Peer influence in network markets: a theoretical and empirical analysis

Network externalities spur the growth of networks and the adoption of network goods in two ways. First, they make it more attractive to join a network the larger its installed base. Second, they create incentives for network members to actively recruit new members. Despite indications that the latter "peer effect" can be more important for network growth than the installed-base effect, it has so far been largely ignored in the literature. We address this gap using game-theoretical models. When all early adopters can band together to exert peer influence-an assumption that fits, e.g., the case of firms supporting a technical standard-we find that the peer effect induces additional growth of the network by a factor. When, in contrast, individuals exert peer influence in small groups of size n, the increase in network size is by an additive constant-which, for small networks, can amount to a large relative increase. The difference between small, local, personal networks and large, global, anonymous networks arises endogenously from our analysis. Fundamentally, the first type of networks is "tie-reinforcing," the other, "tie-creating". We use survey data from users of the Internet services, Skype and eBay, to illustrate the main logic of our theoretical results. As predicted by the model, we find that the peer effect matters strongly for the network of Skype users-which effectively consists of numerous small sub-networks-but not for that of eBay users. Since many network goods give rise to small, local networks

Cooperação com empresas de base tecnológica: pesquisa-ação no setor elétrico Cooperation network between technology-based enterprises: action-research in the electro-electronic sector

A pressão por inovação em empresas de base tecnológica, em ciclos cada vez mais curtos e demandando competências complexas, tem levado as empresas à busca de uma estruturação sob a forma de redes de cooperação empresarial, a fim de mitigar riscos e reduzir custos enquanto acelera o time to market. Entretanto, apesar de todas as vantagens e oportunidades reais, há grandes barreiras a serem transpostas. O objetivo dessa pesquisa é compreender o processo de estruturação de uma rede de cooperação no contexto de empresas de base tecnológica. A abordagem metodológica utilizada foi a pesquisa-ação desenvolvida em 30 empresas do setor eletroeletrônico. Os resultados apontam o temor ao comportamento oportunista como o item mais crítico à formação da rede de cooperação empresarial.<br>The pressure for short-cycle innovation in technology-based enterprises and the demand for complex competencies have led companies to focus on developing enterprise network cooperation in order to reduce risks and costs, while speeding up time to market. Despite all real advantages and chances, there are great barriers to overcome. The objective of this research is to understand the process of development of a cooperation network between technology-based enterprises. The methodology used was the action-research, which was carried out in 30 companies in the electro-electronic sector. The results indicate that fear of opportunistic behavior is the most critical factor to the development of enterprise network cooperation

Agent-based simulation of innovation diffusion: A review

Kiesling E, Günther M, Stummer C, Wakolbinger LM. Agent-based simulation of innovation diffusion: A review. Central European Journal of Operations Research. 2012;20(2):183-230