Final answer:
Innovators and early adopters together make up approximately 16% of the potential market for a new product, according to Everett Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory. The closest answer choice to this percentage is 15%.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the diffusion of innovations theory developed by sociologist Everett Rogers in 1962, innovators and early adopters make up specific portions of a market when a new product is introduced. Innovators are typically the smallest group, making up 2.5% of the total market. Early adopters make up 13.5% of the market. Combined, these two groups constitute approximately 16% of the potential market for a new product.
Although this is not an exact figure for every product or innovation, it provides a general framework for understanding how new products can be adopted within a society. In the context of the question, the closest option to the 16% figure would be 1) 15%, although it's slightly less than the combined total derived from Rogers' model.