Knowledge Flows and Influence in Online Social Networks: Proposing a Research Agenda

Abstract

Online social networks, which have been defined as aggregated organizations that emerge from the Internet when people carry on public discussions, are increasingly becoming the vehicle of influence in social, political and economic discourse. Yet, despite its increasing importance, the nature of influence in online social networks is not really understood. Practitioners openly admit that they lack the experience to make sense of the phenomenon, and extant theory of influence in networks, which extrapolates from observations of the real world, is demonstrably inadequate when it comes to explaining influence online. The paper introduces a novel approach to analyzing influence online, which is based on the premise that knowledge flows rather than connectivity or position determine loci and regions of influence. The authors propose an exploratory, longitudinal population study of 100 highly diverse online social networks. The study will 1) benchmark a set of metrics for influence in these networks to determine which metrics are best suited for measuring influence in a plethora of contexts; 2) characterize the nature and properties of knowledge flows within each network; and 3) determine how knowledge flows impact the (virtual) spatial and temporal distribution of influence within that network.

Product Popularity versus Size of Conversation in Social Media: An Analysis of Twitter Conversations about YouTube Product Categories

“…Due to the substantial impact of online social networks on marketing and e-commerce (Weber & Mayande [52]), these findings have significant implications for management practice. First and foremost, online social networks are disrupting traditional marketing models.…”

“…Furthermore, firms and organizations utilize online social networks to coordinate business and information exchanges because these networks are central to many successful business models (Feller,et al [21]). Weber & Mayande [52] consequently argue that significant competitive advantage in the globalized economy of the 21 st Century can be derived from understanding how online social networks are structured and how they behave.…”

“…An in depth understanding of commercial activity in the 21 st Century may hinge on investigating how online networks organize, behave and evolve. In particular, exploring how network structure and knowledge flows influence each other and how they impact a variety of network phenomena including influence may be of paramount importance (Edwards [18] [19], Mayande [37], Weber & Mayande [52]). Most importantly, these studies would have to identify the location of the most influential members of the network (Aral & Walker [5]).…”

“…Most importantly, these studies would have to identify the location of the most influential members of the network (Aral & Walker [5]). The results of such studies could help managers in real-world organizations design routines, structures, processes and practices from which radically innovative products and dramatically improved services can be developed (Weber & Mayande [52]). They should also be able to improve their ability to create social contagion through viral product design (Aral & Walker [4]).…”

“…Success in marketing through online social media apparently critically depends upon understanding the social network that may have a potential interest in your product or service and by identifying the key attributes about the influencers that will spread your marketing message (Lindsay,et al [35]). Yet, this is easier said than done, because to date nobody really understands how online social networks get organized (Aral,et al [3], Cha,et al [12] [13], Li and Bernoff [33], Mayande [37], Weber and Mayande [52], Wiertz,et al [54]).…”