Social Networks and New Product Choice
使用空间计量方法研究社交网络中个体如何受同伴推荐影响而调整产品偏好，发现消费者在主观品味上会参考同伴，但不受同伴价格选择影响，且网络连接度高的成员并非总是最具影响力。
Abstract To successfully market new products in a social network it is essential to identify influential individuals whose product recommendations influence the consumption choices of their peers. In this study, we use spatial econometric methods to determine how individuals revise their preferences for product attributes when exposed to product recommendations from peers, and how different individuals who vary in their degree of network connectedness exert influence on the product choices of others. We find evidence that consumers look to others for guidance from peers in their preference for subjective, taste‐specific parameters, but tend not to respond to peer price choices. Our spatial methods allow us to empirically determine the influence exerted by individual members on the consumption choices of other members of the social network. We find that connected members of the social network are not always the most influential in revising the consumption choices of others. Our estimates reveal that network proximity explains only 8.8% of influence.