Thus, based on our analyses of the group discussions we further conclude that the hypothesis "Individuals who have a high degree of influence within a group discussing a topic they are knowledgeable about, remain influential when moved to another group that discusses a different topic they are less knowledgeable about" is not supported by the data that we have.
we have shown that when influential people are moved to groups where unfamiliar topics are discussed, their influence declines, sometimes significantly.