- May 07 NetSci Conference in New York, May
22-25, 2007. More information on my blog:
http://inesmergel.wordpress.com. I am teaching a social
network analysis tutorial together with Prof. Nosh
Contractor and Prof. David Lazer at the dg.o 2007
conference in Philidelphia, May 22, 2007.ia. I attended the
INSNA Conference in Corfu, Greece, May 01-05, 2007.
January 07 I attended the Bok Center Teaching Conference at Harvard.
June 06 CASOS Summer Institute
Swiss Scientists presentation "Research on Social Networks"
May 06 Tutorial on "Application of Social Network Analysis in Digital Government Research", dg.O 2006
April 06 UCInet/Netdraw workshop in Vancouver, Canada, see CV -> Training
April 06 INSNA conference & my presentation on "How do networkers network?" together with Tim and Jen in Vancouver, Canada, see Research -> Presentations
March 06 QSR NVivo Workshop in Cambridge, USA, see CV -> Training
Jan. 06 SIENA Workshop in Groningen, The Netherlands, see CV -> Training
Nov. 05 Weblog "Complexity and Social Networks Blog", see Research Log
Sept. 05 Resource Page: "Social Network Analysis", go to Research Log
11/11/05 Website relauch.
Dissertation
Mergel, I. (2005): The influence of multiplex network ties on the adoption of eLearning practices – A social network analysis, dissertation thesis, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland (in parts available online).
(Dissertation chairs: Prof. Guenter Muelelr-Stewens/Prof. Peter Gomez)
Please contact me if you would like to read an electronic copy of my dissertation in English.
Abstract:
In today’s knowledge-driven economy, the catchphrase "It’s not what you know, but whom you know" has become a metaphor for the importance of social networks and, more generally, for all kinds of activities that fall under the umbrella of networking, making social networks appear to be just another management fad for organizational researchers to pursue. However, the concepts and theories are much older than their current fame and go back to anthropologists and sociologists in the early 20΄s and 30΄s of the last millennium. In his seminal work on formal organizations, Blau claimed that it is impossible to understand the nature of a formal organization without investigating the networks of informal relations and compare them to the official norms (Blau, 1970). Both the formal organization and networks of informal relations are highly intertwined and overlapping.
More and more public institutions of higher education are realizing that there is a need to integrate innovative technologies into their teaching curricula in order to enable students to access and review teaching content anytime and connect to each other outside the classroom. An increasing competition on the market of higher education, the internationalization of degrees, and the contest to attract the best students have initiated a discussion about flexibility of universities and content providers. Many public institutions of higher education have recognized this trend and are in the process of introducing new innovative practices to meet the changing conditions, which are generally referred to as eLearning practices. Besides the intended outcomes of digital student support and access to teaching content, applying eLearning practices and integrating them into the traditionally existing teaching routines challenges an organization in multiple ways. eLearning has the power to transform the ways faculty members interact with their students as well as with outside actors in the environment of the university itself. Professors are forced to rethink their pedagogical and institutional role to transfer traditional teaching content into online content. It has become necessary for professors to evaluate what kind of practices are suitable for their needs and appropriately adapt them into their existing routines. An active decision is needed to adopt or reject technological changes.
The aim of this study is to understand the factors that influence or hinder this adoption decision process. To gain a deeper understanding of the patterns and success factors of the adoption of eLearning practices, I apply a social network perspective on the process through which innovative technologies and practices are diffused and adopted by faculty members. I conducted a social network analysis of relational data collected in a Swiss business school. To identify the adoption behavior of innovative IT practices, I studied the formal and informal ties of 98 professors. In order to assess the adoption behavior, I developed a unique research design, applying relational correlation and regression analysis and using QAP and MRQAP techniques to understand the influence of interactions on the decision to adopt an innovative practice. I detected formal, informal as well as intra- and interdepartmental social influences and mapped them using sociograms. Finally, I employed a triangulation approach; conducting additional qualitative interviews in order to make sense of the results and better understand the statements of the respondents,
Overall, the objective of this dissertation is to understand the effects of social relationships on the decision making to adopt or reject interactive eLearning media in an institution of higher education. This study quantifies the social structures and examines how they affect respondents self-reported adoption behavior.
The results show that the diffusion of eLearning practices within the studied business school follows two distinct pathways of adoption: a) adoption of traditional eLearning media, and b) the adoption of interactive eLearning media. For these two pathways of adoption that are found in the organization, I deducted a unique set of influence factors; e.g., collocation in the Management department combined with external influence from professional information sources mainly leads to the adoption of traditional eLearning media. Surprisingly, a theoretically important attribute of an innovation, its perceived innovativeness, does not have any influence on the decision to adopt within this elite network.
The study concludes with suggestions for future research on the adoption of organizational practices, which could be focused on the incentives of engaging into voluntary projects and the question how strategic awareness about socially desirable adoption behavior within organizations can be raised.
Mergel, I. (2005): The influence of multiplex network ties on the adoption of eLearning practices – A social network analysis, dissertation thesis, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland (in parts available online).
(Dissertation chairs: Prof. Guenter Muelelr-Stewens/Prof. Peter Gomez)
Please contact me if you would like to read an electronic copy of my dissertation in English.
Abstract:
In today’s knowledge-driven economy, the catchphrase "It’s not what you know, but whom you know" has become a metaphor for the importance of social networks and, more generally, for all kinds of activities that fall under the umbrella of networking, making social networks appear to be just another management fad for organizational researchers to pursue. However, the concepts and theories are much older than their current fame and go back to anthropologists and sociologists in the early 20΄s and 30΄s of the last millennium. In his seminal work on formal organizations, Blau claimed that it is impossible to understand the nature of a formal organization without investigating the networks of informal relations and compare them to the official norms (Blau, 1970). Both the formal organization and networks of informal relations are highly intertwined and overlapping.
More and more public institutions of higher education are realizing that there is a need to integrate innovative technologies into their teaching curricula in order to enable students to access and review teaching content anytime and connect to each other outside the classroom. An increasing competition on the market of higher education, the internationalization of degrees, and the contest to attract the best students have initiated a discussion about flexibility of universities and content providers. Many public institutions of higher education have recognized this trend and are in the process of introducing new innovative practices to meet the changing conditions, which are generally referred to as eLearning practices. Besides the intended outcomes of digital student support and access to teaching content, applying eLearning practices and integrating them into the traditionally existing teaching routines challenges an organization in multiple ways. eLearning has the power to transform the ways faculty members interact with their students as well as with outside actors in the environment of the university itself. Professors are forced to rethink their pedagogical and institutional role to transfer traditional teaching content into online content. It has become necessary for professors to evaluate what kind of practices are suitable for their needs and appropriately adapt them into their existing routines. An active decision is needed to adopt or reject technological changes.
The aim of this study is to understand the factors that influence or hinder this adoption decision process. To gain a deeper understanding of the patterns and success factors of the adoption of eLearning practices, I apply a social network perspective on the process through which innovative technologies and practices are diffused and adopted by faculty members. I conducted a social network analysis of relational data collected in a Swiss business school. To identify the adoption behavior of innovative IT practices, I studied the formal and informal ties of 98 professors. In order to assess the adoption behavior, I developed a unique research design, applying relational correlation and regression analysis and using QAP and MRQAP techniques to understand the influence of interactions on the decision to adopt an innovative practice. I detected formal, informal as well as intra- and interdepartmental social influences and mapped them using sociograms. Finally, I employed a triangulation approach; conducting additional qualitative interviews in order to make sense of the results and better understand the statements of the respondents,
Overall, the objective of this dissertation is to understand the effects of social relationships on the decision making to adopt or reject interactive eLearning media in an institution of higher education. This study quantifies the social structures and examines how they affect respondents self-reported adoption behavior.
The results show that the diffusion of eLearning practices within the studied business school follows two distinct pathways of adoption: a) adoption of traditional eLearning media, and b) the adoption of interactive eLearning media. For these two pathways of adoption that are found in the organization, I deducted a unique set of influence factors; e.g., collocation in the Management department combined with external influence from professional information sources mainly leads to the adoption of traditional eLearning media. Surprisingly, a theoretically important attribute of an innovation, its perceived innovativeness, does not have any influence on the decision to adopt within this elite network.
The study concludes with suggestions for future research on the adoption of organizational practices, which could be focused on the incentives of engaging into voluntary projects and the question how strategic awareness about socially desirable adoption behavior within organizations can be raised.