Measuring the Value of Electronic Word-of-Mouth and its Impact in Consumer Communities

Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 63-79, Spring 2007

17 Pages Posted: 2 Aug 2010 Last revised: 29 Aug 2012

See all articles by Paul Dwyer

Paul Dwyer

Willamette University - Atkinson Graduate School of Management

Date Written: August 1, 2007

Abstract

Marketing practitioners have recognized a need to measure customer-generated media in addition to the traditional marketing metrics. Message boards, chat rooms, blogs, and virtual brand communities have become important venues for customer generated media. These communities can be modeled as two distinct, albeit connected, networks: social and informational. These networks change over time under the influence of online word of mouth. This study introduces an adaptation of PageRank as a new metric for measuring the value a community assigns each word-of-mouth instance and the value the community assigns to the members that create them. That metric is used to empirically support a model explaining how highly valued information builds the social network. These communities are egalitarian in assigning value to informational content, without regard to the status of its source, and highly valued content explains 10% of social network growth.

Keywords: word-of-mouth, user generated media

JEL Classification: M31

Suggested Citation

Dwyer, Paul, Measuring the Value of Electronic Word-of-Mouth and its Impact in Consumer Communities (August 1, 2007). Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 63-79, Spring 2007 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1651834

Paul Dwyer (Contact Author)

Willamette University - Atkinson Graduate School of Management ( email )

900 State Street
Salem, OR 97301
United States

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