SOC100H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Productive Forces, Mass Distribution, Virtual Community
● Word of Mouth
○ Two Step Flow Model (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955)
○ Word of mouth is especially important in the hospitality and tourism industry
■ Hospitality and tourism are hard to evaluate beforehand
■ So, word of mouth information from people with first-hand experience is
very valuable
■ The internet provides new ways of conveying and managing word of
mouth influence
○ Contends with other interpersonal influences in the context of decision-making,
i.e.
■ Non-interpersonal factors: receiver’s expertise, receiver’s perceived risk,
etc.
○ Study examining how social websites affect word of mouth
■ This study suggests that relations among senders and receivers are key
● The results confirm that tie strength, trust, and social
characteristics all influence users’ overall electronic word of mouth
behavior
○ Belonging to a virtual community strengthens the role of word-of-mouth in
creating brand loyalty
■ Active participative belonging influences word of mouth more positively
than passive and non-participative belonging
○ Many advertisers view word-of-mouth as an alternative to advertising
■ However, word of mouth often complements and extends the effects of
advertising
● These authors show how firms may underestimate advertising
effectiveness by ignoring long-term effects due to word of mouth
● Mass Production
○ You can’t have consumerism without a lot of consumer product to buy
■ Mass production of merchandise begins with the Industrial Revolution,
around 1776
■ The revolution required new productive technology (and factories) and
new sources of inanimate energy (ex: steam, electricity)
● Mass consumption
○ You can’t have a consumer society without vast numbers of consumers
■ But you can’t have vast number of consumers without a high average
standard of living
■ This means state spending, state wealth redistribution, and wage laws
■ This, in turn, means a strong national state p typically a democratic state
● Mass distribution
○ You can’t have a consumer society without world commerce and consumer
exposure to world variety
■ This means you need global trade and global flows of people, materials
and capital
■ Securing this means creating political, military, and economic imperialism
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Document Summary
Two step flow model (katz & lazarsfeld, 1955) Word of mouth is especially important in the hospitality and tourism industry. Hospitality and tourism are hard to evaluate beforehand. So, word of mouth information from people with first-hand experience is very valuable. The internet provides new ways of conveying and managing word of mouth influence. Contends with other interpersonal influences in the context of decision-making, i. e. non-interpersonal factors: receiver"s expertise, receiver"s perceived risk, etc. Study examining how social websites affect word of mouth. This study suggests that relations among senders and receivers are key. The results confirm that tie strength, trust, and social characteristics all influence users" overall electronic word of mouth behavior. Belonging to a virtual community strengthens the role of word-of-mouth in creating brand loyalty. Active participative belonging influences word of mouth more positively than passive and non-participative belonging. Many advertisers view word-of-mouth as an alternative to advertising.
