Research on the wisdom of crowds (WOC) identifies two paradoxical effects of communication. The social influence effect hampers the WOC, whereas the collective learning effect improves crowd wisdom. Yet it remains unclear under what conditions such communication impedes or enhances collective wisdom. The current study examined two features characterizing communication in online communities, communication network centralization and shared task experience, and their effect on the WOC. Both these features can serve as indicators of the likelihood that underlying communication may facilitate either social influence or collective learning. With an 8-year longitudinal behavioral-trace data set of 269,871 participants and 1,971 crowds, we showed that communication network centralization negatively affected the WOC. By contrast, shared task experience positively predicted the WOC. Shared task experience also moderated the effect of communication network centralization such that centralized communication networks became more beneficial for crowd performance as shared task experience increased.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how communication practices influence individuals’ team assembly and performance in open innovation contests. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzed behavioral trace data of 4,651 teams and 19,317 participants from a leading open innovation platform, Kaggle. The analyses applied weighted least squares regression and weighted mediation analysis. Findings Sharing online profiles positively relates to a person’s performance and likelihood of becoming a leader in open innovation teams. Team assembly effectiveness (one’s ability to team up with high-performing teammates) mediates the relationship between online profile sharing and performance. Moreover, sharing personal websites has a stronger positive effect on performance and likelihood of becoming a team leader, compared to sharing links to professional social networking sites (e.g. LinkedIn). Research limitations/implications As team collaboration becomes increasingly common in open innovation, participants’ sharing of their online profiles becomes an important variable predicting their success. This study extends prior research on virtual team collaboration by highlighting the role of communication practices that occur in the team pre-assembly stage, as an antecedent of team assembly. It also addresses a long-standing debate about the credibility of information online by showing that a narrative-based online profile format (e.g. a personal website) can be more powerful than a standardized format (e.g. LinkedIn). Practical implications Open innovation organizers should encourage online profile sharing among participants to facilitate effective team assembly in order to improve innovation outcomes. Originality/value The current study highlights the importance of team assembly in open innovation, especially the role of sharing online profiles in this process. It connects two areas of research that are previously distant, one on team assembly and one on online profile sharing. It also adds new empirical evidence to the discussion about online information credibility.
BackgroundThe classic debate regarding the complex relationships between personal network, social media use, and mental well-being requires renewed examination in the novel context of pandemic-related social isolation.Data and methodWe present two surveys conducted at (i) the earlier months of the pandemic and (ii) the end of large scale social-lockdown measures in the U.S. to explore the social and behavioral antecedents of mental health states relating to social media use. Study 1 tracked the longitudinal changes of personal network, social media use, and anxiety level of a group of individuals (N = 147) over a three-month period during the pandemic. Study 2 replicated and extended the theoretical model to a race-representative U.S. adult sample (N = 258).ResultsBoth studies consistently show that (1) more time on social media worsens anxiety. It also mediates the relationship between personal network size and anxiety. That is, a small personal network predicts more social media use, which is in turn related to increased anxiety. (2) Moreover, the effect of social media use on anxiety is mainly explained by news consumption on social media, rather than non-news related usage. (3) This link’s strength is moderated by one’s perception of COVID-19 impact, such that news consumption on social media increases anxiety more when the perceived impact is higher.ConclusionThese results demonstrate communication technologies’ increasingly critical and multifaceted role in affecting mental health conditions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.