Informational Cascades and Software Adoption
This paper looked at user behavior on the internet in relation to which software product users were choosing, using the metric of different software’s download ranking.The paper looked at how the download ranking of different software fluctuated with the publicly available information stating how often a piece of software was downloaded. As expected, as the download ranking of a piece of software increased, users chose that software more frequently, with the reverse occurring with drops in the download ranking. Additionally, reviews of less popular products seemed to have a greater positive effect than for already popular software.
This data agrees with content we have covered in class relating to information cascades. We’ve learned that as a product gains popularity- that is, people become more aware of it- it is more likely for that product to gain an increase in traffic. This is because people can see that something is becoming popular, and it makes them more likely to become interested in searching out said product. This is especially true for products that are not as well-known, since that initial surge in popularity can lead to an information cascade.
Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20650277 (Informational Cascades and Software Adoption on the Internet: An Empirical Investigation)