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The study sets out to explore the mediating role of intellectual capital (IC) dimensions (i.e. human, structural and relational) between scholars' affiliation to online academic networks and institutional knowledge capitalization. Online academic networks are tackled through the lens of knowledge networks which have been of primary importance for new relevant knowledge acquisition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A questionnaire-based survey of 305 academics from 35 different countries was conducted from July to December 2021, employing a partial least squares structural equation modelling technique. The database was initially filtered to ensure the adequacy of the sample, and data were analyzed using the statistics software package SmartPLS 3.0.

Evidence was brought forward that the proposed conceptual model accounted for 52.5% of the variance in institutional knowledge capitalization, the structural and relational capital availed by knowledge networks exerting strong positive influence on the dependent variable.

The study has both research and managerial implications in that it approaches a topical phenomenon, namely the capitalization of online academic networks in the COVID-19 context, which has dramatically altered the way that research and teaching are conducted worldwide.

The most important contribution of the paper resides in the comprehensive research model advanced which covers individual, organizational and network multifaced layers, starting with the personal and institutional motives to join a specialized network, continuing with the opportunities provided by knowledge networks in terms of intellectual capital harnessing, and ending with its influence on higher education organizations.

This paper aims to examine the use of online social networks by doctoral students.

A quantitative online survey was conducted – 448 doctoral students from 15 universities and 11 research institutes in Lithuania were asked about their participation in both academic and non-academic online social networks.

The results show that despite efforts to link academics to society, doctoral students are not supported by universities/research institutes nor are doctoral students trained for this purpose, including regarding such threats as offensive posts. Additionally, more comprehensive information is disclosed in academic social networks, but these networks are less common and less frequently used.

International doctoral students in Lithuania cover about 4.4 per cent of the total population of doctoral students. They were not invited to participate in the survey. Furthermore, doctoral students consider any online social network as their professional (academic) network, as was found from our results. This resulted in the confusion of our definition of academic online social networks.

Learning about the diverse online roles doctoral students may take could be facilitated were doctoral students to receive clear and consistent awareness-raising and develop self-awareness in the importance of the roles, the most central online social networks and potential threats, and related institutional support to address them.

This study provides results on how engagement of doctoral students in online social networks might affect their links with society and what academic institutions should promote in doctoral education.

This paper aims to explore the relationships among several key constructs which link the individual’s motivation for knowledge acquisition to his affiliation with online knowledge networks, to further access the intellectual capital of the network as a prerequisite for organizational achievement.

An online survey with 227 members of higher education and research centers from 30 countries was carried out between July and September 2021. The data were analyzed by means of partial least squares structural equation modeling technique, using the statistics software package SmartPLS 3.0.

Individual motivation to acquire knowledge has a significant influence on the affiliation with online academic networks approached as online knowledge networks. Further, active engagement with the network’s intangible resources leads to a significant harnessing of the three-component intellectual capital, that is, human, structural and relational capital. Human and relational capital is proven to exert a significant effect on organizational achievements, whereas structural capital falls short of reporting a meaningful influence on the dependent variable.

This research adds new knowledge to the capitalization of online knowledge networks and its influence on organizational achievements via intellectual capital.

A novel perspective is advanced in which online knowledge networks are acknowledged as a pivotal bond and nonlinear integrator between the individual level of knowledge fields and organizational knowledge leveraged into organizational achievements.

The paper aims to investigate the standpoints and practices of university members from European developing countries regarding the harnessing of the intellectual capital (IC) within online academic social networks.

A questionnaire-based survey with 210 university members was conducted, with the indicators adopting prior measurement scales which were further adapted to a network framework.

The organizational policies and practices relate positively and highly significantly with the valuation of the network-based IC components. Moreover, 63 per cent of the professional and organizational competitiveness of higher education institutions is determined by the exploitation of the IC embedded in online academic networks.

All survey respondents were from the European developing countries, which may limit the general applicability of the findings. Also, the emphasis is laid solely on online academic networks.

This paper brings to the fore both the potential and the state-of-the-art in leveraging the IC of online specialized networks which are indicative of the academic field. When acknowledged as such, the network-based IC is liable to generate substantial competitive advantages at the professional and organizational levels at the same time.

This research adds to the extant literature in two main ways. First, it advances a new construct – network-based IC – in the context of the online academic social networks. Second, it proposes a research model for addressing the network-based IC from a competitive advantage perspective.

Scholarly identity refers to endeavors by scholars to promote their reputation, work and networks using online platforms such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Twitter. This exploratory research investigates benefits and drawbacks of scholarly identity efforts and avenues for potential library support.

Data from 30 semi-structured phone interviews with faculty, doctoral students and academic librarians were qualitatively analyzed using the constant comparisons method (Charmaz, 2014) and Goffman’s (1959, 1967) theoretical concept of impression management.

Results reveal that use of online platforms enables academics to connect with others and disseminate their research. scholarly identity platforms have benefits, opportunities and offer possibilities for developing academic library support. They are also fraught with drawbacks/concerns, especially related to confusion, for-profit models and reputational risk.

This exploratory study involves analysis of a small number of interviews (30) with self-selected social scientists from one discipline (communication) and librarians. It lacks gender, race/ethnicity and geographical diversity and focuses exclusively on individuals who use social networking sites for their scholarly identity practices.

Results highlight benefits and risks of scholarly identity work and the potential for adopting practices that consider ethical dilemmas inherent in maintaining an online social media presence. They suggest continuing to develop library support that provides strategic guidance and information on legal responsibilities regarding copyright.

This research aims to understand the benefits and drawbacks of Scholarly Identity platforms and explore what support academic libraries might offer. It is among the first to investigate these topics comparing perspectives of faculty, doctoral students and librarians.

This study aims to investigate the perceptions of academics regarding the use and usefulness of academic social networks (ASNs) in the scholarly communication practices of faculty members in Kuwaiti Universities.

The study was conducted through a survey. In total, 100 faculty members from the disciplines of business administration, humanities and social sciences from three universities in Kuwait filled in an online questionnaire. The statistical feature of the Web-based tool was used for data analysis.

The results show that most faculty members are aware of the importance of ASNs. They perceive that these networks are useful, as more publications have become available, it has become easier for scholars to connect with colleagues who share similar research interests.

The study is descriptive and restricted to a specific country (Kuwait). It also only covered faculty members from three academic disciplines. Furthermore, the use of a questionnaire, while appropriate for descriptive research, restricted us from conducting probing designed to gain deeper insights regarding participants’ motivations and explanations for not realizing the potential of these networks.

Future research should expand the scope of this study to cover faculty members from other disciplines (e.g. science, engineering and medicine), while also including more universities from other countries in the Arabian Gulf region. Future research should also examine how academics’ information-finding practices are changing as a result of the availability of information sources through ASNs.

No similar study has been conducted previously in Kuwait. This study provided useful information regarding the use and perceptions of ASNs in the context of faculty members of Kuwaiti universities. This information is of interest to scholars, information providers and those who design such networks.

The war in Syria has left a trail of unprecedented displacement and disruption, and consequently the lack of higher education opportunities for tens of thousands of young Syrians. As of 2017, only 1% of the global refugee population is able to access tertiary education programs in stark contrast to the up to 26% university-level participation in Syria prior to the war.

Jamiya Project, one organization that has aimed at improving access to higher education opportunities for Syrian students in the Middle East, piloted an Introduction to Java Programming course in the Fall/Winter of 2016/2017. The course was free to access, accredited by the University of Gothenburg, taught in Arabic, and delivered through a blended learning model alongside education technology partners and non-governmental organization-facilitated learning centers on the ground. The Jamiya Project partnered with Syrian academics in exile in developing and delivering the course.

This chapter outlines the vision and the methodology behind the actions of the Jamiya Project during this pilot course and aims to share lessons learned from the experiences, reflections, and iterations of research from the course with students and academics. There is no doubt that a collaborative effort is required to mitigate the serious effects of this crisis.

Our chapter explores the benefits of informal academic communities by focusing on the Finland-based early career higher education researchers' network (ECRN). Established two years ago, the ECRN primarily operates through monthly online coffee meetings. Via dialogical reflections by the authors and a qualitative inquiry into the ECRN, we explore the ECRN's role in its members' professional growth and well-being. We provide a narrative vignette of an imagined online coffee meeting to illustrate the significant peer-learning conversations in the ECRN. Based on our dialogical approach, we conclude that the ECRN is beneficial for its members' professional growth and well-being as it provides peer support, information sharing, scholarly support and higher education research-related support. Hence, we call for academia to better recognise and support informal academic communities as they have the potential to nourish a more collaborative working culture in academia.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of five dimensions of similarity (i.e. condition similarity, context similarity, catalyst similarity, consequence similarity and connection similarity) on Facebook social networks development.

A questionnaire-based survey was conducted with 245 Romanian college students. SmartPLS 3 statistical software for partial least squares structural equation modeling was chosen as the most adequate technique for the assessment of models with both composites and reflective constructs.

More than 52 percent of the variance in social network development was explained by the advanced similarity model. Each dimension had a positive effect on Facebook social networks development, the highest influences being exerted by condition similarity, context similarity and consequence similarity.

The current approach is substantively based on the homophily paradigm in explaining social network development. Future research would benefit from comparing and contrasting complementary theories (e.g. the rational self-interest paradigm, the social exchange or dependency theories) with the current findings. Also, the research is tributary to a convenience-based sample of Romanian college students which limits the generalization of the results to other cultural contexts and, thus, invites further research initiatives to test the model in different settings.

Similarity attributes and mechanisms consistently determine the dynamics of online social networks, a fact which should be investigated in depth in terms of the impact of new technologies among young people.

This study is among the first research initiatives to approach similarity structures and processes within an integrative framework and to conduct the empirical analysis beyond US-centric samples.

This study aims to investigate the extent of adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) in university libraries in Nigeria.

Postal survey was the instrument used for data collection. Almost 60 per cent of the University Librarians out of the 29 university libraries surveyed completed their questionnaires.

The results of the survey show that only six university libraries are fully “computerized”, nine are “about to be computerized”; seven of the surveyed libraries have installed local area networks, five have online public access catalogue and only four libraries provide internet service. The major obstacles that influence effective adoption of ICT in university libraries are inadequate funds and the poor state of electricity in Nigeria.

The federal government should increase the present level of funding of Nigerian university to improve the library development fund, which is the major source of funding available to university libraries. The poor state of electricity in Nigeria should also be improved by the federal government for sustainable adoption of ICT by university libraries.

The paper proposes that computer networking of university libraries is feasible and recommends the development of the Nigerian university libraries network and academic libraries network.