Dear Colleagues,

The use of social networks and the Internet in general has become a habit for consumers to the point that there are millions of devices connected to the Internet, all of which constantly generate new data. Social network platforms have become a common forum for users seeking to share opinions and information about individual experiences, as well as to share content related to companies and user interests. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram are the most popular social networks, but other platforms such as TripAdvisor, Booking, Amazon, and eBay are also considered social networks, because they allow users to share information. In a scenario where new consumption habits have been generated in the digital environment, it is interesting to study how consumers have adapted habits on the Internet to make decisions when sharing information or when making purchases through the web or through social networks and digital platforms.

Several authors have focused on the analysis of consumers on social platforms through neuroscience experiments. The objective of these experiments is to better understand consumers who rely on social networks as well as to clarify the variables that affect their decision making. In turn, management can better understand current consumer behavior and predict future behavior. The study of consumer behavior in social networks is important as it can enable managers to generate meaningful insights that may in turn help to refine strategic responses or become the basis for further research. The comprehension of these new habits of digital behavior is relevant for executives who aim to develop their business projects in digital environments.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to understand consumer behavior in social networks with the application of neuroscience experiments applied to social networks.

For this Special Issue, we invite paper contributions related to any of the topics outlined above and which clearly relate to neuroscience experiments in social networks for business management and marketing using research approaches such as neuromarketing, EEG, eye tracking, fMRI, user-generated content (UGC) analysis, social network analysis, sentiment analysis, big data, machine learning approaches, support vector machines, case studies or reviews of literature on this topic, as well as another quantitative, qualitative, or mixed/multimethod perspectives.

Important references

Reyes-Menendez, A., Saura, J. R., & Martinez-Navalon, J. G. (2019). The impact of e-WOM on Hotels Management Reputation: Exploring TripAdvisor Review Credibility with the ELM model. IEEE Access.

Riedl, R., Hubert, M., & Kenning, P. (2010). Are there neural gender differences in online trust? An fMRI study on the perceived trustworthiness of eBay offers. MIS quarterly, 34(2), 397-428.

Hubert, M., Hubert, M., Linzmajer, M., Riedl, R., & Kenning, P. (2018). Trust me if you can–neurophysiological insights on the influence of consumer impulsiveness on trustworthiness evaluations in online settings. European Journal of Marketing, 52(1/2), 118-146.

Saura, J., Reyes-Menendez, A., & Alvarez-Alonso, C. (2018). Do online comments affect environmental management? Identifying factors related to environmental management and sustainability of hotels. Sustainability, 10(9), 3016.

Reyes-Menendez, A., Saura, J., & Alvarez-Alonso, C. (2018). Understanding #WorldEnvironmentDay user opinions in Twitter: A topic-based sentiment analysis approach. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(11), 2537.

Reyes-Menendez, A., Saura, J., Palos-Sanchez, P., & Alvarez-Garcia, J. (2018). Understanding user behavioral intention to adopt a search engine that promotes sustainable water management. Symmetry, 10(11), 584.

Guixeres, J., Bigné, E., Ausín Azofra, J. M., Alcañiz Raya, M., Colomer Granero, A., Fuentes Hurtado, F., & Naranjo Ornedo, V. (2017). Consumer neuroscience-based metrics predict recall, liking and viewing rates in online advertising. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 1808.

Prof. Dr. Ana Reyes-Menendez
Prof. Dr. José Ramón Saura
Guest Editors

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• Social networks
• Digital consumer behavior
• Neuromarketing
• Consumer neuroscience