Customer behavior and adoption · Empirical survey/experimental test of a staged model of recipient response to viral messages, estimating antecedents at decision stages.
A Multi-Stage Model of Word-of-Mouth Influence Through Viral Marketing
Arnaud De Bruyn, Gary L. Lilien (2008). A Multi-Stage Model of Word-of-Mouth Influence Through Viral Marketing. International Journal of Research in Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2008.03.004.
Plain-English take
WOM influence differs across stages of recipient decision making; sender characteristics and tie strength affect opening, processing, and forwarding/response. For your marketing: Use it as a behavioral mechanism or experiment-design reference, not a direct forecast for a SaaS funnel.
How much weight to give this
3.5/5 Moderate evidence for a specific setting
The 1–5 evidence-check score is a practical reading aid, not a formal peer review or a probability that a conclusion is true. It combines design strength (2 points), sample reporting (1), comparison/control clarity (1), and how much of the paper could be checked (1). Access affects how confidently this directory can assess a study, not the study's underlying quality. Blinding is reported separately because it is not relevant to every design.
Empirical survey/experimental test of a staged model of recipient response to viral messages, estimating antecedents at decision stages.
Recipients of viral-marketing communications; message, sender/recipient relationship, and forwarding/response outcomes are measured.
Judged from the publisher-described design and comparison; consult the paper for complete analysis.
Publisher page and abstract were retrieved directly; full text was not assumed open.
Double-blind? Blinding was not established from the retrieved publisher record.
Research question
What the authors investigated
At which stages and through which mechanisms does WOM influence viral-marketing recipients?
Design
Empirical survey/experimental test of a staged model of recipient response to viral messages, estimating antecedents at decision stages.
Sample and setting
Recipients of viral-marketing communications; message, sender/recipient relationship, and forwarding/response outcomes are measured.
Reported result
What the study found
WOM influence differs across stages of recipient decision making; sender characteristics and tie strength affect opening, processing, and forwarding/response.
This is a paraphrase of the source. Check the original paper for definitions, estimates, statistical uncertainty and analysis details.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
The communication scenario and measured intentions are not observed SaaS customer acquisition or long-run behavior; staged estimates rely partly on self-report.
Possible founder application
Use it as a behavioral mechanism or experiment-design reference, not a direct forecast for a SaaS funnel.
Evidence access
Publisher record and abstract retrieved; consult the linked paper for full methods and tables.
ScienceDirect and the authors’ repository identify the staged decision-process research question and empirical model. Direct publisher-page retrieval was recorded on 2026-10-09; this profile uses publisher metadata/abstract and does not claim independent review of unavailable full text.
If only an abstract or metadata was available, the profile is limited to claims supported there. A paper's paywall does not change its evidentiary status, but it limits what we can substantiate from accessible text.