Asymmetric Peer Effects in Physician Prescription Behavior: The Role of Opinion Leaders

Harikesh S. Nair (), Puneet Manchanda and Tulikaa Bhatia
Additional contact information
Puneet Manchanda: U of Chicago
Tulikaa Bhatia: Rutgers U

Research Papers from Stanford University, Graduate School of Business

Abstract: We quantify the impact of social interactions and peer effects in the context of prescription choices by physicians. Using detailed individual-level prescription data, along with self-reported social network information, we document that physician prescription behavior is significantly influenced by the behavior of research-active specialists, or "opinion leaders" in the physician's reference group. We leverage a natural experiment in the category, whereby new guidelines released about the therapeutic nature of the focal drug generated conditions where physicians were more likely to be influenced by the behavior of specialist physicians in their network. We find important, statistically significant peer effects that are robust across model specifications. We use the estimates to measure the incremental value to firms of directing targeted sales-force activity to these opinion leaders, and present estimates of the social multiplier of detailing in this category.

Date: 2006-12
View list of references View citations in EconPapers

Downloads: (external link)
http://gsbapps.stanford.edu/researchpapers/library/RP1970.pdf

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ecl:stabus:1970

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Research Papers from Stanford University, Graduate School of Business
Contact information at EDIRC.
Series data maintained by ().