초록
In this research, we analyze the sensitivity of the network density to the estimates for the Bass model parameters with both theoretical model and a simulation. Bass model describes the process that the non-adopters in the market potential adopt a new product or an innovation by the innovation effect and imitation effect. The imitation effect shows the word of mouth effect from the previous adopters to non-adopters. But it does not divide the underlying network structure from the strength of the influence over the network. With a network based Bass model, we found that the estimate for the imitation coefficient is highly sensitive to the network density and it is decreasing while the network density is decreasing. This finding implies that the interpersonal influence can be under-looked when the network density is low. It also implies that both of the network density and the interpersonal influence are important to facilitate the diffusion of an innovation.
