Opinion Leadership

Opinion Leadership

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

A source's perceived standing as someone whose product choices others follow.

What it is

In a study of a new product moving through a network, contagion strength depended on how recipients saw a source's opinion leadership and how much the source used the product. It is drawn from work by Raghuram Iyengar, Christophe Van den Bulte and Thomas Valente (2011).

In effect

In the article on why we want to be first to own it, early owners are watched and may influence people nearby.

What it does not say

In the study, perceived leadership and measured leadership were only weakly related and tracked different behaviours. It does not say that an early owner alone makes others adopt a product.

Sources

  1. Iyengar, R., Van den Bulte, C., & Valente, T. W. (2011). Opinion leadership and social contagion in new product diffusion. Marketing Science, 30(2), 195-212.