Social Ties and Word-of-Mouth Referral Behavior

Abstract

This article presents a network analysis of word-of-mouth referral behavior in a natural environment. The relational properties of tie strength and homophily were employed to examine referral behavior at micro and macro levels of inquiry. The study demonstrates different roles played by weak and strong social ties. At the macro level, weak ties displayed an important bridging function, allowing information to travel from one distinct subgroup of referral actors to another subgroup in the broader social system. At the micro level, strong and homophilous ties were more likely to be activated for the flow of referral information. Strong ties were also perceived as more influential than weak ties, and they were more likely to be utilized as sources of information for related goods. O ne of the most widely accepted notions in con-sumer behavior is that word-of-mouth commu-nication (hereafter WOM) plays an important role in shaping consumers ' attitudes and behaviors. In an early study, Whyte (1954) investigated the diffusion of air