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Following The Leader: Social Networks Of Schoolchildren

Date:
May 13, 2009
Source:
University of Chicago Press Journals
Summary:
Kids always seem to be ahead of trends, and marketers realize the importance of new products and services taking off with the younger set. A new study helps identify which children might be the trendsetters of their generation.
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Kids always seem to be ahead of trends, and marketers realize the importance of new products and services taking off with the younger set. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research helps identify which children might be the trendsetters of their generation.

Authors Jan Kratzer (Berlin University of Technology) and Christopher Lettl (University of Aarhus, Denmark) examined the attitudes and networks of children who are "lead users," people who are most likely to develop and disseminate commercially attractive innovations.

"Lead users not only develop novel concepts but also use new prototypes and products before others do." the authors write. They are similar to "opinion leaders," innovative people who are more familiar with products than the average person.

"This study reveals that lead users are positioned as 'boundary spanners' between different social clusters or groups," write the authors; whereas "opinion leaders" tended to be influential in more local terms.

The researchers gathered data from nine randomly selected public schools in the Netherlands (537 pupils in 23 classes.) They chose to study children ages 9 to 11 because of their importance in the marketplace and the cognitive and social research demonstrating this age group to be significant. The children completed surveys that determined whether they might be "lead users" or "opinion leaders" and then completed a matrix to indicate the frequency of contact with classmates.

"We think it is important to better understand how consumers actually become lead users. The angle of looking at their social networks proved fruitful," write the authors. "In an era where online communities are a major cultural phenomenon the perspective of social networks will be even more relevant to identify leading-edge consumers."


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Materials provided by University of Chicago Press Journals. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Kratzer et al. Distinctive Roles of Lead Users and Opinion Leaders in the Social Networks of Schoolchildren. Journal of Consumer Research, 2009; 090410091549035 DOI: 10.1086/599324

Cite This Page:

University of Chicago Press Journals. "Following The Leader: Social Networks Of Schoolchildren." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 May 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090512102553.htm>.
University of Chicago Press Journals. (2009, May 13). Following The Leader: Social Networks Of Schoolchildren. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 29, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090512102553.htm
University of Chicago Press Journals. "Following The Leader: Social Networks Of Schoolchildren." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090512102553.htm (accessed March 29, 2024).

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