David vs. Goliath in the Digital Age: The Effect of Network Structure and Content on the Adoption of Cultural Products

Social media platforms have transformed the way with which communication among industry players and relevant audiences can influence adoption of a cultural product. Using Twitter conversations regarding eBooks sold on Amazon.com between 2014 and 2015, this paper studies how producers in the U.S. publishing industry benefit differentially from Twitter network structure and contents. The authors find that generalists such as the Big Five publishers gain advantage from controversial contents that appeal to the general public whereas peripheral specialists such as indie publishers benefit from network redundancy and consensus of opinion within niche communities. By finding how producers targeting different audiences benefit from online network structure and content, the authors explore different strategies with which respective players can leverage social media platforms and accrue competitive advantage.