Research on influencing factors of information diffusion in online social networks under different themes

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study the factors influencing online social network (OSN) information diffusion under different themes helps to understand information diffusion in general.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collects data from the Web of Science, use the strategic consulting intelligent support system for word frequency analysis and use keyword clustering to classify themes, then research information themes as influencing factors of OSN information diffusion.

Findings

Five themes of “natural disaster”, “political event”, “product marketing”, “sport and entertainment” and “health-disease” have been identified. It is found that the research objects, research methods and research theories used by scholars under different themes have different focuses, and the factors affecting information diffusion are different.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this paper is that it only focuses on five typical themes, and there may be more themes.

Practical implications

The research helps other scholars to conduct in-depth research on the diffusion of OSN information under different topics and focus on the content of the research on OSN information diffusion under different topics.

Social implications

The research helps other scholars to conduct in-depth research on the diffusion of social network information under different topics, so as to better understand and predict the law of information diffusion.

Originality/value

The research summarizes the research on information diffusion in OSNs from the theme level and analyses the key points and theories and further enriches the research system on information diffusion in OSNs.

Citation

Zhang, L., Li, D. and Boncella, R.J. (2021), "Research on influencing factors of information diffusion in online social networks under different themes", The Electronic Library, Vol. 39 No. 5, pp. 732-748. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-12-2020-0329