A Proposal Model for Measuring the Impact of Viral Marketing Through Social Networks on Purchasing Decision: An Empirical Study

Viral marketing has become a conduit for today's organizations and an important pillar for managing the organization and a source that enhances its competitiveness and creates new opportunities for organizations through which they are trying to achieve competitive advantages to obtain new market shares. So, this study provides insight into how social network influence on purchasing decision through viral marketing and knowledge sharing on social networking sites (SNSs). By using the sample from 650 Egyptian college students - who spend more time on SNSs, this study investigates the relationship among the use of SNSs, users' social relationships, online word-of-mouth, and knowledge sharing. Therefore, this paper is working on the study of the impact of viral marketing through social networks on consumer buying decisions, and working on the development of a proposed model to measure this effect.