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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the theoretical foundations of the solidarity network concept and its perceived utility as an enabling force for social organizations to influence change. The theoretical framework presented is intended to stimulate dialogue, interest and investigation on the subject of solidarity networks.

The paper adopts a discourse analysis‐type approach to developing a theoretical framework for conceptualizing solidarity networks through an analytical review of existing literature on solidarity and solidarity networks. It is through consideration of this literature that the “threads” of a theoretical model for solidarity networks are “woven” together.

Based on the findings of the analysis the paper asserts that the following characteristics are among the defining elements of solidarity networks and help to form the basis of a theoretical framework that strives to create a more cohesive understanding and an applied exploration for future analytical investigations. These characteristics are: support for “broad” values, anti‐oppression and vision‐based solidarity for the future; the flexibility and adaptability of the network's organizational structure and issue‐area(s) of focus; that network members are motivated by a sense of mutuality, or mutual self‐interest; that network members are motivated by “high‐order” values associated with the “public good”; and that there is a demonstrated ethic of social responsibility and social justice.

The paper represents a theoretically‐based approach to conceptualizing solidarity networks. It adds new dimensions to one's thinking about social networks as a form of social relationship and social network analysis (SNA) as a “tool” for describing social relationships.

There exist large gaps in research about social networking services, for example in their development. Most of these networks lack any scientific or engineered base in their designing and developing processes. In this paper, a holistic model will be described for the development of social network sites and parts of a scientific social network (SSN) will be developed using it. Users of this site are faculties, students and R&D personnel of a university or an enterprise. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this paper, a SSN site is designed along with a brief description of a social network site development methodology. The structure of methodology is based on conceptual template for the construction of a methodology. Using this methodology, a group of 50 users (from all three types of end-users) have been chosen to be interviewed about their expectations from the mentioned site.

Based on the interview, it was discovered that their view about social networks is inflexible and they do not have any new visions about functionalities of these networks. Their emphasis was mostly on exchanging and sharing role of this site. Design and development of social network sites based on the proposed methodology is easily understandable because of using state machine notations.

The innovation of this study is to propose a soft model for social network sites design based on these site's special specifications and regarding differences of them with other regular ones. This can pave the way for investors of such sites for setting up distinct social sites with new functionalities in an innovative approach.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the introduction of new communication channels facilitates interactive information sharing and collaboration between various actors over social networking services and how social networking fits in the existing European legal framework on data protection. The paper also aims to discuss some specific data protection issues, focusing on the role of the relevant actors, using the example of photo tagging.

Privacy in social networks is one of the main concerns for providers and users. This paper examines the role of the main actors in social networking, i.e. the providers and the users, scrutinised under the light of the European data protection legislation. Specifically, how social networking service providers deal with users' privacy and how users handle their personal information, if this manipulation is complied with the respective legislation and how “tagging”, one of the most familiar services provided by the social networking providers, may cause privacy risks.

Social networking is one of the most remarkable cultural phenomena that has blossomed in the Web 2.0 era. They enable the connection of users and they facilitate the exchange of information among them. However, the users reveal vast amounts of personal information over social networking services, without realising the privacy and security risks arising from their actions. The European data protection legislation could be used as a means for protecting the users against the unlawful processing of their personal information, although a number of problems arise regarding its applicability.

The paper discusses some privacy concerns involved in social networks and examines how social networking service providers and users deal with personal information with regard to the European data protection legislation.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate novel techniques for exploring relationship data extracted from social media sites for actionable insights by educators, researchers, and administrators.

The paper demonstrates how non‐programmers can use NodeXL, an open source social network analysis tool built into Excel 2007/2010, to collect, analyze, and visualize network data from social media sites like Twitter and YouTube.

Researchers and education professionals can use NodeXL to explore (a) social networks to identify important individuals and subgroups, as well as (b) content networks to map the underlying structure of a domain and find important content. Illustrative examples are provided using NodeXL to examine followers of a Twitter user focused on open education, as well as a content network of YouTube videos about surgery.

Tools like NodeXL are making network analysis accessible to non‐technical researchers in a variety of fields spanning the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. Despite their value, network analysis techniques are only as good as the data that underlie them, requiring careful assessment of possible selection biases and triangulation of findings.

Educational institutions and educators can benefit from more systematically analyzing their social media initiatives from a network perspective.

This paper describes some of the techniques and tools needed to make sense of the social relationships that underlie social media sites. As relational data are increasingly made public, such techniques will enable more systematic analysis by researchers studying social phenomena and practitioners implementing social media initiatives.

This paper aims to analyze how business units can use their employees’ external social capital to explore and exploit the resources available in their environment. Based on multiple interviews with the employees of the global commodity firm Gamma Chemical (around 50,000 employees), the research aims at gaining an understanding of the contextual conditions required to successfully build and leverage individuals’ external social client network ties for business unit ambidexterity.

The authors conducted a single-case study at Gamma Chemical that entailed 33 semi-directive interviews, each of which lasted 1-4 h, at different organizational levels (ranging from top-level management to production workers). We had access to three regional business units. The interviews addressed the links between the individuals in the business units and external actors. The authors also collected information about the company’s strategic objectives, the local competitive environment and work organization. Open-ended questions were used to allow the interviewees to freely relate anecdotes about their own network development. In particular, the authors asked the respondents to identify business contacts with whom they interacted privately and to describe the relationships.

The research findings are two-fold. First, and contrary to prior studies, the authors find that individuals’ social capital contributes to both exploration and exploitation at the business unit level. Second, developing and leveraging individuals’ external social capital requires a specific organizational context at the business unit level that allows employees to develop and nurture their personal business relationships with clients.

The study is limited by the scope of the sample (a study of one large multinational firm). Further research conducted in similar contexts may therefore be useful for comparability purposes and to generalize the results.

Several practical recommendations describe how managers can effectively make use of their employees’ social connections with clients. In particular, the results suggest that managers should seek business unit flexibility on the basis of team-based structures, an autonomous leadership style and by actively creating a degree of critical social network tie redundancy, encouraging a shared network culture. These three specific conditions allow employees’ personal client networks to not only flourish but also contribute to business unit ambidexterity.

Prior social capital studies have analyzed intra-firm and inter-firm relationships in terms of contributing to firm ambidexterity. However, these findings have often been difficult to translate into specific organizational levels. Given business units’ critical role in identifying and implementing business opportunities for a firm, the authors focus on the micro-foundations of exploratory and exploitative learning by using a social capital perspective to explore the link between employees’ private external social relationships with clients and business unit ambidexterity. In this way, we contribute to the social capital literature and research on business unit ambidexterity and to extant contextual ambidexterity research by specifying the conditions that help firms develop and leverage their employees’ own external social capital for exploration and exploitation.

In social marketplaces, follower ego networks are integral social capital assets for online sellers. While previous research has underscored the positive impact of the follower number on seller performance, little attention has been given to the structure of follower networks and their value implications. This research investigates two structural properties of follower networks—network centralization and density—and examines their main and contingent effects on sellers’ sales performance.

A 13-month panel dataset of 1,150 sellers in Etsy, a social marketplace for handmade and vintage products, was collected and analyzed. A fixed effects model was adopted to validate the hypotheses on the main effect of centralization and density, as well as the moderating effects of two store attributes: store age and product diversification.

We find that both network centralization and density negatively impact sellers’ sales performance, and these effects vary across store age and product diversification levels. Specifically, the negative effect of network centralization is less pronounced for older stores than young ones, whereas the negative effect of density is more severe for stores with high product diversification.

This research contributes to social commerce research by highlighting the significance of network structure, alongside network size, in assessing the value of followers and offers practical guidance for sellers in social marketplaces seeking to optimize their follower networks.

Online gaming has emerged as a popular activity providing a social outlet for millions. However, implications of online game networks for mental health remain disputed. Concepts of bridging social capital and bonding social capital may help characterize protective factors within social networks. This study aims to examine the associations between social capital derived from online versus in-person networks and mental health indicators among gamers.

Online gamers (n = 301) completed an online survey assessing their social networks (both in-person and through online gaming) and mental health indicators (depressive symptoms, anxiety, social isolation, perceived social support). Social network analysis was used to analyze bridging (network size, effective size, heterogeneity, weak ties) and bonding (closeness, frequent contact, confiding, connection quality) social capital. Separate linear regression models evaluated associations between bridging and bonding social capital for both online and in-person networks and depressive symptoms, anxiety, social support and social isolation.

In-person network characteristics showed the strongest associations with mental health outcomes. Greater average closeness and frequent confiding in the in-person network predicted lower isolation and fewer depressive symptoms. More diverse relationship types also correlated with lower depression. For online networks, closeness and confiding ties associated only with less isolation and greater support, not depressive symptoms, or anxiety.

While online gaming networks provide some degree of social support, in-person social capital exhibited stronger associations with mental health. This reinforces the importance of face-to-face relationships for emotional well-being. Findings suggest helping gamers cultivate close bonds offline. However, online connections still matter and should not be discounted.

Purpose: This study examines how parental divorce impacts the social support network dynamics of adult children. Research has explored long-term consequences of divorce and the impact of biographical disruption on network dynamics. Despite the long-term impact of parental divorce on social networks, these literatures have not been integrated.

Design/methodology/approach: Using survey data from 21- to 30 and 50- to 70-year-old adults in the San Francisco Bay area through the University of California Social Networks Study, or UCNets, the author explores hypotheses related to biographical disruption and characteristics of social support networks.

Findings: The impact of parental divorce is varied. Parental divorce is unrelated to total number of network ties but is significantly related to number of confidant network ties and marginally related to practical help network ties. Parental divorce is associated with higher overlap across network dimensions, or multiplexity, but this association is stronger for younger compared to older adults.

Research limitations/implications: This study is limited to compositional network dynamics. Future research should explore the impact of parental divorce on clusters of social support and their relationship to network multiplexity in addition to constrained versus preferential multiplexity. These findings are limited to perception of social support in networks, as questions vary by recall period and behavior.

Originality/value: This chapter extends research on long-term consequences of parental divorce and extends biographical disruption models in social networks to processes in family structure, highlighting how age effects shape how parental divorce impacts support strategies, perceptions, and experience at the network level in early compared to later adulthood.

This study examines the effect of employees' perceptions of political connections on performance measurement systems (PMS) design choice and firm performance. In addition, this study explores the moderating effect of social networking, a very common and widely used factor by domestic and foreign multinational firms operating in China, and its joint effect with political connections or PMS design choice on firm performance. We collected survey responses from a sample of 110 managers from manufacturing firms in China. Our results reveal that highly politically connected managers use nonfinancial measures, leading to improved firm performance. Our results suggest that social networking interacts significantly with political connections, and nonfinancial and financial measures on firm performance. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.