Lisa Klein Pearo

Bio: Lisa Klein Pearo is an academic researcher from Cornell University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Consumer behaviour & Social identity theory. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 8 publications receiving 3878 citations.

A Social Influence Model of Consumer Participation in Network- and Small-Group-Based Virtual Communities

Abstract: We investigate two key group-level determinants of virtual community participation - group norms and social identity - and consider their motivational antecedents and mediators. We also introduce a marketing-relevant typology to conceptualize virtual communities, based on the distinction between network-based, and small-group-based virtual communities. Our survey-based study, which was conducted across a broad range of virtual communities, supports the proposed model, and finds further that virtual community type moderates consumers' reasons for participating, as well as the strengths of their impact on group norms and social identity. We conclude with a consideration of managerial and research implications of the findings.

Drivers of Service Satisfaction: Linking Customer Satisfaction to the Service Concept and Customer Characteristics

Abstract: The “service-dominant logic” focuses on the firm and the customer cocreating value, as defined by the customer. Achieving this orientation requires firms to understand which components of the service concept are most important to different subsets of customers. However, research on the relative importance to customers of core and peripheral service components has produced mixed results. Using data from the U.S. airline industry, the fact that the relative influence on customer satisfaction of core (e.g., operational performance) and peripheral (e.g., service interactions and physical setting) service components is moderated by customer characteristics is demonstrated. Consistent with Vargo and Lusch's premises that “the customer is always a co-creator of value” and that value is “uniquely and phenomenologically determined by the beneficiary,” the conclusion that a parsimonious model of customer satisfaction demands consideration of both the service concept and customer characteristics is reached.

Antecedents and Consequences of Online Social Interactions

Abstract: Online social interactions occur in many venues, from e-mail lists and Usenet newsgroups to real-time chat-rooms and multiuser domains (MUDs). We conceptualize such online interactions as intentional social action and study its individual-level antecedents (attitudes, perceived behavioral control [PBC], anticipated emotions) and social-level antecedents (subjective norms, group norms, social identity). Further, we examine a number of its key behavioral outcome consequences such as changes in offline interactions with family and friends, engagement in neighborhood activities and hobby groups, and the use of such mass media as television, radio, and print publications. An empirical study involving 545 members of 7 different types of high- and low-interactivity online venues not only supports our theoretical framework but uncovers interesting venue- and gender-related differences among participants.

Understanding knowledge sharing in virtual communities: an integration of social capital and social cognitive theories

Abstract: The biggest challenge in fostering a virtual community is the supply of knowledge, namely the willingness to snare Knowledge with other members. This paper integrates the Social Cognitive Theory and the Social Capital Theory to construct a model for investigating the motivations behind people's knowledge sharing in virtual communities. The study holds that the facets of social capital -- social interaction ties, trust, norm of reciprocity, identification, shared vision and shared language -- will influence individuals' knowledge sharing in virtual communities. We also argue that outcome expectations -- community-related outcome expectations and personal outcome expectations -- can engender knowledge sharing in virtual communities. Data collected from 310 members of one professional virtual community provide support for the proposed model. The results help in identifying the motivation underlying individuals' knowledge sharing behavior in professional virtual communities. The implications for theory and practice and future research directions are discussed.

Effects of Word-of-Mouth Versus Traditional Marketing: Findings from an Internet Social Networking Site

Abstract: The authors study the effect of word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing on member growth at an Internet social networking site and compare it with traditional marketing vehicles. Because social network sites record the electronic invitations from existing members, outbound WOM can be precisely tracked. Along with traditional marketing, WOM can then be linked to the number of new members subsequently joining the site (sign-ups). Because of the endogeneity among WOM, new sign-ups, and traditional marketing activity, the authors employ a vector autoregressive (VAR) modeling approach. Estimates from the VAR model show that WOM referrals have substantially longer carryover effects than traditional marketing actions and produce substantially higher response elasticities. Based on revenue from advertising impressions served to a new member, the monetary value of a WOM referral can be calculated; this yields an upper-bound estimate for the financial incentives the firm might offer to stimulate WOM.

The Social Influence of Brand Community: Evidence from European Car Clubs

Abstract: The authors develop and estimate a conceptual model of how different aspects of customers' relationships with the brand community influence their intentions and behaviors. The authors describe how identification with the brand community leads to positive consequences, such as greater community engagement, and negative consequences, such as normative community pressure and (ultimately) reactance. They examine the moderating effects of customers' brand knowledge and the brand community's size and test their hypotheses by estimating a structural equation model with survey data from a sample of European car club members.

The Legacy of the Technology Acceptance Model and a Proposal for a Paradigm Shift

Abstract: This article presents a critique of a number of shortcomings with the technology acceptance model (TAM) and points to specific remedies in each case. In addition, I present a model for the purposes of providing a foundation for a paradigm shift. The model consists first of a decision making core (goal desire → goal intention → action desire → action intention) that is grounded in basic decision making variables/processes of a universal nature. The decision core also contains a mechanism for self-regulation that moderates the effects of desires on intentions. Second, added to the decision making core are a number of causes and effects of decisions and self-regulatory reasoning, with the aim of introducing potential contingent, contextual nuances for understanding decision making. Many of the causal variables here are contained within TAM or its extensions; also considered are new variables grounded in emotional, group/social/cultural, and goal-directed behavior research.