A MODEL FOR BRAND COMPETITION WITHIN A SOCIAL NETWORK

Authored by R. Huerta-Quintanilla, M. Rodriguez-Achach, E. Canto-Lugo

Date Published: 2010-12

DOI: 10.1142/s0129183110015981

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

An agent-based model was built representing an economic environment in which m brands are competing for a product market. These agents represent companies that interact within a social network in which a certain agent persuades others to update or shift their brands; the brands of the products they are using. Decision rules were established that caused each agent to react according to the economic benefits it would receive;they updated/shifted only if it was beneficial. Each agent can have only one of the m possible brands,and she can interact with its two nearest neighbors and another set of agents which are chosen according to a particular set of rules in the network topology. An absorbing state was always reached in which a single brand monopolized the network (known as condensation). The condensation time varied as a function of model parameters is studied including an analysis of brand competition using different networks.

Tags

Social networks econophysics Economic models condensation power law