Y. Connie Yuan

Expertise Directory Development, Shared Task Interdependence, and Strength of Communication Network Ties as Multilevel Predictors of Expertise Exchange in Transactive Memory Work Groups:

Building on Kozlwoski and Klein’s emergence framework, this research developed and tested a set of multilevel hypotheses regarding individual and team transactive memory processes in work teams. Literature from social psychology suggested hypotheses on how shared task interdependence influences individual expertise exchange. Social network theory suggested hypotheses that individual expertise exchange is channeled according to communication tie strength. Using data collected from 218 individuals from 18 organizational teams, the proposed hypotheses were tested using hierarchical linear modeling techniques. The results showed that at the individual level the relationship between directory development and expertise exchange was mediated by communication tie strength and moderated by shared task interdependence.Team-level variables also were significantly related to individual-level outcomes such that individual expertise exchange happened more frequently in teams with well-developed team-level expertise directories, as well as with higher team communication tie strength and shared task interdependence.

Access to Information in Connective and Communal Transactive Memory Systems

This research tested a transactive theory model of how individuals allocate and retrieve task-related information in work teams. It extended prior research by exploring the role of communal information repositories in the context of human information resources. Structural equation modeling of six integrated hypotheses revealed several significant results. First, usage of information repositories was significantly related to individual access to information. However, the relationship between individual direct information exchange with team members (the human repositories) and individual access to information was significant only among average-level users of organizational information repositories. Second, development of individual expertise directories significantly influenced individual direct information exchange with team members. Third, perceived usage of organizational information repositories by team members significantly influenced actual usage. Finally, technology-specific competence in using intranets significantly influenced the actual usage of intranets as organizational information repositories.

Location, Motivation, and Social Capitalization via Enterprise Social Networking

This article conceptualizes how the affordances of enterprise social networking systems can help reduce three challenges in sharing organizational knowledge. These challenges include location of expertise, motivation to share knowledge, and social capitalization in the form of developing and maintaining social ties with knowledge providers to actualize knowledge sharing. Building on previous theories and empirical research on transactive memory theory, public goods theory, and social capital theories, as well as recent research on enterprise social media, we argue that the affordances of enterprise social networking systems can better address these knowledge sharing challenges than those of conventional knowledge management systems in that social networking applications can blend connective and communal sharing of knowledge.

Building Stronger Ties With Alumni Through Facebook to Increase Volunteerism and Charitable Giving

This research explores how strength of network ties, as fostered by the use of a social network site, Facebook, (a) influences alumni attitudes toward volunteering for and making charitable gifts to their alma mater, and (b) fortifies consistency between attitude and behavior. After exploratory interviews and participant observation, a survey of 3,085 alumni was conducted for hypothesis testing. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed: First, active participation in Facebook groups positively predicted strength of network ties along 2 dimensions: frequency of communication and emotional closeness. Second, both dimensions of tie strength influenced actual behavior, albeit via different routes. The paper also contributes to attitude change research in showing that strength of network ties can help ensure consistencies between attitude and behavior.

The use of different information and communication technologies to support knowledge sharing in organizations: From e-mail to micro-blogging

Previous research has revealed the following three challenges for knowledge sharing: awareness of expertise distribution, motivation for sharing, and network ties. In this case study, we examine how different generations of information and communication technologies (ICTs), ranging from e‐mail to micro‐blogging, can help address these challenges. Twenty‐one interviews with employees from a multinational company revealed that although people think social media can better address these challenges than older tools, the full potential of social media for supporting knowledge sharing has yet to be achieved. When examining the interconnections among different ICTs, we found that employees′ choice of a combination of ICTs, as affected by their functional backgrounds, could create “technological divides” among them and separate resources. This finding indicates that having more ICTs is not necessarily better. ICT integration, as well as support for easy navigation, is crucial for effective knowledge search and sharing. Adaptation to local culture is also needed to ensure worldwide participation in knowledge sharing.

Focused Activities and the Development of Social Capital in a Distributed Learning "Community"

This study examined the development of individual social capital in a distributed learning community. Felds theory of focused choice predicts that the formation of network ties is constrained by contextual factors that function as foci of activities. In our research, we examined how group assignment and location could function as such foci to influence the development of individual social capital in a distributed learning community. Given that networks with different content flows may possess different properties, we examined two different types of networks—task-related instrumental networks and non-task-related expressive networks. A longitudinal research design was used to evaluate the evolution of networks over time. Hypotheses were tested using a sample of 32 students enrolled in a distributed learning class. The results show strong support for Felds theory. While serving as foci of activities to organize social interactions, both group assignment and geographic separation can also function to fragment a learning community.

The impact of interpersonal affective relationships and awareness on expertise seeking: A multilevel network investigation

Transactive memory theory suggests that general awareness of expertise location in a group is sufficient to predict expertise seeking. Yet expertise seeking is, at least in part, a social phenomenon between two individuals embedded in a network of social relationships. Taking a multilevel, network perspective, we examined the interplay of affective relationships and awareness on expertise seeking in groups. Hypotheses were tested using network data collected from 693 employees in 53 sales groups. HLM analysis results indicated that awareness of expertise distribution positively influenced the decision to seek expertise at all levels of analysis examined. In addition, both positive and negative affective relationships influenced expertise seeking, although their pattern of influence differed across different levels of analysis. More specifically, having either a positive or a negative affective relationship with another group member affected the decision to seek expertise from that person. Although having many positive relationships had a positive effect on expertise seeking, having many negative affective relationships had no effect. Moreover, having both an awareness and a positive affective relationship with another group member amplified their positive effect on expertise seeking. Last, individuals who had more negative affective ties were less likely to leverage the positive impact of each awareness relationship on expertise seeking.

Cross-campus collaboration: A scientometric and network case study of publication activity across two campuses of a single institution

Team science and collaboration have become crucial to addressing key research questions confronting society. Institutions that are spread across multiple geographic locations face additional challenges. To better understand the nature of cross-campus collaboration within a single institution and the effects of institutional efforts to spark collaboration, we conducted a case study of collaboration at Cornell University using scientometric and network analyses. Results suggest that cross-campus collaboration is increasingly common, but is accounted for primarily by a relatively small number of departments and individual researchers. Specific researchers involved in many collaborative projects are identified, and their unique characteristics are described. Institutional efforts, such as seed grants and topical retreats, have some effect for researchers who are central in the collaboration network, but were less clearly effective for others.

Evolution of Public Issues in Wildlife Management: How Social Networks and Issue Framing Change Through Time

We examined the evolution of four public wildlife management issues using theories from collective action, social networks, and social constructionism to understand key roles and perspectives among stakeholders engaged in collective actions related to wildlife management policies. We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with 50 key stakeholders in four communities in New York State that experienced collective stakeholder interactions in the contexts of waterfowl hunting or wildlife trapping. Our results revealed that collective action coordinators and brokers, representing local/in-state regional organizations, were not initially involved in the disputes but became involved over time. These individuals reframed the public issue from original concerns over personal safety, private property rights, and spatial proximity to include concerns about humaneness of wildlife harvest activities and regulations. Stakeholder engagement strategies for managing the impacts from these initial interactions should consider the temporal element of how the social construction of each issue changes over time.

Expertise Judgment and Communication Accommodation in Linguistic Styles in Computer-Mediated and Face-to-Face Groups

Taking a communication approach to expertise, this study examined emergence of expertise through communication accommodation (CA) in 46 four-person face-to-face (FtF) and text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) groups. We found that FtF members with a lower pre-discussion task confidence accommodated to the linguistic styles of those with a higher pre-discussion task confidence. Meanwhile, CA influenced post-discussion expertise judgment in CMC groups such that members who accommodated to others were judged as having less expertise. CA also influenced post-discussion expertise judgment in FtF groups after taking into account perceived task-oriented communication and perceived influence. The findings emphasize the important roles of CA and of communication channel in expertise emergence.