Sunbelt XXXI International Network for Social Network ... - INSNA

Time Heterogeneity In Stochastic Actor‐oriented Models: An Empirical Test On Problem‐solving Dynamics In An Open Source Software ProjectConaldi, Guido; Tonellato, MarcoNetwork DynamicsOrganizational Development, Two‐mode Networks, Open Source, Stochastic Actor‐ Oriented Models, Social Mechanisms, Time HeterogeneityWED.PM2How do organizations induce and coordinate individual action toward collective goals? The interest of organizational and sociological scholars in this questionhas been renewed by the emergence of communities of production composed by volunteers who can choose which task to take on, why and when. Relativelylittle is known about the social micro‐mechanisms that drive individual action and ensure coordination between interdependent tasks when traditional marketbasedand hierarchy‐based mechanisms of coordination are unavailable. In previous research we applied stochastic actor‐oriented models to analyze one ofsuch communities. We showed that decisions of individuals to take on specific tasks are influenced by their local network neighborhood through feedbackmechanisms, which shape the different levels of engagement across individuals, and balancing feedback mechanisms, which affect the different popularity oftasks. In this study we investigate whether the effect of these local network structures on the association of individuals and tasks varies according to when itunfolds in the life‐cycle of the project. In order to address this question we analyze the same Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS) community of our previousstudy. We reconstruct the two‐mode network generated by problem‐solving activities undertaken by 135 software developers on 719 software bugs during anentire release cycle of the software. We estimate new stochastic actor‐oriented models by allowing the effects of local networks structures to beheterogeneous over time. We discuss the differences with previous restricted models and their implications for the understanding of social micro‐mechanismsunderpinning the emergence of endogenous coordination in communities of production.Together In Perfect Harmony? The Collaborative Creation Of Scientific Knowledge In Virtual OrganizationsBinz‐Scharf, Maria C.; Paik, LeslieAcademic and Scientific NetworksScientific Networks, Mixed Methods, Collaboration, Co‐authorship Network, Ethnography, Knowledge CreationFRI.AM2Research scientists have become increasingly dependent on collaborations across laboratories and organizations to maintain their productivity. While there is agrowing body of research on the co‐production of knowledge in collaborative settings, little is known about how that process happens in virtual organizations(VOs). The common assumption among researchers is that VOs speed up existing ways of producing scientific knowledge. Drawing on ethnographic andbibliometric data of 300 molecular biologists dispersed in laboratories across the world, this paper offers some findings that partially confirm but also challengethat assumption. VOs do facilitate traditional modes of collaboration, as scientists can e‐mail results to one another and find new partners to exchange dataresources or ideas. Yet they also alter the ways that scientists do their work. On‐line databases actually shift the modes of production somewhat as thescientists can generate new hypotheses based on the collated information about genes, proteins and mutant stressors. Moreover, new standards inpublication with on‐line supplements and increased pressures to discover “something new” effectively slow down peoples’ knowledge production. At the sametime, as much as VOs do affect scientific knowledge, some things remain constant: intralab routines, hierarchy within and across laboratories, interpersonalfactors of trust and communication as well as institutional factors related to each lab’s home university.