Determinants of Knowledge Transfer in Egocentric Networks. Comparative Analysis of Professions

This paper investigates determinants of knowledge transfer in egocentric networks of knowledge recipient and knowledge provider, what is crucial to knowledge management in organisations. Knowledge transfer is assumed to depend on knowledge work, networking competence, and the subject’s profession: teacher, Information Technology (IT) professional, or physician. The paper reports result of a quantitative study among samples of mentioned professionalists. Regression models testing, including mediation and moderation, were performed. The findings indicate that knowledge transfer in the egocentric network of the knowledge recipient increases along with knowledge work, but only when it is mediated by networking competence. Analyses in each profession support a partial mediation in the case of IT professionals and teachers. Knowledge transfer in egocentric network of the knowledge provider increases along with knowledge work of the provider. In the case of physicians, knowledge transfer in the providers’ and recipients’ knowledge networks is affected neither by knowledge work nor by networking competence.

Characterization of international partnerships in global retinoblastoma care and research: A network analysis

Global cooperation is an integral component of global health research and practice. One Retinoblastoma World (1RBW) is a cooperative network of global treatment centers that care for children affected by retinoblastoma. The study aimed to determine the number, scope and nature of collaborations within 1RBW, and uncover how they are perceived to contribute towards improving retinoblastoma outcomes. A cross-sectional, mixed-methods egocentric network analysis was conducted. Treatment centers (n = 170) were invited to complete an electronic survey to identify collaborative activities between their institution (ego), and respective partners (alters). Network maps were generated to visualize connectivity. Key informants (n = 18) participated in semi-structured interviews to add details about the reported collaborations. Interviews were analysed through inductive thematic analysis. Surveys were completed by 56/170 (33%) of 1RBW treatment centers. Collectively, they identified 112 unique alters (80 treatment centers; 32 other organizations) for a total network size of 168 nodes. Most collaborations involved patient referrals, consultations and twinning/capacity building. Interviews identified four main themes: conceptualization of partnership; primary motivation for collaborations; common challenges to collaboration; and benefits to partnership. There is extensive global collaboration to reduce global retinoblastoma mortality, but there is room to expand connectivity through active efforts to include actors located at network peripheries.

How Do the Support Networks of Older People Influence Their Experiences of Social Isolation in Care Homes?

Understanding how to better support older people living in care homes is imperative for improving their wellbeing and quality of life. Despite this, little research has explored how support networks are structured and composed for individual residents. This study aimed to explore how, and by whom, residents felt they were supported, and how this support influenced their experiences of social isolation within the care home. The study included 36 residents from seven care homes located in the Scottish central belt in 2018. This article uses egocentric network analysis to analyse the structure and composition of the support networks, while a thematic analysis of qualitative interviews resulted in themes exploring how a resident’s support network impacts their social isolation within the care home. Findings indicated that residents’ most supportive alters were adult children, while staff members were only nominated as providing support in one third of support networks, despite most residents needing specialised care every day. Ambiguous relationships within residents’ support networks lead to feelings of social isolation, as well as adding to residents’ isolating behaviour. This suggests that national care frameworks, such as person‐centred care frameworks, which advocate for coordinated support between residents, relatives, and staff are not being implemented effectively and that more needs to be done to break down barriers to inclusion for care home residents.

Mental Health Stigma and Social Contact Revisited: The Role of Network Closeness and Negativity

Researchers and policymakers are increasingly interested in the extent to which mental health stigma can be mitigated through social contact with people who disclose mental health issues. Empirical research on contact and stigma, however, largely focuses on the presence of contact without fully examining the nature of relationships. Interpersonal ties, for example, can be enduring and supportive, enduring and stressful, or weak yet cooperative. Using a novel egocentric network survey, this study contributes by measuring contact with respect to both the presence of alters with perceived mental health issues and the nature of those connections. Results show that, compared to respondents without any contact, naming more mental health contacts is associated with a reduction in stigma only when those relations are characterized by closeness and a lack of negativity. Among individuals with contact, a higher proportion of relationships perceived as negative or “difficult” exacerbates stigma. Implications of these findings for stigma reduction are discussed.

The social network antecedents to consumer engagement: revealing how consumers' conversations influence online engagement behaviors

PurposeConsumer engagement has become a critical component to many brands' relationship and promotional efforts. Empirical studies have documented the psychological elements that can drive consumers to engage with brands. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding how consumer engagement is influenced by the social environment consumers are embedded in. Taking an egocentric network approach, this study explores the social network factors that affect different dimensions of consumers' online engagement behaviors with a brand.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey with an egocentric network design was employed, and 263 completed responses were collected from college students in US. The dimensionality of consumer engagement was validated using exploratory factor analysis. The hypotheses were tested through three sets of hierarchical regression models.FindingsThe results suggest that consumer engagement with a brand was partially shaped by the attributes of consumers' brand discussion networks that emerge from their conversations about a brand with others in everyday life. Specifically, the size, heterogeneity, and density to consumers' discussion networks were associated with certain engagement behaviors.Originality/valueThis study introduces a novel type of network method known as egocentric network analysis to explore and investigate the social network antecedents to consumer engagement behavior. It advances the conception of consumer engagement as a dynamic process influencing and is influenced by consumers' social interactions rather than merely a product of their psychological mechanisms. The study contributes to a social network approach to examining and conceptualizing consumer engagement.

Financial support by older adults to family members: a configurational perspective

Most research on financial inter vivos transfers from older parents to their family members is focused on the giver–receiver dyad, usually between an older parent and an adult child. This study aimed to investigate older adults' financial support beyond this level of intergenerational dyads using an egocentric network perspective (i.e., the configurational approach). Data were from a sample of 2,991 older adults (aged 65 and older) from the Vivre/Leben/Vivere study, a large survey addressing family life and health conditions of older people in Switzerland. We used Wald tests and regression analyses to identify how financial transfers are related to family network properties in later life. Findings showed that older parents' propensity to provide financial support is associated with the density of practical help exchanges within the family (mainly for men) and with the position (mainly for women) and the role they play within their family configuration.

Co-Attendance Communities: A Multilevel Egocentric Network Analysis of American Soccer Supporters’ Groups

The growth of professional soccer in the United States is evident through the rapid expansion of franchises and increased game attendance within Major League Soccer (MLS) and the United Soccer League (USL). Coinciding with this growth is the emergence of European-style supporters’ groups filling sections of MLS and USL stadiums. In this study, the authors utilized an egocentric network analysis to explore relationships among supporters’ group members for two professional soccer clubs based in the United States. Egocentric network research focuses on the immediate social environment of individuals and is often viewed as an alternative approach to sociocentric (i.e., whole network) analyses. This study employed hierarchical linear modeling as an example of multilevel modeling with egocentric data, using ego- and alter-level variables to explain the strength of co-attendance ties. The results indicate the perceived commitment of fellow fans to the team, shared membership in a supporters’ group, age, and interactions with other fans in team settings related to higher levels of co-attendance. The outcomes of this study are both theoretical, as they advance an understanding of sport consumer behavior within soccer supporters’ groups, and methodological, as they illustrate the unique value of employing egocentric network analysis in sport fan research.