Centrality and community detection: a co-marketing multilayer network
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
ISSN: 0885-8624
Article publication date: 9 October 2019
Issue publication date: 21 October 2019
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the data obtained from a questionnaire of 595 people, the authors explore the relative importance of consumers, checking whether socioeconomic variables influence their centrality, detecting the communities within the network to which they belong, identifying consumption patterns and checking whether there is any relationship between co-marketing and consumer choices.
Design/methodology/approach
A multilayer network is created from data collected through a consumer survey to identify customers’ choices in seven different markets. The authors focus the analysis on a smaller kinship and cohabitation network and apply the LART network community detection algorithm. To verify the association between consumers’ centrality and variables related to their respective socioeconomic profile, the authors develop an econometric model to measure their impact on consumer’s degree centrality.
Findings
Based on 595 responses analysing individual consumers, the authors find out which consumers invest and which variables influence consumers’ centrality. Using a smaller sample of 70 consumers for whom they know kinship and cohabitation relationships, the authors detect communities with the same consumption patterns and verify that this may be an adequate way to establish co-marketing strategies.
Originality/value
Network analysis has become a widely used technique in the extraction of knowledge on consumers. This paper’s main (and novel) contribution lies in providing a greater understanding on how multilayer networks represent hidden databases with potential knowledge to be considered in business decisions. Centrality and community detection are crucial measures in network science which enable customers with the highest potential value to be identified in a network. Customers are increasingly seen as multidimensional, considering their preferences in various markets.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The support of ERDF – European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation – COMPETE 2020 Programme and the Portuguese funding agency, FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031821 is acknowledged.
Citation
Fernandes, A., Gonçalves, P.C.T., Campos, P. and Delgado, C. (2019), "Centrality and community detection: a co-marketing multilayer network", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 34 No. 8, pp. 1749-1762. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-11-2017-0266
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited