research-article

Closure vs. structural holes: how social network information and culture affect choice of collaborators

Authors:

Chen ZhaoAuthors Info & Claims

CSCW '13: Proceedings of the 2013 conference on Computer supported cooperative work

Pages 5 - 18

https://doi.org/10.1145/2441776.2441781

Published: 23 February 2013 Publication History

Abstract

Collaboration is important to successful organizations and how coworkers are selected is crucial to the dynamics of effective collaborations. In this study we explore how people use social network information, which is increasingly accessible on enterprise systems in organizations, to choose people with whom to collaborate. We conducted a scenario-based study of 459 respondents in a global high-tech company. Our data indicate cultural differences in how social network information was valued when choosing a collaborator. The Chinese, consistent with the cultural value of Guanxi, more closely followed a closure model, whereas Americans favored neither a closure nor a structural holes model. These results provide new insights into how needs for social network information may vary between cultures and how social networking sites might support workers in choosing collaborators from within and across national cultures.

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Cited By

Lin ZZhang YGong QChen YOksanen ADing A(2022)Structural Hole Theory in Social Network Analysis: A ReviewIEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems10.1109/TCSS.2021.30703219:3(724-739)Online publication date: Jun-2022
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Twyman MNewman DDeChurch LContractor N(2022)Teammate invitation networks: The roles of recommender systems and prior collaboration in team assemblySocial Networks10.1016/j.socnet.2021.04.00868(84-96)Online publication date: Jan-2022
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Fu EZhuang YZhang JZhang JChen Y(2021)Understanding the User Interactions on GitHub: A Social Network Perspective2021 IEEE 24th International Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design (CSCWD)10.1109/CSCWD49262.2021.9437744(1148-1153)Online publication date: 5-May-2021
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Index Terms

Closure vs. structural holes: how social network information and culture affect choice of collaborators
1. Human-centered computing

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cover image ACM Conferences

CSCW '13: Proceedings of the 2013 conference on Computer supported cooperative work

February 2013

1594 pages

ISBN:9781450313315

DOI:10.1145/2441776

General Chairs:
Amy Bruckman
Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
,
Scott Counts
Microsoft Research, USA
,
Program Chairs:
Cliff Lampe
University of Michigan, USA
,
Loren Terveen
University of Minnesota, USA

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Published: 23 February 2013

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https://doi.org/10.1109/TCSS.2021.3070321
Twyman MNewman DDeChurch LContractor N(2022)Teammate invitation networks: The roles of recommender systems and prior collaboration in team assemblySocial Networks10.1016/j.socnet.2021.04.00868(84-96)Online publication date: Jan-2022
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2021.04.008
Fu EZhuang YZhang JZhang JChen Y(2021)Understanding the User Interactions on GitHub: A Social Network Perspective2021 IEEE 24th International Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design (CSCWD)10.1109/CSCWD49262.2021.9437744(1148-1153)Online publication date: 5-May-2021
https://doi.org/10.1109/CSCWD49262.2021.9437744
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