Social Networks and Referrals in International Organizational Buying of Travel Services

Summary Most channels for the marketing of services are very short-delivery is the product. In the corporate travel business, however, travel agent intermediaries are used to source what are often very large purchases of travel services. What is the role of word-of-mouth referrals in the process and how does it vary across national/cultural boundaries, in this case, Japan and the U.S.? With data collected from companies in both countries, social network analysis is applied to examine how companies go about sourcing their business travel services. Results indicate that culture has more impact than location (foreign vs. domestic) in the referral process.