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本研究通过对于过往社会网络和社会资本的相关研究的梳理，提出了社会网络发生作用的机制问题，并通过对于广东珠三角企业的数据模型化分析和定性材料分析，来从策略和门槛两个方面回答了这个问题：从策略方面看，企业要有效发展社会网络，在抓住关键社会网络关系的基础上发展全面的社会网络是对于其效益提升起到最良好作用的策略。而从门槛方面来看，社会网络的作用并不是对于所有企业都是有效的，总体而言社会网络对于具有高行业技术自主性的行业里的企业有正向作用，而对于处于具有低行技术自主性的企业沒有显著作用，这也就是社会网络作用的第一道自主性门槛；而对于处于高技术自主性行业的企业而言，社会网络对于高企业技术自主性的企业的经济效益的正向作用大于对于低企业技术自主性的企业的作用，这就是社会网络作用的第二道自主性门槛 。 / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 任慧岩. / Thesis (M.Phil.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-64). / Ren Huiyan.

Public press and companies have increasingly strong interests in the impact on businesses brought about by virtual communities. In recent years, virtual communities have become significant sources of information for consumers and businesses by offering unprecedented opportunities for information sharing. Scholars recognize that information posted in virtual communities has important implications for the behaviors of community members and subsequent economic decisions and market performance. However, relatively less is explored about how the informational value of virtual communities results from an aggregated or fragmented community of information. In particular, the underlying motives and mechanisms of user interactions in virtual communities are challenging to understand because of the amount of information available and the potential noises. To investigate user dynamics and the resulting informational value in virtual communities, I explore three major issues in my dissertation. First, I empirically examine whether community fragmentation or aggregation prevails in the context of virtual investment communities. Results indicate that instead of the common belief of virtual communities serving as melting pots that comprise opinions, online investors, in particular, show strong homophily behavior in virtual investment communities. Second, using data from virtual investment communities, I investigate the interactions among online investors that drive homophily and community fragmentation. I find that psychological needs for supportive opinions mainly drive the information seeking and interaction behaviors of online investors as compared to economic rationales. Following this line of exploration, I also identify the informational impact of virtual communities on user behaviors in the context of electronic markets. With data from online retailers, I examine the possible shrinkage of consumer product consideration that is reinforced by online recommendations. A resultant change of consumer consideration leads to a landscape shift of product competition for online retailers, suggesting strategic implications to manufacturers. All in all, my dissertation contributes to an understanding of the value of virtual communities as informational media, how virtual communities shape online user opinions, and how online user preferences impact businesses and markets in a networked economy. My research pushes the frontier toward understanding virtual communities and sheds light on the insights into exploring online network dynamics. / text

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In this thesis I study how networks are formed and I analyse the strategies that well-connected individuals adopt in public good games on a network. In chapter one I study an artefactual field experiment in rural India which tests whether farmers can create efficient networks in a repeated link formation game, and whether group categorisation increases the frequency of in-group links and reduces network efficiency. I find that the efficiency of the networks formed in the experiment is significantly lower than the efficiency which could be achieved under selfish, rational play. When information about group membership is disclosed, in-group links are chosen more frequently, while the efficiency of network structure is not significantly affected. Using a job-referral network experiment in an urban area of Ethiopia, I investigate in chapter two whether individuals create new links with the least connected players in the network. In a first treatment, competition for job-referrals makes it in the player's interest to link with the least connected partners. In this treatment, links to the least connected players are significantly more likely than links to better connected individuals. In a second treatment, connections only affect the welfare of the new partner. Choosing the least connected player minimises inequality and maximises aggregate efficiency. This may motivate other-regarding players. In this treatment, however, links to least connected partners are not significantly more likely than links to other players. In chapter three I explore the characteristics that individuals value in the people they approach for advice. Using cross-sectional data on cocoa farmers in Ghanaian villages and a matched lottery experiment, I find an association between the difference in the aversion to risk of two farmers and the probability that one farmer is interested in the advice of the other farmer. In chapter four I study a one-shot public good game in rural India between farmers connected by a star network. Contributions by the centre of the star have a larger impact on aggregate payoffs than contributions by the spoke players. I use the strategy method to study whether the centre of the star contributes more than the average of the spokes. In selected sessions, I disclose participants' expectations about the choices of the centre of star. I find that the centre player contributes just as much as the average of the spokes, and that he is influenced by the expectations that other players hold about his decisions.

This dissertation studies three models of sequential social learning, each of which has implications for the impact of the internet and social media on political discourse. I take three features of online political discussion, and consider in what ways they interfere with or assist learning.In Chapter 1, I consider agents who engage in motivated reasoning, which is a belief-formation procedure in which agents trade-off a desire to form accurate beliefs against a desire to hold ideologically congenial beliefs. Taking a model of motivated reasoning in which agents can reject social signals that provide too strong evidence against their preferred state, I analyse under which conditions we can expect asymptotic consensus, where all agents choose the same action, and learning, in which Bayesian agents choose the correct state with probability 1. I find that learning requires much more connected observation networks than is the case with Bayesian agents. Furthermore, I find that increasing the precision of agents’ private signals can actually break consensus, providing an explanation for the advance of factual polarisation despite the greater access to information that the internet provides. In Chapter 2, I evalute the importance of timidity. In the presence of agents who prefer not to be caught in error publicly, and can choose to keep their views to themselves given this, insufficiently confident individuals may choose not to participate in online debate. Studying social learning in this setting, I discover an unravelling mechanism by which non-partisan agents drop out of online political discourse. This leads to an exaggerated online presence for partisans, which can cause even more Bayesian agents to drop out. I consider the possibility of introducing partially anonymous commenting, how this could prevent such unravelling, and what restrictions on such commenting would be desirable. In Chapter 3, my focus moves on to considering rational inattention, and how this interacts with the glut of information the internet has produced. I set out a model that incorporates the costly observation of private and social information, and derive conditions under which we should expect learning to obtain despite these costs. I find that expanding access to cheap information can actually damage learning: giving all agents Blackwell-preferred signals or cheaper observations of all their neighbors can reduce the asymptotic probability with which they match the state. Furthermore, the highly connected networks social media produces can generate a public good problem in investigate journalism, damaging the ‘information ecosystem’ further still.

Social media has become one of the defining features of the technological advances known as Web 2.0. As social media has increased in popularity, so businesses are expected to participate. Social media platforms enable businesses to widely broadcast a message as well as interact directly with individual customers. Customers are also able to interact directly with one another and share information and reviews about products and services offered. This suits the tourism industry particularly well. Internationally, research has shown that individuals use social media and other online tools to research potential holiday destinations. In addition social media is used during travel to share snapshots and commentary as well as after travel, through reviews and recommendations on platforms such as TripAdvisor. However, few studies have investigated how tourism destinations use social media to attract new clients and retain existing clients. Very little research has been done on tourism and social media in South Africa despite the importance of this industry to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This study focused on four-star establishments within the photographic wildlife tourism industry in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. An initial survey of social media participation was carried out within the framework set out by Chan and Guillet (2011); this was then followed up with interviews with selected managers. Results showed that, in general, Private Game Reserves (PGRs) had embraced social media as a communication and marketing platform; despite concerns raised about the lack of control over content as well as poor understanding of the influence social media might have on the bottom line. TripAdvisor, Facebook and Twitter were the most commonly used platforms due to management familiarity with the platform and their ease of use. Few lodges utilised blogs or content sites such as YouTube and management cited time commitments associated with this type of platform as a reason for non-participation. However, although most PGRs or lodges had a profile on social media, this did not always mean active participation. Frequently, lodges began updating but gradually stopped after a few months. It was noted however that only one of the lodges interviewed retained an individual whose sole responsibility was social media; generally lodges did not feel that a dedicated person was necessary. This may result in a lack of time available on the part of the individual responsible or simply be a case of not understanding the platform or how to use it effectively. However, none of the PGRs with poor social media participation responded to interview requests and therefore it was not possible to determine the reasons for their poor participation. Among those lodges that actively participated, most succeed in retaining fans and followers through consistent posting of relevant and interesting content as well as customised responses that encouraged fans or followers’ interaction. However, there did not appear to be any evidence of using social media to learn about fans and followers in order to better customise the lodge offerings. This may not be necessary in this type of industry as PGRs sell a specific product and have a limited ability to customise offerings. In addition, there may be other sources of market information which lodges prefer to use. Special offers, competitions and promotions had limited success on social media. Generally, lodges used social media to promote links to a dedicated competition or promotions page. In conclusion, the managers interviewed felt strongly that social media had made a measureable impact on the tourism industry and was a channel that was here to stay. Further research around the best practice and most effective use will enable PGRs to develop and maintain effective strategies for social media participation.

This dissertation advocates for greater recognition and inclusion of the large and growing population of disabled people as an integral part of the marketplace and in marketing research. Three trends are converging that increase the imperative to focus more attention on disability in the marketplace: demographics, inclusion, and technology. The experience of disabled consumers in the marketplace is fundamentally different from that of able-bodied consumers and has implications for all stakeholders in marketing. To better understand the heart of this matter, Essay 1 develops a theoretical framework to explain how disabled individuals approach consumption decisions. They must choose between three coping strategies (self-initiative, social support, and assistive technology) to overcome the challenges of their disability and achieve their consumption goals. In doing so, they face an inherent and constant tradeoff of fulfilling a need for autonomy versus need for efficiency. No strategy fulfills both, rather each facilitates one while hindering the other, creating tension between competing goals. This tradeoff is typically not faced by able-bodied consumers, who are able to achieve both autonomy and efficiency on the same task. Essay 2 empirically and experimentally tests one aspect of the theoretical framework, namely how observers may perceive (or misperceive) the needs of people with physical disabilities, identifies inaccurate perceptions that may lead to suboptimal outcomes, and examines how these perceptions can be leveraged to improve outcomes. Although I advocate a fully inclusive design approach, in which people with disabilities are integral to decision making processes affecting them, the current reality is that many decisions are still made on their behalf by others. As a result, marketers, product designers, policy makers, and individuals need to understand the needs of people with disabilities to create, market, and support products that better fulfill those needs. In contrast to prior research on dehumanization, which finds that observers diminish the importance of high-order (psychological) needs of “othered” groups, I find that observers elevate the importance of high-order needs of people with physical disabilities to compensate for perceived physical challenges. Across eight studies, I identify this systematic bias and resulting consequential decisions in the realm of product design and response to marketing campaigns. I conclude by discussing implications of these findings for managers, public policy, and future research.

This study examined how online social networking (OSN) leads to increased communication and collaboration across inter-firm boundaries. This online social networking behaviour represents significant opportunities to firms in the form of improved problem-solving, increased collaborative innovation and enhanced engagement with stakeholders. There are also risks inherent in the widespread use of OSNs, such as the loss of control over information flows to individuals outside the organization, potential damage to the reputation of brands and organizations, and loss of productivity due to excessive usage of OSNs during work hours. In particular, this study sought to test four research propositions, specifically, that usage of one particular OSN, LinkedIn (LI), results in: 1) an increased number of inter-firm connections; 2) an improved ability to communicate across inter-firm boundaries; 3) greater access to problem solving or innovation collaborators; 4) increased organizational problem solving or innovation ability. The study methodology involved both quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative portion of the study involved survey research among over 500 LinkedIn (LI) users to determine changes they reported in various dimensions related to inter-firm relationship-forming, information-sharing and collaborative problem solving since using LI. The sampling approach was purposive and the sample frame consisted of the researcher’s own extended LI network, and an effort was also made to make the survey link available to all LI members through public posting in the site’s Q&A section. Though no individual or group was systematically excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, some limitations are inherent in the approach taken. The survey respondents were self-selecting, which makes it difficult to confirm that the sample is reflective of all LI users. Also, the use of the researcher’s own LI network as a key source of survey respondents may have biased the study toward more open networkers, since the researcher’s network was built up over time by practicing open networking behaviours. As a result, the sample may tend to under-represent more closed or restrictive networkers. Notwithstanding these limitations, no one particular group of respondents was excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, and the resulting data suggests that there were significant numbers of respondents who considered themselves closed networkers. Also, the spread of respondents by geographic area, occupation and age was found to resemble published statistics from LI on its user base, so it appears that the data is reasonably reflective of the LI user base, though this would be difficult to verify or measure. Qualitative research was also undertaken among senior managers at companies that have embraced the use of OSNs by staff to determine their experiences along similar dimensions. The findings from the quantitative survey showed that users of LI have experienced an increased number of social connections with individuals as a result of using LI, and that these connections are often with people in other organizations, including competitors and customers. Survey respondents also reported that they have been able to draw upon their LI networks in order to solve problems and be more innovative in their work. Analysis of the qualitative research yielded a list of suggested best practices that could be adopted by firms wishing to harness the collaborative power of OSNs. These suggested best practices have been grouped under the areas of strategy, listening, communication, guidelines, training, diffusion and measurement. Some suggested areas for future research included: the role of performance measurement and reward systems in managing OSN usage behaviour; the organizational risks of centralized versus decentralized control of messaging via OSNs; the role of training in the effective deployment of OSNs in an organizational context; and the organizational risk of increased connectedness with competitors resulting from OSN relationships. / Business Management / D.B.L.

This study examined how online social networking (OSN) leads to increased communication and collaboration across inter-firm boundaries. This online social networking behaviour represents significant opportunities to firms in the form of improved problem-solving, increased collaborative innovation and enhanced engagement with stakeholders. There are also risks inherent in the widespread use of OSNs, such as the loss of control over information flows to individuals outside the organization, potential damage to the reputation of brands and organizations, and loss of productivity due to excessive usage of OSNs during work hours. In particular, this study sought to test four research propositions, specifically, that usage of one particular OSN, LinkedIn (LI), results in: 1) an increased number of inter-firm connections; 2) an improved ability to communicate across inter-firm boundaries; 3) greater access to problem solving or innovation collaborators; 4) increased organizational problem solving or innovation ability. The study methodology involved both quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative portion of the study involved survey research among over 500 LinkedIn (LI) users to determine changes they reported in various dimensions related to inter-firm relationship-forming, information-sharing and collaborative problem solving since using LI. The sampling approach was purposive and the sample frame consisted of the researcher’s own extended LI network, and an effort was also made to make the survey link available to all LI members through public posting in the site’s Q&A section. Though no individual or group was systematically excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, some limitations are inherent in the approach taken. The survey respondents were self-selecting, which makes it difficult to confirm that the sample is reflective of all LI users. Also, the use of the researcher’s own LI network as a key source of survey respondents may have biased the study toward more open networkers, since the researcher’s network was built up over time by practicing open networking behaviours. As a result, the sample may tend to under-represent more closed or restrictive networkers. Notwithstanding these limitations, no one particular group of respondents was excluded from the opportunity to take the survey, and the resulting data suggests that there were significant numbers of respondents who considered themselves closed networkers. Also, the spread of respondents by geographic area, occupation and age was found to resemble published statistics from LI on its user base, so it appears that the data is reasonably reflective of the LI user base, though this would be difficult to verify or measure. Qualitative research was also undertaken among senior managers at companies that have embraced the use of OSNs by staff to determine their experiences along similar dimensions. The findings from the quantitative survey showed that users of LI have experienced an increased number of social connections with individuals as a result of using LI, and that these connections are often with people in other organizations, including competitors and customers. Survey respondents also reported that they have been able to draw upon their LI networks in order to solve problems and be more innovative in their work. Analysis of the qualitative research yielded a list of suggested best practices that could be adopted by firms wishing to harness the collaborative power of OSNs. These suggested best practices have been grouped under the areas of strategy, listening, communication, guidelines, training, diffusion and measurement. Some suggested areas for future research included: the role of performance measurement and reward systems in managing OSN usage behaviour; the organizational risks of centralized versus decentralized control of messaging via OSNs; the role of training in the effective deployment of OSNs in an organizational context; and the organizational risk of increased connectedness with competitors resulting from OSN relationships. / Business Management / D.B.L.