This paper structurally estimates a dynamic model of usage behavior
and network effects in a social network site using data from MySpace.com. We
view a social network as a stock of capital that yields a
flow of utilities over time
by creating social interactions between the owner and her friends. When one
decides to use a social network site, it may have two distinct network effects:
(1) one can manage an existing base of friends through social networking and
thus prevent depreciation of capital stock (maintenance effect), and (2) one
may acquire new friends through social networking, which results in creation
of new capital stock (investment effect). Thus, we model social networking
as a dynamic process, in which one's current action to use a social network
site can influence the evolution of her social network. We found that realtime
chat and messaging, features of MySpace.com, positively affect one's
usage decision and hence achieve the intended goal of generating site traffic.
However, different demographic groups may have idiosyncratic preferences for these features. Based on parameter estimates, we performed counterfactual
simulations with the goal of providing managers with ways to enhance firm
performance. / text
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/7671 |
| Date | 03 June 2010 |
| Creators | Ahn, Dae-Yong |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | electronic |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works. |
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