Diffusion of innovations through social networks of children

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to examine the role of social networks of children on the diffusion of an innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The impact of social networks on the adoptive behavior of children is measured in the study and then compared to more traditional marketing strategies. Therefore an experiment was conducted on three primary public schools in The Netherlands, with children aged eight to 12.

Findings

The paper finds that a child's centrality in his/her social network was the most important determinant for adoptive behavior. The higher a child's centrality in his/her social network, the stronger a child's adoptive behavior. In addition the findings show that traditional marketing strategies such as mass media appeared to have no impact on adoptive behavior at all.

Research limitations/implications

Results indicate that instead of focusing on traditional marketing strategies for children, more attention should be paid to a child's social network position.

Originality/value

The number of studies in the field of social networks and the impact on adoptive behavior of children, is very small. The results of this study show that additional research on this subject would be highly valuable, from both academically and business point of view.

Citation

Kunst, L. and Kratzer, J. (2007), "Diffusion of innovations through social networks of children", Young Consumers, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 36-51. https://doi.org/10.1108/17473610710733776