Characteristics of the Opinion Leader: A New Dimension
- 1 October 1990
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Advertising
- Vol. 19 (3) , 53-60
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1990.10673192
Abstract
This study empirically examined the role of a personality trait, public individuation, in furthering our understanding of opinion leadership. Relevance of this new psychological dimension, and past findings on characteristics of opinion leaders are discussed. Discriminant analysis revealed that, in addition to personal involvement and product familiarity, public individuation was the only other variable which was important in distinguishing opinion leaders from non-leaders. Risk preference, open-mindedness, and mass media exposure, though correlated with opinion leadership, were not found to be important predictors of opinion leadership. Implications for advertisers are discussed.Keywords
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