Is Social Influence Essential for Product Success? Insights from a Large Digital Platform

Abstract

A general conjecture is that social influence is an important driver of product success and a major contributor to widespread adoption. Many studies confirm the existence of individual social effects and their impact on consumer adoption behavior. Yet other studies show that social influence has a marginal, if any, effect on the overall product reach. In this work, we resolve this discrepancy by analyzing the adoption of 3,315 newly released video games (with user numbers ranging from a few to millions) and exploring the games’ proliferation across the social network on Steam, the world’s largest video game platform. We assess the impact of social influence on a product’s reach by estimating users’ adoption preferences and controlling for homophily.
The findings reveal a complex landscape where the magnitude of social influence and its impact on product reach vary widely among products. We identify three distinct product categories based on their diffusion patterns: 1) products with minimal social influence and below-median reach; 2) medium-success products benefiting significantly from social influence; and 3) blockbusters, exceptionally successful products whose success is not reliant on social influence but on alignment with consumer preferences and the distribution of these preferences among the platform’s user population.

Keywords: social network analysis, digital markets, digital platforms, social influence, peer influence, diffusion and adoption of digital products, online video games