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What's more powerful, word-of-mouth or following someone else's lead? New research says it's word-of-mouth

  • 1.  What's more powerful, word-of-mouth or following someone else's lead? New research says it's word-of-mouth

    Posted 08-13-2019 10:36
    Edited by Ashley Smith 08-13-2019 10:37
    What’s More Powerful, Word-of-Mouth or Following Someone Else’s Lead?
    New Research Says it’s Word-of-Mouth



    Key Takeaways:
     

    • Researchers studied users of an online anime platform that provided individual-level data on users' friendship networks, anime watching behaviors, forum posts, and ratings.
    • Both word-of-mouth and the example of others, (i.e., others' decisions of what to watch or following someone else's lead), are two of the most powerful sources in social learning.
    • Word-of-mouth referrals from the platform community is more influential than following the example of a trusted or admired friend from your personal network or than watching popular hits among members of the platform community.

    CATONSVILLE, MD, August 13, 2019 – Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, UCLA and the University of Texas published new research in the INFORMS journal Marketing Science (Editor's note: The source of this research is INFORMS), that reveals the power of word-of-mouth in social learning, even when compared to the power of following the example of someone we trust or admire. The same research found, however, that both word-of-mouth and following someone else's lead are two of the most powerful dynamics in influencing others through social learning.

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    Ashley Smith
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
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