Multicriteria seed selection and evaluation of spreading parameters for Linear Treshold Model

People are constantly exposed to environmental stimuli that shape their decisions, mold habits and influence the behavior of whole communities. In social networks, content can spread either as independent cascades or through threshold-based processes—most notably the linear threshold model—which mimic how peers’ actions prompt individuals to adopt new information. To evaluate these diffusion dynamics, we look at three key measures: the ultimate network coverage, the time required to reach that coverage and the total campaign cost. Each of these outcomes depends on choices such as seeding strategy, activation thresholds, the number of initial spreaders and the ranking method used. Facing so many interdependent factors, a multicriteria decision-making approach helps balance resource expenditure against diffusion effectiveness. In this study, we apply such an approach to assess marketing campaigns under the linear threshold model, revealing the trade-offs between coverage, speed and cost.