Abstract
This Chapter deals with the issue of cognitive efficiency on the Internet. Cognitive efficiency refers here to the creation of chatrooms that gather individuals with homogenous preferences (but unable to recognize each other in the “real world”) and that provide relevant consumption advice on experience goods. Hence, we raise the question of the ability for individuals initially scattered on the Net to meet in homogenous chatrooms (according to taste and consumption decisions) in order to ensure informational relevance. We show that, in the simple model we propose, cognitive efficiency depends on (i) individuals’ preference patterns (especially on relative utilities between the various varieties of goods), (ii) on their requirement concerning the quality of advice they receive, and, though not specifically modelized, (iii) on the entry process in chatrooms (simultaneous or sequential, with or without mimetic behavior).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Arthur B., 1989, Competing technologies, increasing returns and lock-in by historical events, Economic Journal, 99: 116–131.
Curien N., Fauchart E., Laffond G., Lainé J., Lesourne J. and F. Moreau, 2000, Surfing on the Net as a source of market segmentation: a self-organization approach, Communications e4 Strategies, 40: 125–137.
Curien N., Fauchart E., Laffond G., Lainé J., Lesourne J. and F. Moreau, 2001, Forums de consommation sur Internet: un modèle évolutionniste, Revue Economique, 52: 119–135
Moukas A, Guttman R., Zacharia G. and P. Maes, 1999, Agent-mediated electronic commerce: an MIT Media Laboratory perspective“, MIT Working Paper http://ecommerce.mit.edu
Nelson P., 1970, Information and consumer behavior, Journal of Political Economy, 78: 311–329.
Ogus A., de la Maza M. and D. Yuret, 1999, The economics of internet companies, Working paper. Department of Economics, Boston College.
Urban G.L., Sultan F. and W. Qualls, 1999, Design and evaluation of trust based advisor on the Internet“, MIT Working paper (http://ecommerce. mit.edu/forum/papers/ERF141.pdf)
Wellman B. and M. Gulia, 1997, Net Surfers don’t Ride Alone: Virtual communities as Communities, in P. Kollock and M. Smith (eds), Communities in Cyberspace, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Curien, N., Laffond, G., Lainé, J., Moreau, F. (2004). Cognitive Efficiency of Social Networks Providing Consumption Advice on Experience Goods. In: Bourgine, P., Nadal, JP. (eds) Cognitive Economics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24708-1_26
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24708-1_26
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-07336-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-24708-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive