(Routledge Studies in Marketing) 1st Edition
by Katarzyna Sanak-Kosmowska (Author)
This book is an innovative attempt to identify and analyse the
processes related to social influence in online buying behaviour, with
special attention given to the phenomenon of social proof, which is the
basis of social media, recommendation marketing and word of mouth (WOM)
marketing. It empirically verifies the factors which influence the
effectiveness of social proof, as well as identifying relevant impact
factors.
Opening with a literature review of this concept from the perspective
of social psychology, sociology and marketing, this interdisciplinary
approach to the issue allows for an in-depth understanding of the
mechanisms of the effective use of social proof in contemporary online
marketing. Following this, in the context of theoretical considerations,
the author analyses the social role and significance of social proof in
the buying behaviours of online consumers. The second half of the book
presents the results of the author’s quantitative and qualitative
research of the effectiveness of social proof. The quantitative research
verifies the hypotheses concerning the social role and significance of
social proof in buying decisions and identifies the level of confidence
in the opinions expressed by other web users. The qualitative research
focuses on the empirical verification of the effectiveness of social
proof mechanisms. Additionally, attention is given to sensitivity to
social proof, i.e., the factors that increase the effectiveness of such
messages, both from the sender’s and recipient’s perspective, as well as
the forms and channels of communication.
Written for scholars and researchers interested in the debate on the
transparency of activities carried out by companies in the area of
online marketing, the book’s detailed analysis of influence utilising
both quantitative and qualitative studies may be of interest to a wider
group of academics including economists, psychologists and sociologists.
