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Improving referral management by quantifying market mavens’ word of mouth value

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  • Walsh, Gianfranco
  • Elsner, Ralf

Abstract

Market mavens reportedly play important roles in the purchase decisions of other consumers, but this assumption has never been tested empirically. Prior research has profiled mavens and explored their motivations, without ever considering actual referral behaviour. This investigation applies equity theory to the question of referral behaviour; it also represents the first empirical research into the referral value and customer lifetime value of market mavens. A large-scale survey of 2700 customers enables the authors to identify mavens and non-mavens and determine how they differ in terms of their referral value. The results indicate that market mavens, compared with non-mavens, engage in stronger referral behaviour that leads to more new customers and revenue for the firm. Theoretically the findings offer a better understanding of referral behaviour; managerially, they can help firms amplify their new customer acquisition efforts by indicating which customer groups they should target with referral reward programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Walsh, Gianfranco & Elsner, Ralf, 2012. "Improving referral management by quantifying market mavens’ word of mouth value," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 74-81.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:30:y:2012:i:1:p:74-81
    DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2011.04.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Bachmann, Frank & Walsh, Gianfranco & Hammes, Eva K., 2019. "Consumer perceptions of luxury brands: An owner-based perspective," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 287-298.
    3. Jin, Huijie & Lu, Shouwang & Wang, Kanliang, 2024. "Who is more likely to initiate referrals? Effect of consumer's regulatory focus on referral intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Bing Yuan & Alessandro M. Peluso, 2021. "The Influence of Word-Of-Mouth Referral on Consumers’ Purchase Intention: Experimental Evidence from WeChat," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Barnes, Stuart J. & Pressey, Andrew D., 2016. "Cyber-mavens and online flow experiences: Evidence from virtual worlds," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 285-296.
    6. Nguyen-Phuoc, Duy Quy & Vo, Nguyen S. & Su, Diep Ngoc & Nguyen, Vinh Hoang & Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar, 2021. "What makes passengers continue using and talking positively about ride-hailing services? The role of the booking app and post-booking service quality," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 367-384.
    7. Cheah, Isaac & Shimul, Anwar Sadat, 2018. "Consumer ethnocentrism, market mavenism and social network analysis," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 281-288.

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