I investigate whether cross-functional or cross-organizational networking following a large corporate merger and acquisition improves managers’ career outcomes. Previous research on networks and career success has focused on stable organizational environments, finding that large, open networks with many structural holes are most advantageous because of superior information benefits and control power, while closed networks provide redundant information that is unhelpful career-wise. However, I suggest that while dense, closed networks formed within knowledge (functional) or identity (legacy organization) boundaries might be detrimental to executives’ future promotability, closed networks are helpful if they are created across those boundaries. These ties help to facilitate knowledge transfer and develop a new superordinate post-merger identity and are ultimately valued by the organization. I tested this on junior executives’ email and survey data collected at two time points (pre-merger and a year later) from a newly-merged organization. Results show that while closed networks with higher constraint in general were detrimental to executive’s promotability pre-merger, they lose the negative effect in the post-merger tumult. Controlling for overall network constraint, increasing closed networks across functional and legacy organizational boundaries led to managers receiving higher promotability evaluations from top management, whereas increasing closed networks within one functional and legacy organizational boundary did not have a significant impact. Managers’ rank and networking strategy that joins other employees (i.e., having a tertius iungens orientation) 2 moderated the relationships between networks and promotability. Implications are discussed for career and social networks research.

Le marketing sur les réseaux sociaux en ligne se caractérise par une perte de contrôle par rapport au marketing traditionnel (Mangold & Faulds, 2009) et ceci, pour deux raisons principales. La première étant que l'équilibre des forces est complètement inversé sur les réseaux sociaux en ligne au profit du consommateur. La deuxième étant que les plateformes, particulièrement Facebook, rendent l'accès aux informations propres à l'entreprise, comme par exemple la liste de ses fans, limité, compliqué, et dans certains cas impossible. Cette thèse s'inscrit à un moment où le besoin d'une base marketing stratégique pour l'utilisation des réseaux sociaux en ligne se fait sentir (Hoffman et Novak 2012). Pour cela, elle essaie de réfléchir et d'augmenter les recherches théoriques sur le marketing viral sur les réseaux sociaux en ligne et, en particulier la question de l'optimisation de la population initiale de diffusion. Elle essaie aussi de suggérer des stratégies permettant de rétablir un certain équilibre au profit du stratège marketing en lui montrant quels sont les moyens mis à sa disposition pour qu'il puisse jouir d'une certaine liberté de manœuvre entre une plateforme avare d'informations comme Facebook et un public qui considère les entreprises comme des envahisseurs sur son propre terrain (Fournier & Avery, 2011). Nous choisissons l'approche critique d'Habermas (1985). Dans ce paradigme, la connaissance est basée sur des expériences empiriques et la modification de l'environnement est acceptée comme un moyen d'atteindre la connaissance. Les analyses et expérimentations tentent de suivre un chemin théorique et expérimental pour aboutir à une réflexion théorique et pratique qui définirait des stratégies, des moyens et des méthodes d'optimisation du marketing viral sur Facebook à partir du contrôle des éléments du marketing viral et, principalement, la sélection ou la création de populations initiales de diffusion utilisables à cet effet. Le développement de cette thèse est composé de plusieurs chapitres rédigés en anglais, dont l'un est en troisième révision au Journal of Advertising Research (JAR) et dont quatre ont fait l'objet de communications à des conférences internationales (Euras, 2012; INSNA, 2014; ISMS, 2015) et au workshop stratégie Paris-Dauphine (2014). Dans cette thèse, nous avons posé plusieurs questions concernant le contrôle des éléments du marketing viral sur Facebook et, en particulier, l'optimisation des populations de diffusion initiale et nous pensons avoir trouvé des réponses innovantes et pertinentes à ces questions. Nous commençons par une réflexion générale sur la recherche sur les réseaux sociaux et, en particulier, l'éthique de la recherche sur Internet et les réseaux sociaux en ligne. Abordons ensuite la question de la reconstitution des graphes sociaux des fans, et analysons l'efficience et l'inefficacité des faux profils dans le cadre du marketing sur Facebook. Nous nous attaquons aussi au bouche-à-oreille négatif dans le cadre d'une population initiale de diffusion optimisée, et à la découverte de ponts surplombant les trous structurels entre deux camps politiques opposés comme population d'ensemencement théoriquement influente. Les expériences effectuées mènent sur une réflexion sur la question des supports disponibles sur Facebook (Pages, Groupes ou Profils) dans le cas des stratégies marketing en général et des stratégies de marketing viral en particulier. Le dernier chapitre met en application les résultats obtenus en prenant en charge une campagne de marketing viral du temps zéro jusqu'au succès. Cette expérience de Personal Branding, documentée et analysée, et sans biais puisqu'elle ne se passe que sur Facebook sans aucune publicité, montre concrètement l'efficacité de la stratégie de marketing viral définie à partir des résultats, réflexions et analyses théoriques de cette thèse. / Online marketing is characterized by a loss of control when compared to traditional offline marketing (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). This is mainly due to two reasons. The first is that, on online social networks, communities took control over brands. The second is that online social network (OSN) platforms, mainly Facebook, limit access to information in a way they do not even have access to their list of fans.This dissertation comes at a time where more research and more investigations are needed in the field of strategic marketing on online social networks (Hoffman & Novak, 2012). This is why it attempts to add to theory and practice of viral marketing strategies on OSN and, in particular, initial seeding population. It is an attempt to reestablish equilibrium to the advantage of practitioners in marketing on OSN and increase their margin of manoeuver between a platform that builds barriers to information and a public who considers brands on OSN as intruders of its own space (Fournier & Avery, 2011). We chose the critical approach of Habermas (1985). In this paradigm, knowledge is based on empirical experiments where environment tweaking is allowed.The analysis and experiments in this dissertation follow a theoretical and experimental path that leads to a theoretical and practical thinking that defines strategies and viral marketing optimization methods through the control of viral marketing elements, especially the selection and creation of initial seeding populations.This dissertation consists of several chapters, amongst which a paper currently under third revision at the Journal of Advertising Research (JAR) and four experiments that have been presented at international conferences (Euras, 2012; INSNA, 2014; ISMS, 2015) and the workshop stratégie Paris-Dauphine (2014).This dissertation attempts to answer several questions about the control of viral marketing elements, especially the optimization of initial seeding population, and we think we have found relevant and innovation answers to these questions. We start with a meditation on research on online social networks and, in particular, the ethics of research on the internet and OSN. We then move to the question of uncovering and building social graphs of fans and analyze the efficiency and inefficiency of fake profiles in Facebook marketing. We also consider word-of-mouth in the context of an optimized seeding population, and the discovery of social bridges over structural holes rallying antagonistic political groups, a theoretically optimized seeding population. Those experiments lead to a thinking about the importance of the Facebook channel (pages, groups or personal timelines) and the role it plays with different marketing strategies: mass, relational, niche and, especially, viral.The last chapter puts into practice our findings and results by creating a strategy from zero to success of a personal branding campaign using viral marketing. This experiment is document, analyzed and without bias because it only happens on Facebook and does not use any advertising sources inside or outside this channel. This last experiment shows the efficiency of the viral marketing strategy based on our results, finding and theoretical analysis in this dissertation.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Family is widely expected to be the main source of support for Senior Citizens and, like many religions and cultures, the Jewish tradition has expectations of filial obligations of care. South Africa and its Jewish community have experienced increased emigration over the last decade resulting in many Senior Citizens remaining in South Africa after all their children have emigrated. A phenomenological methodology was used in this study, with the aim of gaining more understanding, firstly about what is experienced by Senior Citizens as beneficial and not beneficial in regards to support in general and secondly about the challenges of later stages of life from Senior Citizens’ perspective, especially without expected support of offspring. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight Jewish women, aged over 75, who find themselves in such a position. Their experiences are described in terms of social, practical, emotional and spiritual support as well as in terms of the contextual experiences that necessitate support. The overall experience was found to be one of managing aloneness and dealing with the loss of family and its accompanying sense of belonging. It includes constantly missing one’s family, trying to keep in satisfyingly regular contact and trying to comprehend, justify and accept their emigration in terms of expected intergenerational roles. It demands adjusting to constant changes in supports and in one’s independence and identity and finding the motivation to strive to remain alive and discover meaning in the painful situation. In the face of all this, there is also a discovery of previously unsuspected new strengths in being able to cope with these difficulties and an exciting new sense of liberation in catering only for oneself. A model of perceived Ideal Support was uncovered comprising a hierarchy of needs within such support, including; Consistency, Reliability, Role Fulfilment, Desire to Support, Respect, Dignity, Enabled Independence, Affection, Like-Mindedness and Belonging. / South Africa

Magister Artium - MA / In the thesis, I endeavour to create a platform on which to construct an understanding of 'integration' in a multilingual and multicultural setting, post-apartheid. I have selected UWC as the research site as it is an institution of higher education and an inherently South African one which houses a large number of diverse ethnicities, cultures and languages. I appeal to the poststructuralist approach as it is one that explores the possible sociopolitical, economic and historical influences on which I argue and which forms the backdrop to understanding integration amongst the various groups. I am especially drawn to the topic of integration as there is to date no well-defined definition of what that means in the 'new' South Africa. Different identities are explored in relation to how students identify themselves within their social networks, across various cultures and through language choices. In particular, I look at the three dominant 'South African' groups, namely: Indians, Blacks and Coloureds and also two international student groups, the Batswanas and Chinese. use a qualitative approach and undertake focus groups and one-to-one interviews as well as participant observations and analyzing documentation. Data analysis is achieved through Discourse Analysis of transcribed interviews. One of the conclusions is that integration will not occur overnight. However, the broadening and exercising of linguistic options could be seen as a step in right direction to integration across the various ethnic groups. The study ends with recommendations and gives an overall view of integration at UWC. One of the recommendations is that UWC needs to give students more opportunities to practice their multilinguality and thereby broaden their linguistic repertoire which could in turn facilitate integration. / South Africa

The thesis deals with the issue of cyberbullying at the University of Economics in Prague. In the theoretical part is defined cyberbullying, describes the individual elements, specifics, used tools and forms of cyberbullying. There is also described cyberbullying in relation to the law of the Czech Republic and several other countries. The thesis also included the results of several studies and the best-known cases of cyberbullying. The practical part presents the evaluation and analysis of the results of the quantitative research from the University of Economics in Prague. The result is an analysis of the incidence of cyberbullying among students of the university and recommendations on how to behave on the social networks in order to prevent cyberbullying.

The master´s thesis deals with the phenomenon of social networks and their possible use in the communication policy of towns and municipalities with specific application to the city of Pilsen. The thesis focuses on the specifics of public administration and the appropriate way to use common marketing tools. The thesis examines the current situation of communication of the city of Pilsen. Questionnaire survey and interview method the thesis examines the opinion of the general public and experts on the use of social networks by the public sector. The survey of good practices of domestic and foreign cities and municipalities anticipates incentives to improve the current state of the use of social networks. The aim of the thesis is to propose measures to streamline communication and eliminate the risks associated with the communication of the city of Plzeň on social networks.

As society continues to shift into the digital age, the relationship between social exchange and economic activity is becoming increasingly homogenous. The success of digital products are largely sustained upon the leverage of social relationships and the quasi-sharing of material items, services, and digital media. Emergence of the sharing and on-demand economies is evidence of the necessity to understand social exchange as a form of economic transaction. As such, this study attempts to conceptualize and define the concept of social wealth to understand the basis of an economic synthesis. In attempt to theoretically integrate the concept, a mixed methods design utilizing a grounded theory approach serves to set precedence for a future area of study. Data is collected through a series of focus groups before analysis through a linguistic processing program. The data reveals a proposed definition for social wealth in addition to a proposed series of socioeconomic models of how social wealth is produced, accumulated, and transferred.

L’internet et les réseaux sociaux apparaissent de plus en plus comme des structures intéressantes pour construire des communautés d’apprentissage. Face au nombre croissant d’étudiants munis de leurs ordinateurs pendant les cours et souvent accompagnés d’une clé 4 G (connexion internet) ou de leur Smartphone, il paraît primordial de s’interroger, sur les moyens de capter leur attention et leur concentration sur les cours et par la même de s’interroger sur la possibilité d’intégrer l’internet et les réseaux sociaux comme supports didactiques dans les cursus pédagogiques de formation.Une étude est réalisée à ce propos par le biais de questionnaire, d’entretien et de focus-groupe, et portée sur un effectif total de 4330 étudiants marocains des Écoles Supérieures de Technologies ETS et étudiants français des Instituts Universitaires de Technologie IUP. / Internet and social networks stand up more and more as interesting structures for building learning communities. Due to the increasing number of students who come to their courses with their laptops usually accompanied by a 4G flash drive (internet connection) or their smartphone, it seems vital to wonder on the ways to keep their concentration on their courses and to question about the possibility of integrating the internet and the social networks as didactic supports in school curricula.A study is carried out in this regard through questionnaire, interview and focus group on a size of 4330 Higher Schools of Technology EST Moroccan students and French students of University Institutes of Technology IUP.

This thesis studies “svenner” – armed servants, bailiffs and administrators – and service ideals in late medieval Sweden by using a variety of sources including payrolls, correspondence, charters and service instructions. The study argues that in order to reach an understanding of the relationship between lord and servant, and the complexity of service ideals, questions must be asked about for whom service was open, if there was competition, and what in that case was characteristic of the people and requirements that constituted the service.The conclusion is that service was not open to all; loyalty and strong social bonds were cru-cial, while other capitals such as military competence and ancestry could increase the material and immaterial benefits of service. The social field was closely connected to the political field why those who intended to compete in the field had limited opportunities to influence the terms of service. Although serving the aristocracy could be beneficial in many ways, legisla-tion and a deeply rooted service ideal held the feudal power relations firmly intact.

This thesis consists of three self-contained essays on childhood disadvantage and its consequences in Sweden. A Longitudinal Look at Child Poverty Using Both Monetary and Non-monetary Approaches. In this paper, we broaden the analysis of child poverty by using both monetary and non-monetary measures of poverty and by comparing these over time. We use a composite of questionnaire answers from children regarding possession of socially perceived necessities and participation in social activities to develop two non-monetary child-centric concepts of disadvantage: material deprivation and social exclusion. The empirical analysis is based on two cross-sections and a panel of children in the Swedish Level-of-Living Survey matched with parental survey data and administrative income records. Consistent with previous findings, we find that relative income poverty among children increases significantly between the year 2000 and 2010. The fraction of children that is disadvantaged in two dimensions, monetary and non-monetary, is relatively small (0.9–7.0 percent) but increases significantly during the period of study. The modest size of the overlap suggests that our measures capture different dimensions of disadvantage, thereby pointing to the importance of alternative poverty indicators. We also find that income status in childhood is the best predictor of socio-economic outcomes in young adulthood. The Aspirations-attainment Paradox of Immigrant Children: A Social Networks Approach. Using two independent and nationally representative samples of Swedish children, I compare the university aspirations and expectations between children of immigrants and children of natives. In line with existing findings, I find that children with foreign-born parents have significantly higher aspirations and expectations than their native-majority peers with and without conditioning on school performance, academic potential and friendship networks. I do not find any evidence of a significant immigrant-non-immigrant aspirations-expectations gap; immigrant children's aspirations and expectations are not less aligned than those of their native-majority peers. This result suggests that immigrant-native disparities in school outcomes are not driven by an aspirations-expectations gap. Finally, the results reveal significant gender differences. Native-majority girls with academic potential are, for example, more likely to express an aspirations-expectations gap. Moreover, having only female friends makes one less likely to belong to the aforementioned category. The Key Player in Disruptive Behavior: Whom Should We Target to Improve the Classroom Learning Environment? In this paper, I address the question: Who is the individual that exerts the greatest negative influence on the classroom learning environment? To answer this question, I invoke the key player model from network economics and use self-reported friendship data in order to solve the methodological problems associated with identifying and estimating peer effects. I overcome the issue of endogenous group formation by using the control function approach where I simultaneously estimate network formation and outcomes. The results show that the typical key player scores well on language and cognitive ability tests and is not more likely to be a boy than a girl. I also find evidence that removing the key player has a significantly larger effect on aggregate disruptiveness in a network than removing the most disruptive individual, implying that policy aimed at the most active individual could be inadequate.