MIS Distinguished Speaker Series

Temple University

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Archives for 2011

Feb 18: Ramayya Krishnan to speak on Dynamics of Network Structure and Content in Social Media

By

Ramayya Krishnan

Dean of Heinz College
H. John Heinz III Dean and W. W. Cooper and Ruth F. Cooper Professor of Management Science and Information Systems
Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University

February 18, 2011

Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am

Krishnan will present two papers related to social media . In addition, he will discuss the open problem of how one should think about privacy protection of network data using a decision-theoretic approach of trading off data utility with disclosure risk

Title 1: Dynamics of Network Structure and Content in Social Media

Abstract 1

Organizations use social media to leverage knowledge contributions by individual employees, which also foster social interactions { activity in blogs, forums, wikis etc. is critical to ensuring a thriving online community. Prior studies have examined contributions to such media at the level of the individual, focusing on drivers of participation, whereas we investigate three different dimensions of dyadic interactions. Our setting is an online forum in an enterprise, where employees both exchange knowledge by query-response and interact socially.
Using a networks approach to query-response behavior, we characterize each interaction as a directed tie, and view the entire set of online forum interactions as a social network. We evaluate network constructs including Simmelian embeddedness and content of relationships (expressive or instrumental), to understand the mechanisms underlying online social interactions.
We find that content and embedded nature of the relationship strongly influence responses: Simmelian ties formed in an expressive setting have the highest positive impact on response propensity, i.e. both content and embeddedness are impactful and reinforce each other. Our results have implications for designing online social communities, specifically that practitioners ought to consider the benefits of purely social interactions through the forum that may serve to lubricate future instrumental interactions.

Title 2:  Homophily or Influence? An Empirical Analysis of Purchase within a Social Network

Abstract 2

Consumers that are close to one another in a social network are known to have similar behaviors. The focus of this study is the extent to which such observed similarity is driven by homophily or social influence. Homophily refers to the similarity in product preferences between individuals who are connected. Social influence is the dependence of consumers’ purchase decisions on their communication with others. We construct a hierarchical Bayesian model to study both the timing and choice of consumer purchases within a social network. Our model is estimated using a unique social network dataset obtained from a large Indian telecom operator for the purchase of caller ringer-back tones. We find strong social influence effects in both the purchase-timing and product-choice decisions of consumers. In the purchase-timing decision, we find that consumers are three times more likely to be influenced by network neighbors than by other people. In the product-choice decision we find a strong homophily effect. We show that ignoring either homophily or social influence will result in overestimated effects of the other factor. Furthermore, we show that detailed communication data is crucial for measuring influence effect, and influence effect can be either over- or underestimated when such data is not available. Finally, we conduct policy simulations on a variety of target marketing schemes to show that promotions targeted using network information is superior. For example, we find a 4-21% improvement on purchase probability, and an 11-35% improvement for promoting a specific product.

For a copy of the paper1, click here.

For a copy of the paper2, click here.

Feb 16: Anjana Susarla to speak on Social Capital, Reputation and Contract Design in Buyer-Supplier Networks

By

Anjana Susarla

Assistant Professor,
Tepper School of Business,
Carnegie Mellon University

February 16, 2011

Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am

Seminar Title : Social Capital, Reputation and Contract Design in Buyer-Supplier Networks

Abstract

Prior research on inter-firm contracting has identified the ideal governance mode to be either Formal‟ or „Relational‟ governance modes. However, both streams of literature rely on stringent assumptions about the cost of breaching contractual obligations and the mechanism of enforcement. We propose an embeddedness-based governance logic by examining an inter-organizational network of exchange partners. The buyer-seller network acts as a conduit for market actors to exchange information about exchange opportunities as well as the actual services traded, providing a mechanism for community enforcement. A firm‟s social capital in the network could assuage concerns about opportunism whereby a firm can maintain a reputation for performance. A firm‟s position in the network also acts as a signal of its ability and quality to agents beyond the dyad. We analyze a large dataset of public information technology (IT) outsourcing announcements using multi-way cluster-robust and network auto-regression techniques. We examine the impact of firms‟ position in the inter-organizational network on an important contract design element, the duration of contracts. We find that a network position whereby a firm is associated with central trading partners is likely to predict longer contract duration. We find that this relationship holds even after controlling for a number of alternate causal explanations. Implications for practitioners and research are discussed.

For a copy of the paper, click here.

Feb 11: Joey George to speak on Culture, Media & Deception

By

Joey George

Professor of Information Systems and the Thomas L. Williams Jr. Eminent Scholar in Information Systems
College of Business at Florida State University

February 11, 2011

Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am

Abstract

Deceptive communication has been studied for decades, but within that vast body of work, relatively little research has been done regarding the roles of cultural or media differences and their effects on deception and its detection. Even less research has been done where culture, media and deception intersect. This presentation introduces two studies conducted at this intersection. The first is an investigation of media selection for deceptive communication, involving Chinese and Americans. The second is a study of deception detection, using Spanish and American participants and judges. Both studies show that culture informs deception and its detection, although media plays less of a role than might be thought.

For a copy of the presentation slides, click here.

Feb 7: Emmanuelle Vaast to speak on Social media and new work practices: A grounded theory of a non-profit network of practice

By

Emmanuelle Vaast

Associate Professor of MIS
Long Island University

February 7, 2011

Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am

Abstract

This paper examines how work practices change with the use of social media in a network of practice (NoP), that is, among people who share work practices without working with one another or even working for the same organization. Based on the indepth qualitative case study of the use of social media among non-profit professionals, the paper develops a grounded theorization of changes in practice that underscores the at first exogenous then endogenous sources of changes in practices and the trend toward changes in gradually more central practices in the NoP with social media. The grounded theorization acknowledges the importance of the changes in the social media applications and their popularity and recognizes the organizational-level implications of these changes in practices. This grounded theorization holds implications for IS research on IT implementation and use as well as for the understanding of dynamics taking place in NoPs in organizations. This paper contributes the understanding and conceptualization of exciting new dynamics of practices as social media and other web-based applications will continue to become more prevalent in work environments.

For a copy of the paper, click here.

Jan 24: Lynn Wu to speak on Social Network Effects on Performance and Layoffs: Evidence from the Adoption of a Social Networking Tool

By

Lynn Wu

PhD Candidate
Sloan School of Management,
MIT

January 24, 2011

Speakman Hall 200, 1000am – 1130am

Abstract

By studying the changes in employees’ networks and performance before and after the introduction of a social networking tool, I find that a structurally diverse network (low in cohesion and rich in structural holes) has a positive effect on work performance. The size of the effect is smaller than traditional estimates, suggesting that omitted individual characteristics may bias the estimated network effect. I consider two intermediate mechanisms by which a structurally diverse network is theorized to improve work performance: information diversity (instrumental) and friendship (expressive). I quantify their effects on two types of work outcomes: billable revenue and layoffs. Analysis shows that the information diversity derived from a structurally diverse network is more correlated with generating billable revenue than is friendship. However, the opposite is true for layoffs. Friendship in a diverse network of colleagues is more correlated with reduced layoff risks than is information diversity. Field interviews suggest that friends can serve as advocates in critical situations, ensuring that favorable information is distributed to decision makers. This, in turn, suggests that having a structurally diverse network can drive both work performance and job security, but that there is a tradeoff between either mobilizing friendship or gathering diverse information. Furthermore, it is important to examine the mechanisms by which friendship reduces the risks of being laid off. If friendship promotes team effectiveness, delegating decisions rights to managers is optimal. However, if managers choose to optimize their own power at the expense of the firm, the positive impact of friendships on layoffs is evidence that delegating layoff decisions to managers can incur important costs.

For a copy of the paper, click here..