Research on the influencing factors of customer referral behavior based on social network—Application in the catering industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how customers' social network affects customer referral behavior.MethodologyA survey of 180 qualified questionnaires from ordinary consumers in China was conducted. Structural equation model was performed on the collection of data.FindingsThe results show that condensed subgroups and the relationship strength between customers and between customers and companies have a greater influence on customer referrals than network density and centrality. In contrast, network scale and structural holes do not influence customer referrals.Originality/valueContributing to customer referral theory, this paper examines the influencing factors of customer referral behavior based on social network, providing theoretical suggestions for enterprises better using customer referral to acquire customers.