The assistant professor of marketing presented research on how online conversations as electronic word-of-mouth information via social media networks affects business outcomes.
Kacy Kim, assistant professor of marketing, presented the paper “A Little Bluebird Told Me: Social Media Conversation Effects on Business Outcomes–Evidence from the Movie Industry” at the American Marketing Association’s 2015 Winter Marketing Educators’ Conference, held Feb. 13-15 in San Antonio, Texas.
Kim co-authored the paper with Isabella Cunningham, University of Texas at Austin, Sukki Yoon, Bryant University, and Sangdo Oh, UNIST.
The paper’s abstract reads:
“This research examines how online conversations as electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) information via social media networks affect business outcomes. Using data from the movie industry, our goal is to show how conversation quantity and quality, defined here as volumes and valence, on social network sties affect important business outcomes such as sales. Using a dynamic simultaneous equation system, we find that social media conversation can be a precursor to and an outcome of sales. Findings highlight that eWOM volume correlates with box office sales: the more positive and strong the conversation, the higher the box office sales. The study extends prior research on WOM and offers insight into how film studios can strategically manage social media to enhance box office revenue.”
The 2015 Winter AMA conference aimed to bridge current research in marketing to an increasingly global, digital and highly connected world. The program was developed via a peer review process, with an acceptance rate of 57%.