To Belong or to Be Different? Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Experiment in China

Monic Sun (), Xiaoquan (Michael) Zhang () and Feng Zhu ()
Additional contact information
Monic Sun: Department of Marketing, Stanford University
Xiaoquan (Michael) Zhang: Department of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Feng Zhu: Department of Management and Organization, University of Southern California

No 12-15, Working Papers from NET Institute

Abstract: We examined whether people conform to or diverge from the most popular choice among their friends by conducting a large-scale field experiment on a leading social-networking site in China. Our setting allowed us to minimize confounding effects such as pre-existing taste similarities between a subject and her friends, the need to create a social identity, and the possibility of learning by observing friends’ choices. Surprisingly, we found that subjects were more likely to diverge from the popular choice among their friends as the popularity of that choice increased. The effect was more pronounced when they were reminded that their choices were visible to their friends. These results suggest that even members of a collectivist culture have a dominating need to be different.

Keywords: uniqueness-seeking; conformity; collectivist culture; field experiment; social network (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 J10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 19 pages
Date: 2012-06, Revised 2012-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-exp and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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