Investigating Participation in Online Policy Discussion Forums Over Time: Does Network Structure Matter?
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) (Association for Information Systems)Published 1 January 2007
Zhixian Chua, Khim Yong Goh, Atreyi Kankanhalli, Chee Wei Phang
Citations11
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
This theoretically grounded empirical study, employing ARIMA modeling with transfer function analysis on social network measures, contributes to the diversity of theories and methods in IS research.
Abstract
Online policy discussion forums can be construed as a social network where citizens interact and collectively deliberate on policy issues. It is believed that citizen participation in such forums can help in the formulation of well -deliberated policy solutions. A key concern for governments is to promote participation in such forums. Soci al network literature reveals that the evolving interaction patterns between network participants can influence their collective behaviors. Thus, this study aims to investigate the longitudinal effects of network structural properties on forum participatio n using time series analysis. Our findings reveal that network structure can have both positive and negative effects on participation in terms of the number of postings and unique ideas contributed. This theoretically grounded empirical study on e -particip ation , employing ARIMA modeling with transfer function analysis on social network measures , contributes to the diversity of theories and methods in IS research. Implications for practice are also discussed.
Keywords
Social SciencesPhysics and Astronomy
Social network analysis methods and applications
18,142 Citations2007Stanley Wasserman, Katherine Faust
Social NetworksCentrality in social networks conceptual clarification
16,883 Citations1978Linton C. Freeman
Three distinct intuitive conceptions of centrality are uncovered and existing measures are refined to embody these conceptions, one absolute and one relative measure of the centrality of positions in a network and one reflecting the degree of centralization of the entire network.
Choice Reviews OnlineFoundations of social theory
16,854 Citations1990Frederick J. Riggins, Saby Mitra
Contemporary Sociology A Journal of ReviewsSocial Network Analysis: A Handbook.
6,046 Citations1993Franz Urban Pappi, James G. Scott
TechnometricsTime Series Analysis
3,239 Citations1997David E. Booth
Time series analysis may be helpful to clinicians by providing a simple tool to evaluate patient characteristics and manage the practice, according to a simple method described in this article.
Social NetworksModels of core/periphery structures
2,173 Citations2000Stephen P. Borgatti, Martin G. Everett
This paper seeks to formalize the intuitive notion of a core/periphery structure and suggests algorithms for detecting this structure, along with statistical tests for testing a priori hypotheses.
Oxford University Press eBooksTheories of Communication Networks
2,153 Citations2003Peter R. Monge, Noshir Contractor
MultiTheoretical, Multilevel Models of Communication and Other Organizational Networks Appendix: Data Sets Used in Chapter 2 References Author Index Subject Index
Public Administration ReviewThe Evolution of E‐Government among Municipalities: Rhetoric or Reality?
1,945 Citations2002M. Jae Moon
Public Administration ReviewCitizen Participation in Decision Making: Is It Worth the Effort?
1,914 Citations2004Renée A. Irvin, John Stansbury
Academy of Management JournalSOCIAL NETWORKS AND THE PERFORMANCE OF INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS.
1,797 Citations2001Raymond T. Sparrowe, Robert C. Liden +2 more
Research PolicyHow open source software works: “free” user-to-user assistance
1,597 Citations2003Karim R. Lakhani, Eric von Hippel
Characterizing e-participation in policy-making
778 Citations2004Ann Macintosh
There is an urgent need to better understand the e-democracy pilots that have taken place so far and that are currently being developed and the issues of what should be characterized in e-democracy pilots so as to better identify types of citizen participation exercises and the appropriate technology to support them.
Cambridge University Press eBooksTesting for Causality: A Personal Viewpoint
753 Citations2010Clive W. J. Granger
Tests based on the definitions of causality are considered and the use of post-sample data emphasized, rather than relying on the same data to fit a model and use it to test causality.
American Journal of SociologySocial Networks and Collective Action: A Theory of the Critical Mass. III
642 Citations1988Gerald Marwell, Pamela Oliver +1 more
The Leadership QuarterlyThe ties that lead: A social network approach to leadership
594 Citations2005Prasad Balkundi, Martín Kilduff
Choice Reviews OnlineThe company of strangers: a natural history of economic life
545 Citations2004Paul Seabright
SSRN Electronic JournalHow Open Source Software Works: 'Free' User-to-User Assistance?
521 Citations2001Eric A. von Hippel, Karim R. Lakhani
It is found that the Apache field support system functions effectively and that, when the help system is partitioned into its component tasks, 98% of the effort expended by information providers in fact returns direct learning benefits to those providers.
Management ScienceIndividual Centrality and Performance in Virtual R&D Groups: An Empirical Study
488 Citations2003Manju Ahuja, Dennis F. Galletta +1 more
The study illustrates the usefulness of accounting for network effects for better understanding individual performance in virtual groups by showing that centrality mediates the effects of functional role, status, and communication role on individual performance.
Social NetworksStructural properties of work groups and their consequences for performance
479 Citations2003Jonathon N. Cummings, Rob Cross
In a study of 182 work groups in a global organization, it is found that structural holes of leaders within groups as well as core-periphery and hierarchical group structures were negatively associated with performance.
Journal of the Association for Information SystemsIdentifying Quality, Novel, and Creative Ideas: Constructs and Scales for Idea Evaluation
448 Citations2006Douglas L. Dean, Jillian Hender +2 more
A method for evaluating ideas with regard to four dimensions—novelty, workability, relevance, and specificity—and has identified two measurable sub-dimensions for each of the four main dimensions is described.
Organization ScienceElectronic Groups at Work
424 Citations1990Tom Finholt, Lee Sproull
It is suggested that the electronic group at work is a new social phenomenon that may contribute importantly to organizational behavior.
Journal of the American Statistical AssociationForecasting With Dynamic Regression Models.
383 Citations1993Robert H. Shumway, Alan Pankratz
Management ScienceDistribution of Knowledge, Group Network Structure, and Group Performance
367 Citations2000Diane Liang Rulke, Joseph Galaskiewicz
It was found that group performance was contingent on the distribution of knowledge within the group and networks of social relationships among group members, and the advantage that the former enjoyed over the latter disappeared when groups of specialists or mixed groups had decentralized network structures.
Digital Library Of The Commons Repository (Indiana University)The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace
367 Citations2009Peter Kollock
Oxford University Press eBooksA Social Network Perspective on Human Resources Management
330 Citations2003Daniel J. Brass
IEEE Transactions on Engineering ManagementSenior Citizens' Acceptance of Information Systems: A Study in the Context of e-Government Services
328 Citations2006Chee-Wei Phang, Juliana Sutanto +4 more
It is revealed that consistent with previous technology acceptance studies, senior citizens' use intention is driven by their perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the service, and their Internet safety perception impacts the acceptance of this online financial service.
Electronic MarketsAssessing Motivation of Contribution in Online Communities: An Empirical Investigation of an Online Travel Community
324 Citations2003Youcheng Wang, Daniel R. Fesenmaier
The results of the path analyses show that motivations of efficacy, instrumental, and expectancy have positive effects on level of contribution and ease of communication, members' personality as well as their level of general involvement in the community are found to have positive relationships with level of active contribution.
Organization ScienceCommunication and Motivational Predictors of the Dynamics of Organizational Innovation
234 Citations1992Peter R. Monge, Michael D. Cozzens +1 more
Contemporary Sociology A Journal of ReviewsLiving Networked On and Offline
233 Citations1999Barry Wellman, Keith N. Hampton
Academy of Management JournalSome Correlations of Communication Roles in Organizations.
214 Citations1979Karlene H. Roberts, Charles A. O’Reilly
Information Communication & SocietyVirtual sounding boards: How deliberative is on‐line political discussion?
210 Citations1998Anthony G. Wilhelm
Journal of Computer-Mediated CommunicationDiversity of Political Conversation on the Internet: Users' Perspectives
201 Citations2006Jennifer Stromer‐Galley
Findings lend support to the view that people appreciate the diversity of persons and viewpoints they encounter in their chosen discussion spaces and raise questions about the accuracy of that perspective in characterizing people's online communication behavior.
Organization ScienceTheoretical and Analytical Issues in Studying Organizational Processes
187 Citations1990Peter R. Monge
Social NetworksThe development of structure in random networks: an analysis of the effects of increasing network density on five measures of structure
179 Citations1981Noah E. Friedkin
A Framework for Assessing eParticipation Projects and Tools
178 Citations2007Efthimios Tambouris, Naoum Liotas +1 more
A framework for assessing eParticipation projects and tools is presented based on distinguishing between participation areas and ICT support for these areas and suggests assessment to be performed using specific templates that are developed for this purpose.
Government Information QuarterlyE-government in China: Bringing economic development through administrative reform
177 Citations2004Lianjie Ma, Jongpil Chung +1 more
This paper provides a number of illustrations of how Chinese e-government initiatives can be best understood as vehicles intended to support economic development through an increasingly transparent and decentralized administration while at the same time providing the central government the information and ability to efficiently monitor and potentially steer economic activity at a more abstract level.
Communications of the ACMA strategic perspective of electronic democracy
173 Citations2001Richard T. Watson, Bryan Mundy
The initial studies of property tax payments indicate that Webenabled payment reduces processing costs from more than $5 to around 22 cents per transaction, and the potential savings of e-democracy could be as much as $110 billion.
International Review of Social HistoryHistorical Social Network Analysis
132 Citations1998Charles Wetherell
Journal of Computer-Mediated CommunicationThe Impact of Synchronicity and Civility in Online Political Discussions on Perceptions and Intentions to Participate
131 Citations2006Elaine W.J. Ng, Benjamin H. Detenber
Investigation of the effects of two features of CMC-synchronicity and civility-on perceptions of online political discussions and discussants indicates that the synchronous versions of the discussions were perceived as more informative and persuasive than the asynchronous versions.
Information PolityThe moderator as an emerging democratic intermediary: The role of the moderator in Internet discussions about public issues
104 Citations2002Arthur Edwards
It is shown that the moderator in government-initiated Internet discussions about public issues can be seen as a democratic intermediary, and that this role has the potential to enhance the quality of those discussions as forms of deliberative democracy.
International Journal of Electronic Government ResearchThe First Leg of E-Government Research
103 Citations2005Kim Viborg Anderson, Helle Zinner Henriksen
A comprehensive analysis of 110 peer-reviewed journal papers published from 1998 to 2003 suggests that the conceptual domains and application areas covered by e-government research focus predominately on capabilities and interactions, whereas value distributions and policy orientations are largely ignored.
Communications of the ACMBuilding strong e-democracy
80 Citations2003Ari‐Veikko Anttiroiko
This article aims at clarifying the overall preconditions for the revitalization of democracy, and demonstrates how to build a comprehensive framework for a multidimensional institutional design in which the potentials of ICTs are made to serve relevant democratic purposes.
International Journal of Electronic Government ResearchState of the Art in E-Gov Research
73 Citations2005Åke Grönlund
It was found that theory generation and theory testing are not frequent, while case stories and product descriptions are frequent, and quality criteria need to be addressed, both rigor- and relevance-oriented, if e-gov is to develop into a mature research field.
IEEE Transactions on Engineering ManagementExamining pre-adoption interest in online innovations: an exploratory study of e-service personalization in the public sector
72 Citations2003Charles C. Hinnant, John O’Looney
A revised model of technological innovation with an emphasis on socio-technical factors associated with electronic service delivery is developed, suggesting public organizations must find reliable means of determining external demand for online innovations, as well as reducing the risks associated with each specific type of online innovation prior to adoption.
Peace and Conflict Journal of Peace PsychologyCivil political discourse in a democracy: The contribution of psychology.
72 Citations2000David W. Johnson, Roger T. Johnson
Information PolityVirtual democratic dialogue? Bringing together citizens and politicians
60 Citations2003Jakob Linaa Jensen
A Danish case sponsored by a local government where citizens and politicians were invited to debate via the Internet is examined, concluding that the project was quite a success and did not succeed in mobilising new groups for political debate.
Debate, Division, and Diversity: Political Discourse Networks in USENET Newsgroups
50 Citations2005John K. Smith
Cambridge University Press eBooksScholarly Networks as Learning Communities
47 Citations2004Emmanuel Koku, Barry Wellman
ScopusDETERMINANTS AND IMPACT OF E-GOVERNMENT AND E- BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
36 Citations2006Shirish C. Srivastava, Thompson S.H. Teo
This research highlights the importance of considering e-Government and e- business together rather than analyzing them in silos and reveals the significant role played by e-Business in enhancing the business competitiveness of nations.
Cybernetics & SystemsNETWORK ANALYSIS AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS
24 Citations2004Dougľas R. White
Concrete links can be identified between the actions of self-reflective agents, with rich information processing and decision processes deeply embedded in social worlds, and emergence or change in the self-restructuring systems they operate—including the emergence of organizations, groups, institutions, norms, and cultures.
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) (Association for Information Systems)Mobilizing Informational Social Capital in Cyber Space: Online Social Network Structural Properties and Knowledge Sharing
19 Citations2005Siyuan Huang, Gerardine DeSanctis
This study investigates online discussion forums that span formal boundaries of organizations, examining their structural properties and patterns of information exchange and finds that two network properties, core–periphery structure and centralization, are related to the mobilization of informational social capital in online networks.
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) (Association for Information Systems)A Research Framework for Citizen Participation via eConsultation
16 Citations2005Chee Wei Phang, Atreyi Kankanhalli
This paper presents a research framework for investigating citizen participation in the context of e-Consultation by first examining existing participation theories from political science literature and developing an integrated framework that can guide research in the study of electronic participation in a systematic manner.
e-Service JournalEmerging Infrastructures for E-democracy: In Search of Strong Inscriptions
15 Citations2002Åke Grönlund
This paper presents case studies from four Swedish municipalities, which exhibit different approaches to the problem of building infrastructures for e-democracy, the underlying idea being that "e-democracy" should be discussed in terms of its processes, not to which extent IT artifacts are used.
Discursive e-Democracy Support
15 Citations2006Rui Pedro Lourenço, João Paulo Costa
The Internet plays an important role on today’s public sphere but, in the view, still lacks the necessary tools to promote the creation of ‘constellations of discourses’ and support citizen’'s deliberation on them.
Science and Public PolicyExtending public consultation via the Internet: the experience of the UK Advisory Committee on Genetic Testing electronic consultation
10 Citations1999Colin Michael Finney
An electronic consultation was set up for the UK Advisory Committee on Genetic Testing on its draft code of practice on over-the-counter genetic testing, and although the general public was encouraged to make an input, media coverage was disappointing and all responses came from health care professionals.
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) (Association for Information Systems)The Citizen Participation Continuum: Where does the US Stand?
4 Citations2005Nanda Kumar, Roumen Vragov
A comprehensive review of the web-sites of the 50 States of the U.S. is used to chart the current position of the country on a continuum of tools that encourage active participation by citizens and discusses the future implications of the participation continuum.