Narrow Results

The spread of rumors on complex networks has attracted wide attention in the field of management. In this paper, the generalized rumor spreading model is modified to take into account the vital of the spreader and the tie strength for the pairwise contacts between nodes in complex networks at degree-dependent spreading rate. Concretely, we introduce the infectivity exponent $\alpha$, and the degree influenced real exponent $\beta$ into the analytical rumor spreading model. Rumor infectivity, $\phi (k)=k^{\alpha }$, where $0<\alpha \le 1$, defines that each spreader node may contact $k^{\alpha }$ neighbors within one time step. The tie strength between two nodes with degrees $k$ and $l$ are measured by ${\omega }_{kl}=b{(kl)}^{\beta }$, $\beta$ is the degree influenced real exponent which depends on the type of complex networks and $b$ is a positive quantity. We use a tuning parameter $\theta$ to combine both the effect of the vital nodes and the strength of connectivity between nodes. We use analytical and numerical solutions to examine the threshold behavior and dynamics of the model on several models of social network. It was found that the infectivity exponent $\alpha$, the degree influenced real exponent $\beta$ and tuning parameter $\theta$ affect the rumor threshold, one can adjust the parameters to control the rumor threshold which is absent for the standard rumor spreading model.

The present study explores several of the most significant social and cognitive human factors that have been found to motivate or inhibit organisational knowledge sharing in previous empirical studies. Of specific interest is the individual and collective effect that trust, shared language, shared vision, tie strength, homophily and relationship length have on three important conditions necessary for effective knowledge sharing to take place (i.e. willingness to share, willingness to use and perceived receipt of useful knowledge). The study also considers the nature of the employee working relationship (positive versus negative) and the form of knowledge sharing (explicit versus tacit). In total, 275 surveys were completed by employees working on projects at one of Canada's largest multijurisdictional law firms. Quantitative methods were used to examine the relationships between the dependent variables and independent variables, while controlling for all the other variables in the model.

This research includes an examination about the impact of three organisational factors upon the perceived usefulness of workplace social networks for problem solving in engineering SMEs. As well this research examines the impact of the perceived usefulness of workplace social networks upon the innovative behaviour of engineering SME employees. More specifically, the dimensions of Social Capital Theory are applied as a lens to develop an understanding into the effect of the strength of workplace social network ties, sociability and organisational culture upon the perceived usefulness of workplace social networks for problem solving. This study examines the proposed model by applying mixed methods. The research method includes a survey with engineering employees' and interviews with senior management. The findings confirm that the organisational factors tested (tie strength, sociability and organisational culture) impact upon the perceived usefulness of workplace social networks for problem solving. Furthermore, the findings also confirmed that the perceived usefulness of workplace social networks affects the innovative behaviour of engineering SME employees. Therefore, this research adds to the current body of literature by providing insight into the usefulness of workplace social networks for problem solving and the impact this has on the innovative behaviour of engineering SME employees.

People differ in terms of the number and strength of ties that they cultivate. Previous literature has tended to focus on either strong ties or many weak ties with a largely unstated assumption that some degree of trade-off exists between the two (underlying trust and novel knowledge, respectively) and their relative contribution to innovation. Within the context of R&D in a SA MNC, this research provided evidence that tie breadth and tie strength are complementary in team innovation. The previously-documented tension between novelty and trust however remains present and becomes evident in the location of ties. Both strong and weak ties contribute most to innovation if they are neither too close (i.e., own team) nor too distant (i.e., outside the MNC). Instead, ties inside the greater R&D unit contributed most to innovation. This role of the location of ties suggests that studies of networks cannot remain limited to tie breadth and strength but has to be rooted in the specific context. This is consistent with prior evidence of innovation within mature and process-driven industries where an in-depth understanding of organisation knowledge is required rather than that of novel technologies. This largely inward orientation has important implications for the competitiveness of emerging MNCs.

This study reveals that the strength of ties among academic and corporate researchers who are subject to institutional distance depends on the triggers for tie formation through trust. As strong ties are suitable for the exchange of complex knowledge, they are expected to contribute to knowledge transfer and subsequent innovative knowledge creation. With data from 508 researchers in Japan, this study reveals that the most common trigger is meeting at academic conferences, but ties formed through this trigger are weak. In contrast, ties formed during school days or past work are long-lasting strong ties, and introductions by peer researchers form strong ties from the short-term perspective. Interestingly, ties formed through introductions by industry–academia intermediary organisations are found to be strong in the short term but weak in the long term. Based on these results, this study suggests management and policy that contribute to the formation of strong ties.

This research includes an examination about the impact of three organisational factors upon the perceived usefulness of workplace social networks for problem solving in engineering SMEs. As well this research examines the impact of the perceived usefulness of workplace social networks upon the innovative behaviour of engineering SME employees. More specifically, the dimensions of Social Capital Theory are applied as a lens to develop an understanding into the effect of the strength of workplace social network ties, sociability and organisational culture upon the perceived usefulness of workplace social networks for problem solving. This study examines the proposed model by applying mixed methods. The research method includes a survey with engineering employees’ and interviews with senior management. The findings confirm that the organisational factors tested (tie strength, sociability and organisational culture) impact upon the perceived usefulness of workplace social networks for problem solving. Furthermore, the findings also confirmed that the perceived usefulness of workplace social networks affects the innovative behaviour of engineering SME employees. Therefore, this research adds to the current body of literature by providing insight into the usefulness of workplace social networks for problem solving and the impact this has on the innovative behaviour of engineering SME employees.