Online Discussion Groups as Socal Networks

The way information was shared among consumers in relation to two product categories was described as following a power law, and implications for marketing and research are provided.

Abstract

While consumer behavior researchers have long studied word-of-mouth and diffusion of information among reference groups, the emergence of the internet has recently provided the means to empirically establish just how this process takes place, as well as who contributes to it. In this study, the way information was shared among consumers in relation to two product categories was described as following a power law. Implications for marketing and research are provided.