone must try a new behavior before others treat it as ordinary. For platforms, that first wave matters especially, because enough local users, hosts, drivers or creators are needed to produce network effects. Without them, a service may never become useful or viable in that place.

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阿姆斯特丹商学院的马丁·奥布雄卡教授说，总得有人先尝试新行为，其他人才会把它当成平常事。对平台而言，第一波尤其关键，因为需要足够的本地用户、房东、司机或创作者来形成网络效应。没有这些人，一项服务在当地可能永远难以变得有用或可行。

The study does not claim that infrastructure and investment are unimportant. It adds a behavioral layer: the psychological make-up of a population may also decide whether a radical idea gains an early foothold. The authors did not examine AI, and they warn against simple extrapolation. Still, Obschonka argues that when a genuinely new technology arrives, its future depends not only on the tool itself, but also on whether people are ready to experiment with it.

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研究并不否认基础设施与投资的重要性。它补充了一层行为视角：人口的心理构成也可能决定一个激进想法能否早期立足。作者未考察人工智能，并提醒勿简单外推。不过奥布雄卡认为，当真新技术到来时，其前景不仅取决于工具本身，也取决于人们是否愿意尝试。

新闻来源

• University of Amsterdam · What makes a place ready for radical innovation? (16 Oct 2026)
• phys.org · What makes a place ready for radical innovation? Researchers say resident openness matters (16 Oct 2026)
• Research Policy · Innovation adoption across regions: psychological openness and the early diffusion of digital platforms (DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2026.105610)

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