The researchers found people display a herding instinct, making them want to use the same product as others - but only once it has reached a certain level of popularity.
"Users only appear to be influenced by the choices of other users above a certain level of popularity, and at that point, popularity drives future popularity. Below this threshold, the effects of social influence are imperceptible," The Scotsman quoted Dr Felix Reed-Tsochas from Oxford University's Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, as saying.
When the research was carried out, Facebook published a list of the most popular apps on its website, and also notified people when their friends downloaded a new one.
In the two-month study, carried out in 2007, the researchers tracked 100 million installations of apps. They found that the popularity of an app soared after it reached a rate of 55 applications a day.
