Purpose

In social marketplaces, follower ego networks are integral social capital assets for online sellers. While previous research has underscored the positive impact of the follower number on seller performance, little attention has been given to the structure of follower networks and their value implications. This research investigates two structural properties of follower networks—network centralization and density—and examines their main and contingent effects on sellers’ sales performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A 13-month panel dataset of 1,150 sellers in Etsy, a social marketplace for handmade and vintage products, was collected and analyzed. A fixed effects model was adopted to validate the hypotheses on the main effect of centralization and density, as well as the moderating effects of two store attributes: store age and product diversification.

Findings

We find that both network centralization and density negatively impact sellers’ sales performance, and these effects vary across store age and product diversification levels. Specifically, the negative effect of network centralization is less pronounced for older stores than young ones, whereas the negative effect of density is more severe for stores with high product diversification.

Originality/value

This research contributes to social commerce research by highlighting the significance of network structure, alongside network size, in assessing the value of followers and offers practical guidance for sellers in social marketplaces seeking to optimize their follower networks.

中文翻译：

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社交市场中追随者的价值含义：对自我网络结构的洞察

目的

在社交市场中，追随者自我网络是在线卖家不可或缺的社会资本资产。虽然之前的研究强调了关注者数量对卖家绩效的积极影响，但很少有人关注关注者网络的结构及其价值影响。本研究调查了追随者网络的两个结构特性——网络集中度和密度——并检验了它们对卖家销售业绩的主要影响和偶然影响。

设计/方法论/途径

我们收集并分析了 Etsy（手工和复古产品社交市场）中 1,150 名卖家的 13 个月面板数据集。采用固定效应模型来验证集中度和密度的主效应以及商店年龄和产品多样化这两个商店属性的调节作用的假设。

发现

我们发现网络集中度和密度都会对卖家的销售业绩产生负面影响，并且这些影响因商店年龄和产品多样化水平而异。具体而言，对于老店来说，网络集中化的负面影响不如年轻店那么明显，而对于产品高度多样化的店来说，密度的负面影响则更为严重。

原创性/价值

这项研究通过强调网络结构以及网络规模在评估关注者价值方面的重要性，为社交商务研究做出了贡献，并为社交市场中寻求优化其关注者网络的卖家提供了实用指导。