The spontaneity of social network: a possibility for re-enchanting network study?

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 995-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Accard ◽  
Christophe Assens
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Spontaneous Order ◽  
Network Structures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Network Change ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Interests ◽  
Network Studies

Purpose – For current works, agents create social network by drawing on the knowledge of their immediate environment, and they use network for cooperating with one another and for promoting their own economic and social interests. The purpose of this paper is to aid in re-enchanting network study, and present network as spontaneous social construction. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on Hayek's spontaneous order. For Hayek, agents have access to a wide knowledge about social system, and use this knowledge to spontaneously coordinate with each other in the pursuit of their self-interests. Findings – The authors develop the idea by presenting and performing an analogy of Hayek's spontaneous order to emergent structures. The result of this analogy is a conception of network dynamics wherein the spontaneous social construction of network structures is achieved by agents who have knowledge of the interaction rules that guide structures production, and who, by drawing on this knowledge, are able to influence the emergence of network structures. Agents thus spontaneously contribute to the emergence of a network, to its growth, and its decline. Originality/value – This new conception of network focusses on the processes of the social construction of network structures. It provides a better account of network change and development than current works, and because it stresses the spontaneous, fragile and ephemeral character of network, it can prove useful for the re-enchantment of network studies.

#50+ fashion Instagram influencers: cognitive age and aesthetic digital labours

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-413
Author(s):  
Ashleigh McFarlane ◽  
Emma Samsioe
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Visual Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Fashion Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cognitive Age ◽  
Critical Visual Analysis ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper demonstrates how #50+ fashion Instagram influencers contribute to the social construction of cognitive age through their aesthetic digital labours.Design/methodology/approachNon-participative netnography was used in the form of visual and textual analysis of over 300 Instagram posts including images, captions and comments.FindingsFindings reveal how outfit selection, background choices and bodily poses redefine expressions of look age through forms of aesthetic labour. Post-construction, hashtag and emoji usage illustrates how influencers refrain from directly posting about the fashion brands that they endorse. Instead, image and personality work visually attracts followers to politically charged posts which directly impact upon the social and cultural contexts where influencers are active. This ties into present-day wider societal discourses.Practical implications50+ fashion influencers have high spending power. Fashion brands should refrain from using #brand and collaborate in more subtle ways and concentrate on challenging the negativity of the old-age cliché.Originality/valueThe study advances theory on the social construction of age in fashion studies by combining cognitive age with aesthetic labour to identify the characteristics of the social phenomenon of the 50+ Instagram influencer. It applies principles from critical visual analysis to digital context, thereby advancing the qualitative netnographic toolkit.

Filling structural holes? Guanxi-based facilitation of knowledge sharing within a destination network

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiayuan Liu ◽  
Jianzhou Yan
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Network Structures ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
Structural Holes ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThis study examines the relationships between structural holes, guanxi and knowledge sharing among groups of stakeholders within a Chinese destination network.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted surveys, social network analysis and semi-structured interviews to gather data from the stakeholders of a popular Chinese tourist destination to test its hypotheses.FindingsKnowledge sharing within the destination network was impeded by structural holes but facilitated by guanxi. Furthermore, the impeding effect of structural holes on knowledge sharing is alleviated by guanxi.Originality/valueThis study illustrates the ways that stakeholders exploit structural holes and guanxi to promote knowledge sharing, and thus offers novel insights into how destination network structures affect the efficacy of stakeholders when it comes to sharing knowledge and promoting their destination.

scholarly journals Polarisation in political Twitter conversations

2014 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Gunnarsson Lorentzen
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Left Block ◽  
The Right

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse relationships and communication between Twitter actors in Swedish political conversations. More specifically, the paper aims to identify the most prominent actors, among these actors identify the sub-groups of actors with similar political affiliations, and describe and analyse the relationships and communication between these sub-groups. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected during four weeks in September 2012, using Twitter API. The material included 77,436 tweets from 10,294 Twitter actors containing the hashtag #svpol. In total, 916 prominent actors were identified and categorised according to the main political blocks, using information from their profiles. Social network analysis was utilised to map the relationships and the communication between these actors. Findings – There was a marked dominance of the three main political blocks among the 916 most prominent actors: left block, centre-right block, and right-wing block. The results from the social network analysis suggest that while polarisation exists in both followership and re-tweet networks, actors follow and re-tweet actors from other groups. The mention network did not show any signs of polarisation. The blocks differed from each other with the right-wingers being tighter and far more active, but also more distant from the others in the followership network. Originality/value – While a few papers have studied political polarisation on Twitter, this is the first to study the phenomenon using followership data, mention data, and re-tweet data.

Once learned, never forgotten: effective leadership development with social construction as a threshold concept

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 24-26
Author(s):  
Jon Billsberry
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Effective Leadership ◽  
Leadership Theories ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Threshold Concept ◽  
The Social ◽  
Traditional Leadership ◽  
Teaching Leadership

Purpose This paper aims to discuss leadership development with social construction as the underpinning theory. Design/methodology/approach This is an autoethnographic study of the author’s insights from teaching leadership from a social construction perspective. Findings The social construction approach to leadership looks and behaves as a threshold concept in leadership. It takes students’ learning to a higher level, opens up a new curriculum, and changes their understanding of leadership for good. Originality/value The discovery that the social construction approach to leadership looks and behaves as a threshold concept suggests that there is something fundamentally important with this perspective. It positions the social construction approach as an overarching theory that helps students re-evaluate, appreciate, and find value in traditional leadership theories.

Social production of disasters and disaster social constructs

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Sun ◽  
A.J. Faas
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Production ◽  
Social Constructs ◽  
Social Construct ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multidisciplinary Study ◽  
Disaster Studies ◽  
The Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine whether it is useful to tease apart the intimately related propositions of social production and social construction to guide thinking in the multidisciplinary study of disasters. Design/methodology/approach The authors address our question by reviewing literature on disasters in the social sciences to disambiguate the concepts of social production and social construction. Findings The authors have found that entertaining the distinction between social production and social construct can inform both thinking and action on disasters by facilitating critical exercises in reframing that facilitate dialog across difference. The authors present a series of arguments on the social production and construction of disaster and advocate putting these constructs in dialog with vulnerability frameworks of the social production of disasters. Originality/value This commentary contributes to disambiguating important theoretical and practical concepts in disaster studies. The reframing approach can inform both research and more inclusive disaster management and risk reduction efforts.

Motivations of social entrepreneurs

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karla Aileen Boluk ◽  
Ziene Mottiar
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Interests ◽  
Contextual Meaning ◽  
Over Time

Purpose – The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the additional motives, aside from the social interests that motivate social entrepreneurs. This paper does so by using an inductive approach and specifically carrying out a re-examination of two pieces of research examining social entrepreneurship that were carried out independently by the two researchers in South Africa and Ireland. Design/methodology/approach – The method used for the paper is content analysis. Research using qualitative content analysis focuses on the characteristics of language, talk and conversation (Sarantakos, 2005) with attention paid to the content or contextual meaning of the text. Thus, a qualitative content analysis is concerned with an examination of the uses of language. According to Downe-Wambolt (1992, p. 314), the aim of content analysis is “to provide knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon under study”. Findings – The findings indicate that the informants do have additional motivations with respect to their business ventures including lifestyle motives, receiving acknowledgement and generating profit. Originality/value – Few published papers investigate the motives of social entrepreneurs and explore if there are indeed any additional motivations aside from community interests. The results in this study identify that indeed social entrepreneurs are motivated by an array of motivations. The motivations we discovered in our research illustrate an individual who is mutually concerned with their communities, the environments in which they live in, lifestyle interests, acknowledgement and profit which may suggest that such community contributions could be sustained over time.

Countervailing the liability of newness by bringing in active initial investors: the case of Facebook

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Matteo Cristofaro
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Direction ◽  
The Social

Purpose This paper aims to present how Facebook overcame its liability of newness period, helping the interpretation of the same initial financial and organizational troubles faced by current unicorns. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the case study method has been used. Findings This story shows how the inclusion of active initial investors in the strategic team is pivotal for a firm’s survival. This case study depicts in depth the first years of life of the social network Facebook, focusing on the initial investors’ role for the survival of the firm. Originality/value This paper shows how an initial strategic team (especially the inexperienced) may benefit from the inclusion of active initial investors in terms of financed capital, and of further financing and refocusing of the strategic direction.

Philosophy of language and accounting

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1957-1980 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Alexander ◽  
Hélène de Brébisson ◽  
Cristina Circa ◽  
Eva Eberhartinger ◽  
Roberta Fasiello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Member State ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
The Social ◽  
Common Principle

Purpose Accounting practices vary not only across firms, but also across countries, reflecting the respective legal and cultural background. Attempts at harmonization therefore continue to be rebuffed. The purpose of this paper is to argue that different wordings in national laws, and different interpretations of similar wordings in national laws, can be explained by taking recourse to the philosophy of language, referring particularly to Searle and Wittgenstein. Design/methodology/approach The example of the substance over form principle, investigated in seven countries, is particularly suitable for this analysis. It is known in all accounting jurisdictions, but still has very different roots in different European countries, with European and international influences conflicting, which is reflected in the different wording of the principle from one country to the next, and the different socially constructed realities associated with those wordings. Findings This paper shows that, beyond accounting practices, the legal and cultural background of a country affects the wording of national law itself. The broad conclusion is that different socially constructed realities might tend to resist any attempt at harmonized socially constructed words. Originality/value The paper contributes to the debate surrounding the possible homogenization of accounting regulations, illustrating the theory of the social construction of both “reality” and “language” on the specific application of one common principle to various Member State environments.

New images of city through the social network

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-223
Author(s):  
Paola Carone ◽  
Simona Panaro
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The City

Purpose – The following paper aims to study the role of Facebook to improve the participation of the stakeholders to the urban regeneration and to identify preferences and create a database. Then great attention is given to the study of the potential of the social network in linking up extremely varied users, favoring also the connection from the web to the real. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology will combine the use of the social networking site Facebook and Checkland’s CATWOE. In this way, heterogeneous and selected groups of stakeholders could have an increasingly active role in the definition of urban strategies of transformations. Findings – The stakeholders’ participation is revealed in the choice of criteria, future cities characters and focal points, with the objective to identify some strategies for future sustainable scenarios of development. Originality/value – Facebook allows users to access the network of specific realities of the city and to meet and know them, improving the connection among people, thanks to the flow from web to real and vice versa.

Broadcasting, reacting, engaging – three strategies for CSR communication in Twitter

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 322-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Etter
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Csr Communication ◽  
The Social

Purpose – Symmetric communication and relationship building are core principles of public relations, which have been highlighted for CSR communication. The purpose of this paper is to develop three different communication strategies for CSR communication in Twitter, of which each contributes differently to the ideals of symmetric communication and relationship building. The framework is then applied to analyze how companies use the micro-blogging service Twitter for CSR communication. Design/methodology/approach – Social network analysis is used to identify the 30 most central corporate accounts in a CSR Twitter network. Findings – From the social network analysis 40,000 tweets are extracted and manually coded. Anova is applied to investigate differences in the weighting of CSR topics between the different strategies. Originality/value – So far not much is known about how social media, such as Twitter, contribute to the core principles of public relations, if companies use social media to foster symmetric communication and relationship management, or which CSR topics they address.

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