From the supplier firm's perspective, a referral is a recommendation from A (the referrer) to B (the potential customer) that B should, or should not, purchase from C (the supplier firm). Thus, as referrals are for a specific supplier firm, they should be viewed as part of the supplier firm's...

Word-of-mouth (WOM) has proven a valuable marketing tool for acquiring new customers and companies frequently invest in referral reward programs to incentivize their current customers to spread word-of-mouth. Previous work has documented that referred customers are more valuable than those who...