Referrals · Empirical analysis of online conversation data linked to market outcomes, comparing geographically dispersed versus concentrated conversations.
Using Online Conversations to Study Word-of-Mouth Communication
Marketing Science · 2004
Summary
The geographic dispersion of online conversations is associated with subsequent television ratings; the paper demonstrates how online conversations can measure WOM and predict performance.
For your marketing
Possible founder application
Use it as a behavioral mechanism or experiment-design reference, not a direct forecast for a SaaS funnel.
Reported result
What the study found
The geographic dispersion of online conversations is associated with subsequent television ratings; the paper demonstrates how online conversations can measure WOM and predict performance.
Research question
What the authors investigated
Can online conversations be used as a measurable predictor of WOM and market performance?
Design
Empirical analysis of online conversation data linked to market outcomes, comparing geographically dispersed versus concentrated conversations.
Sample and setting
Online discussion/conversation records about television shows, linked to show-level ratings and geographic variation.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
The setting is television and the study is observational; conversation measures may reflect selection and cannot cleanly separate WOM influence from correlated demand.
Research sources
INFORMS publisher page supplies exact title, authors, journal and pages; the paper’s abstract/method describes online conversations and TV-market outcome analysis. 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.