Do Social Networks Improve e-Commerce? a Study on Social Marketplaces

Social networks have made a significant impact on how Internet users communicate, search for and share data today. Numerous proposals have been made to improve existing distributed systems by leveraging the inherent trust built into social links. For example, many believe that by augmenting online marketplaces with social networking, the authors can improve trust between transaction partners and increase user satisfaction. This paper performs a detailed study of Overstock Auctions, an auction site that has recently integrated social links into user profiles.