The role of network centrality in the flow of consumer influence

The authors find that a consumer's position in a social network is related to both opinion leadership and susceptibility to influence. Using two field network studies, the authors show that people see themselves as opinion leaders when they perceive that they are popular (i.e., central) in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of consumer psychology Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 66 - 77
Main Authors Lee, Seung Hwan (Mark), Cotte, June, Noseworthy, Theodore J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Inc 2010
Elsevier
Subjects
Centrality
Consumers
Leadership
Opinion leaders
Social networks
Susceptibility
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Summary:The authors find that a consumer's position in a social network is related to both opinion leadership and susceptibility to influence. Using two field network studies, the authors show that people see themselves as opinion leaders when they perceive that they are popular (i.e., central) in the network. However, these self-assessments are sometimes at odds with the perceptions of the rest of the network. Counter-intuitively, the authors demonstrate that consumers who are central in networks are quite susceptible to others' influences. The findings extend the field's knowledge by demonstrating how network centrality is associated with consumer influence.
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ISSN:1057-7408
1532-7663
DOI:10.1016/j.jcps.2009.10.001