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A Study of Social Network Analysis of Online Group-Buying

In recent years, many virtual communities have thrived with the rapid development of Internet. In the environment of virtual community, through the information exchange, members realize that they often have similar demands. In the case of online group-buying, buyers who have a common interest in a certain product group together to collect their collective power and thus get price discounts from suppliers. Hence online group-buying comprehends the need of interest, relationship, and transaction of virtual community. We are questioning whether the group-buying have invisible community relationships embedded in members¡¦ transaction activities.
The purpose of this study is by the use of social network analysis to investigate the relationships of the network between initiators and participants and between co-participants. In particular we propose some measures based on social network analysis to help us understand the meanings of relationships of online group-buying network.
According to the result of this study, we find the initiators have more power or resources to influence other members of the network between initiators and participants. And some active participants also have more power or resources to influence other participants of the network between co-participants. We also find the active initiators and participants would have more probability to occupy key positions of information flow.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:NSYSU/oai:NSYSU:etd-0728110-112343
Date28 July 2010
CreatorsLee, Yu-Wei
ContributorsChao-Min Chiu, Hsiangchu Lai, S.-Y. Hwang
PublisherNSYSU
Source SetsNSYSU Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://etd.lib.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-0728110-112343
Rightsnot_available, Copyright information available at source archive

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