Decision Making in Online Social Networks

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https://hdl.handle.net/10125/102507

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    Investigating Churn in Physical Activity Challenges: Evidence from a U.S. Online Social Network
    ( 2023-01-03) Zhu, Yi ; Mani, Ankur
    Physical activities have been found to be positively contagious, as active exercisers tend to motivate their friends to do more exercise. However, it is not clearly understood if inactive exercising behaviors are also socially contagious. As insufficient physical activity is a huge threat to people's health, understanding the potential negative contagion in physical activities is crucial. We approach this problem by studying the effect of individuals' churn of the online physical activity challenges relying on the physical activity and a large social network data from a renowned U.S. fitness platform. The underexplored online physical activity challenges provide a natural setup to measure churn and opportunities to study the contagion heterogeneities. Consistent with previous findings, we confirm that physical activity churn is socially contagious. Interestingly, unlike the inside-out positive contagion, our analyses reveal that the contagion of churn happens outside-in on the social network. Implications of such findings are discussed.
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    From Virtual to Physical: An Exploratory Study on how Online Social Networks and Communities Influence Decision-Making in Everyday Crafting
    ( 2023-01-03) Lee, Lo ; Ocepek, Melissa G.
    The popularity of the maker movement has prompted extensive research on how the maker spirit enhances learning and redefines entrepreneurism. However, what is left unknown is the dynamic process of making as a hobby and how it may cut across virtual and physical media. To seal this gap, we conducted a qualitative study to investigate how online social networks and communities (OSNCs) may play a role in influencing making-related decisions. We carried out diary studies and semi-structured individual interviews with 25 arts and crafts hobbyists. The findings show that YouTube and Pinterest are the top two mentioned sources to facilitate ideation about what to make. Participants mostly turned to YouTube and Reddit to address problems when getting stuck. We demonstrate the direct and close relationship between tangible making and OSNCs as a multidimensional source, showing how virtual user-generated content can impact everyday hands-on practices.
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    Introduction to the Minitrack on Decision Making in Online Social Networks
    ( 2023-01-03) Sadovykh , Valeria ; Sundaram, David ; Peko, Gabrielle
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    The Effect of Ingroup Identification on Conformity Behavior in Group Decision-Making: The Flipping Direction Matters
    ( 2023-01-03) Bauer, Christine ; Ferwerda, Bruce
    Various social influences affect group decision-making processes. For instance, individuals may adapt their behavior to fit in with the group's majority opinion. Furthermore, ingroup favoritism may lead individuals to favor the ideas of ingroup members rather than the outgroup. So far, little is explored on how these phenomena of social conformity and ingroup favoritism manifest in group decision-making processes when a group has to decide in favor or against an item. We address such a scenario where the `flipping direction' of conformity (in favor or against an item) matters. Specifically, we explore whether and how the ingroup favoritism manifests differently in terms of conformity behavior depending on the `flipping direction'. The results show that group inclusiveness does not play a role in the general tendency to conform. However, when it comes to a negative flipping direction, a higher feeling of group inclusiveness seems to play a role; yet, for individualist cultures only.