W. (Weiyi) Deng MSc

The rapid growth of social media over the past a few decades has facilitated the fast spread of information and changed the way customers interact with each other, allowing social contagion to play an increasingly important role in the diffusion process. The proposed project aims to examine how social contagion may depend on the roles and features of individuals involved, and how the contagion effect may vary over time as individuals learn about their own preference or their similarity in preferences with others. Three studies are proposed. The project will contribute to current literature by yielding novel insights on how interpersonal influence may change dynamically and according to features of the individuals involved in new product adoption. It will also provide implications for companies launching new products on targeting and communication strategies to leverage social influence among consumers in an optimal way.