Electronic word-of-mouth in online environments: exploring referral network structure and adoption behavior

This article presents a network analysis of electronic word-of-mouth referral communication in a real life online environment.
  

Electronic Word-of-Mouth in Online Environments: Exploring Referral Network Structure and Adoption Behavior

Antti Vilpponen, Susanna Winter and Sanna SundqvistLappeenranta University of Technology, Lappeenranta, Finland

INTRODUCTION

Word-of-mouth communication has received extensive attention from both academics and practitioners for decades (De Bruyn and Lilien 2004). In fact, one of the most widely accepted notions in consumer behavior is that word-of-mouth (WOM) communication plays an important role in shaping consumers' attitudes and behaviors (Brown and Reingen 1987), and that word-of-mouth has greater influence on consumer behavior than print ads, personal selling, and radio advertising in certain...

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