isj 2012 - Special Issue on Interpreting Digital EnabledSocial Networks

Interpreting Digital Enabled Social Networks

Special Issue Guest Editors

Eoin Whelan, University of Limerick, Ireland

Brian Butler, University of Pittsburgh, USA

Robin Teigland, Stockholm School of Economics

Emmanuelle Vaast, Long Island University, USA

While the study of social networks enjoys a long and rich tradition,
particularly in the fields of sociology and anthropology, it has only
recently grown in popularity among IS researchers interested in
applying established social network theories to online environments.
This recent interest from the IS community has been driven by a number
of factors including the advances in the computing and visualisation
power of social network analysis packages, the public availability of
large-scale empirical datasets (such as the Enron email archive), and
the emergence of the popular online social networking services
Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter, as well as other platforms
that facilitate mass collaboration and self-organisation, such as
blogs, wikis, user tagging systems, and even the more recent emergence
of virtual worlds.? As such, a number of prominent IS journals have
already dedicated special issues to the topic of digital enabled
social networks in recent times.? While the studies published in these
special issues have generated many important insights, the majority
have tended to investigate digital enabled social networks with a
positivist philosophy employing quantitative methods.? Much of our
current understanding of the dynamics of these social structures stems
from methods which measure and correlate the overall network
structure, or the individual’s position within the network, to a
variety of dependent variables.? There is much that has yet to be
understood about social networks constructed on digital platforms,
particularly their impact on organisational life.? Interpretative
studies can contribute greatly by providing rich and deep insights
into the inner workings of these important organisational forms and
the technical, behavioural, and economic challenges they face.

The aim of this special issue is to advance the state of social
network research within the IS field by discussing and disseminating
empirical results gained through interpretative studies.? The focus is
upon highlighting work that makes significant theoretical and
empirical advances to our understanding of digital enabled social
networks.? Submissions that address methodological issues associated
with the study of social networks in IS research are also welcome.

Topics may include, but are not limited to the following:

???? New qualitative approaches to study digital enabled social networks

???? Assessing the nature and quality of information exchange and
knowledge creation in digital enabled social networks

???? IS case studies that describe how digital enabled social networks
can be harnessed in organisational settings

???? Open innovation/co-creation through digital enabled social networks

???? Interpretative studies investigating entrepreneurship and the
rise of occupational communities through digital enabled social
networks

???? Interpretative insights of leadership and governance in digital
enabled social networks

???? Qualitative approaches to examine the interplay between online
and offline social networks

???? Social networks and IT adoption

???? Interpretative studies to ascertain the role of ICT in the
diffusion of information, trends, behaviours, and innovations in
social networks

???? Combining social network analysis and qualitative approaches in IS research

???? Methodological issues in IS social network research

???? Critical reviews of the digital enabled social network literature

Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts should not normally exceed 7000 words and should be
submitted online at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/isj. Authors will
have to select Special Issue Submission as the manuscript type. Author
guidelines are available at ‘author guidelines’ at
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journals/isj/.

All submissions will be peer-reviewed following the double-blind
review process of ISJ. The objective is to apply very high standards
of acceptance while ensuring fair, timely and efficient review cycles.

Timeline

Full initial paper submission deadline: 31 August 2011
First Review deadline: 30 November 2011
Revised paper submission deadline: (if required) 31 January 2012
Second Review deadline: 16 March 2012
Camera-ready paper submission deadline: 30 April 2012

Dr. Eoin Whelan

Lecturer in Information Management
Department of Management and Marketing (S1-06)
Kemmy Business School
University of Limerick
Limerick

Telephone: ???????????061-233615
Fax: ???????????????????????061-213196
Email: ???????????????????eoin.whelan-AT-ul.ie