Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2010
Abstract
Theories of technology product adoption and diffusion fail to adequately explain social contagion or viral growth. Additionally\, the role of product design in users propensity to use and recommend products is both understudied and poorly understood. To address a vexing gap in knowledge about what explains viral growth\, we conducted ethnographic interviews with technology executives and users of two social networking sites that have experienced dramatically different growth patterns. Our findings reveal that product co-production and user self identity- not product attributes fuel viral growth. Social networking products co-produced by users and providers\, with meaning socially constructed by customers\, permit users to more effectively establish and maintain their self-identities and are far more likely to result in social contagion than are engineering-centric products. User experiences with Facebook and Friendster and organizational responses to them demonstrate the role of self identity and in particular five specific selves on viral growth.,Doctorate of Management Programs
Keywords
online social networks
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Fisher, Michael, "The Co-Production of Social Contagion: A Comparative Analysis of Two Social Networking Sites" (2010). Student Scholarship. 644.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/644