Computer-mediated Communication in Social Networks: Knowledge Sharing

Gathering places have long been recognized as important in spreading a variety of desirable and undesirable items. One of the initial moves by authorities to stop the spreading of plague in London was to close bars where people gathered at the end of the day. In view of the large number of individuals now using the Internet routinely for communication, the possibility of tapping individuals’ online networks to spread the word about a product has undeniable allure. Marketers have been the earliest to recognize this phenomenon and the tactic of leveraging the spreading of the news about a product or service by people to their personal networks, is currently hyped as the most effective and quickest way to acquire a large customer base. Viral Marketing – often described as the tactic of ‘creating a process where interested people can market to each other’ is increasingly being recognized as an important means to spur the adoption and use of products and services. While there are several books and a slew of articles on viral marketing, presenting a chorus of voices with a multitude of overlapping and often contradictory opinions on the issue in the trade press, academic interest in the issue has curiously been minimal. This paper is an initial attempt to fill this void and provide a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon. Based on an examination of the fundamental processes underlying efforts like viral marketing we provide a framework to view viral marketing as a specific manifestation of the more general phenomenon of knowledge sharing and influence among individuals in social networks. In providing a classification of current initiatives by firms in terms of the framework we attempt to highlight useful avenues for future research in the area.