Decomposing the Value of Word-of-Mouth Seeding Programs: Acceleration Versus Expansion

Web Appendix A: On agent-based modeling, verification, and validation Agent-Based Models (ABMs) are especially suitable for cases in which a larger number of agents interact in a way that while simple to model on the individual level, are too complex to track using simple aggregate approaches (See Rust and Rand 2011 for a recent comprehensive review). Hence they fit well contagion processes among customers. Essentially, researchers build an individualor network-level model of behavior, and use a simulation to examine how individual-level behavior aggregates to market-level aggregate consequences. Next we describe the basic features of our agent-based model, and how it corresponds to guidelines suggested recently by Rand and Rust (2011).