Socio-cognitive Perspective Research Articles

A socio-cognitive perspective of knowledge integration in digital innovation networks

Digital innovation is a complex process in which actors seek to create new value pathways by combining digital resources in a layered modular architecture. While IS scholarship has a rich tradition of research on developing and implementing digital artefacts within intra-organisational contexts, our understanding of knowledge integration across distributed innovation networks is nascent and under-theorised. This is an important area of research given the rising importance of digital innovation networks and the challenges faced in integrating specialised knowledge, especially given the greater diversity, speed, reach, and scope made possible by digital technologies. Drawing on in-depth case study findings from a health IoT project involving multiple organisations and disciplines, we explore how knowledge is integrated across boundaries during the initiation stage of a digital innovation network. Our findings point to boundaries related to the digital platform’s organising vision, resource allocation, delivery roadmap, technical architecture, and intellectual property, to name but a few challenges. We then reveal five socio-cognitive modes of knowledge integration which actors strategically enact to cross syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic boundaries: Signalling, Assembling, Contesting, Discounting, and Finalising. The choice of mode depends on the perceived knowledge status (‘what they know’) and social status (‘who they are’) of network actors, which highlight the salience of both social and cognitive dependencies for knowledge integration. We further discuss the contribution of design objects for overcoming differences and distinctions between specialist actors in a digital innovation network.

The psychology of entrepreneurial performance—theoretical and applied: Robert A. Baron and Michael Frese, co-recipients of the 2024 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research

AbstractProfessors Robert A. Baron and Michael Frese are the joint recipients of the 2024 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research. Their research contributions have helped establish the disciplinary foundation necessary to explore entrepreneurship from theoretical and applied psychological perspectives. From a theoretical psychological perspective, Professor Baron has repeatedly introduced a disciplinary scaffolding from cognitive psychology, social psychology, and judgment and decision-making psychology to develop the field’s socio-cognitive perspective. He has examined entrepreneurship’s basic “why” questions: (1) Why do some persons but not others choose to become entrepreneurs? (2) Why do some persons but not others recognize opportunities for new products or services that can be profitably exploited? (3) Why are some entrepreneurs so much more successful than others? From an applied psychological perspective, Professor Frese has examined entrepreneurship as the epitome of a proactive approach to work, advocating the benefits of personal initiative and the need for a self-regulatory approach to performance among both small business owners and employees in transition economies. Continually taking stock of what is known about the psychology of entrepreneurship through reviews and meta-analysis, he and his students have advanced an evidence-based approach to entrepreneurial training and performance in challenging contexts. Together, Professors Baron and Frese have served as ambassadors for the field of entrepreneurship, welcoming an entire generation of micro scholars to explore the entrepreneurial process and the psychology of the entrepreneurs who enact it.

Exploring the influence of workplace environment on job performance: a socio-cognitive perspective

This study investigates the evolution of job performance from socio-cognitive and knowledge-based perspectives, focusing on key perceived environmental factors. The research model proposed posits that perceived diversity and procedural justice positively affect job performance through the mediation of job self-efficacy and work engagement. Additionally, knowledge-oriented leadership is examined as a moderator influencing the formation of job self-efficacy and work engagement. Empirical testing of these hypotheses was conducted using field survey data collected from working professionals in a prominent computer and communication firm within the high-tech industry. The findings not only have theoretical and practical implications but also acknowledge certain limitations inherent in the research. Specifically, a limitation of this study is that it surveyed professionals in technology companies, so caution is advised when extending its implications to employees in non-tech sectors.

Kindred spirits: Cognitive frame similarity and good faith provisions in strategic alliance contracts

AbstractResearch SummaryAn intriguing yet underexamined phenomenon in strategic alliance contracts is the use of good faith provisions. These provisions appeal to parties' integrity and fair dealing but are often ambiguous, and their enforcement in court is unpredictable. Adopting a sociocognitive perspective, we predict a positive relationship between the similarity of partners' organizational‐level cognitive frames and the number of good faith provisions in alliance contracts. We further posit that technological uncertainty strengthens this relationship, whereas each alliance partner's cumulative contracting experience weakens it. We also expect a more positive relationship in instances of “genuine” good faith, which serves as a substitute for an explicit clause, compared with “guarded” good faith, which supplements an explicit clause. Our analysis of 1225 strategic alliance contracts from the biopharmaceutical industry supports our arguments.Managerial SummaryManagers negotiating strategic alliances often face a dilemma: they negotiate detailed contracts to reduce legal risk but limit flexibility or opt for less codification, saving time and retaining flexibility but increasing legal risk. Good faith provisions offer a potential solution because they are flexible yet legally enforceable, but they require a shared interpretation of the relevant contingency, raising questions about when managers find this approach reasonable. We analyzed 1225 biopharmaceutical alliance contracts and found that such provisions are more common when alliance partners have similar cognitive frames, as evidenced by similar “About Us” web pages. This effect is stronger under conditions of greater technological uncertainty but weakens with more alliance experience. Our study elucidates the use of good faith provisions to aid managers in navigating alliance negotiations efficiently.

The Process of Becoming

Second language teacher education (SLTE) involves the process of becoming a professional. This professionalization is presented from a sociocognitive perspective, whereby SLTE is considered part of the innate, human condition of life-long learning and teaching. This adaptive, social process involves learning and socialization during the development of skills, knowledge, identities, norms and values associated with professional communities of practice. The sociocognitive tools of progressive alignment and affiliation are used to identify instances of evaluation that make visible professionalization from student-produced materials and interviews with 13 SLTE students. Results show that participant professionalization differed based on their perceptions and evaluations, often filtered through their real and imagined teaching contexts and past experiences. The context of schools, which is the physical, synchronic context of teaching, appeared more influential than the diachronic contexts of schooling. However, far from uncritical, top-down indoctrination, SLTE students projected their own unique perspectives into the learning environment, in a mutuality of socialization. Professionalization results from an ongoing process, influenced by personal, local, cultural, national, and social demands, along with changing demands for language acquisition.

To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to publicise always: a case study of linguistic medicine landscapes in a (post)pandemic era

Hospitals serve as a public space for medical practice. They also serve as an educational space. Effective, transparent, and timely delivery of health information is important at all times but especially in times of pan/epidemics. A crucial part of the necessary information dissemination is language-in-use for multiple purposes (medical practice, education, research) among stakeholders. This study investigated the linguistic landscapes of hospitals in the People’s Republic of China (China) in the COVID (post)pandemic period, roughly 2019–2022, to consider health information as language-in-use. Specifically, we examine the linguistic landscapes of three Grade A Class 3 hospitals in a multilingual, ethnic minority region by analysing 2354 signs for multilingual combinations, functionality and the way translations were used. We consider the role of language awareness in the experiential dimension to understand the linguistic medical landscapes. Our findings detect potentially biases linked to translation and language awareness and leading to potentially misleading information. The analysis also suggests the importance of a socio-cognitive perspective of the experiential dimension for future LL studies.

Development and evaluation of a new instrument that measures motivation towards academic achievement (IMLA) in higher education

Academic motivation in teaching and learning processes, both in general and in particular in higher education, has been of great interest in educational research, since it is the basis of academic success. In this work, the model "Expectations-Value of achievement motivation" has been considered, which uses a socio-cognitive perspective to design an inventory that allows measuring the motivation for academic achievement in higher education. With this objective, the Motivational Inventory of Academic Achievement (IMLA) is created, supported by a rigorous methodological process in order to make this instrument reliable and valid. The psychometric properties of the IMLA were determined from the analysis of content validity, reliability and construct in a sample of 464 higher education students from a Chilean and a Spanish university. The results indicate that the IMLA has 9 factors that explain 64.11% of the total variance and a Cronbach's alpha of .913, a rating considered high according to the requirements of a measurement instrument. In this way, this study contributes with the creation of a tool that integrates important motivational aspects focused on internal cognitive beliefs, based on expectations and the value of the task, as well as incorporating the assessment of the environment, for which reason it is estimated. that the IMLA is an instrument with a high potential for the educational and scientific field.

When Language is Played: Looking into Linguistic Creativity through Language Play

Abstract This article opens a window on linguistic creativity through an in-depth discussion of language play. To this aim, language play is initially conceptualized from a socio-cognitive perspective. ‘Language play for fun’ and ‘language play for practice’ as two dominant approaches in the relevant literature are, then, touched upon. Afterward, the paper elucidates how language play, in its various manifestations, can inform and influence linguistic creativity. In this respect, a theoretical (linguistic) and a socio-pragmatic perspective are presented. In particular, the paper addresses the possibility of playing to ‘language’ outside the box (i.e., to go beyond the conventional systemic constraints of language). Highlighting the ubiquity of language play, it also considers Wittgenstein’s notion of ‘language games’ (or Sprachspiele). Furthermore, the performative power of playful creativity to make and ‘unmake’ language in society is elaborated on. The article contends that language play may offer valuable insights to extend the borders of linguistic creativity. This argument is further developed under the purview of ‘complexity theory,’ ‘soft computing,’ and ‘computational linguistic creativity.’ Finally, the paper advocates an ‘integrated science’ approach to advance play-based research on linguistic creativity.

A socio-cognitive reinterpretation of Grice’s theory of conversation

Abstract Pragmatics research has been following two separate lines: the cognitive-philosophical line and the sociocultural-interactional line. Joining recent efforts of integration in pragmatics research, this paper reinterprets from a socio-cognitive perspective Grice’s theory of conversation (the Cooperative Principle with attendant maxims). The paper aims to incorporate social considerations into the theory, in the hope of enhancing its explanatory potential for information exchange in real-life discourse contexts. Focusing on cooperation as process, this paper examines Grice’s theory of conversation in connection with his theory of meaning and looks into the social-normative basis of the conversational behavior predicted by Grice. The conversational maxims can be characterized as socio-cognitive in the sense of being both cognitive and normative. They are normative expectations whose breach commits the speaker to interpretive and social consequences. The maxims used to be thought of in terms of a simple dichotomy: they are either observed or not observed, and non-observance has often been equated with non-cooperation. The paper draws attention to the fact that non-observance comes in different types (violating, opting out, flouting, and so on). It matters communicatively and extra-communicatively which type the non-observance falls into, as different types of non-observance have different interpretive and social consequences.

Self-Regulation in Academic Success: Exploring the Impact of Volitional Control Strategies, Time Management Planning, and Procrastination

Theoretical foundations in recent years emphasize that a significant number of students globally continue to exhibit a lack of commitment and motivation in school activities, leading to diminished proficiency levels in specific areas of study. The magnitude of this phenomenon, coupled with its evident social implications, suggests that we are facing restlessness and a growing demand for urgent answers and results. In the educational context, the sociocognitive perspective conceives the construct of self-regulation for learning as the management and mastery of a set of factors that emerge as crucial elements for high-quality learning and, predictably, academic success. To achieve this successful learning, it is crucial to manage and control variables such as volitional control strategies, planning of academic time management, and procrastination. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate, through the technique of structural equation modelling, that these variables impact students' self-regulation and predict academic performance. A sample of 565 students (Mage=12.97) from the 3rd cycle of basic education (7th, 8th, and 9th grades) participated, responding to a set of validated scales for the Portuguese context. The results indicated that students who employ more volitional control strategies and plan academic time management more effectively demonstrate higher levels of self-regulation for learning. However, those exhibiting higher levels of procrastination in school activities show a lower propensity to self-regulate their learning. Deepening the understanding of the elements that influence the learning process is crucial to promoting the quality of education and the development of autonomous, self-regulated, and competent students. A student who values school tasks, adopts self-regulatory strategies in their learning process, and manages their time dedicated to school activities appropriately and insightfully will undoubtedly be moving towards academic excellence.

L2 Pragmatic Competence in Chinese EFL Routines. Yuqi Wang (2023) Singapore, Springer, 144 pages, ISBN 978-981-19-6351-3

Pragmatic routines have long been considered essential tools for second/foreign language (L2) learners’ pragmatic competence and language use (Taguchi & Roever, 2017). However, the current literature is largely confined to the recognition, comprehension, and production of formulaic routines without considering the role of task modality in learners’ cognitive processing of such chunks (Roever, 2012). To fill this gap, in this monograph entitled “L2 Pragmatic Competence in Chinese EFL Routines”, Wang takes a cross-sectional approach to study L2 pragmatic routines of Chinese learners in light of pragmatic multimodality and the socio-cognitive perspective. In doing so, the author scrutinizes the mediating role of proficiency and study abroad experience in different aspects of pragmatic routines’ competence. This resource expands the scope of research on L2 pragmatic routines by integrating multidimensional pragmatic modalities into the study of routines as core constructs of pragmatic competence. It helps English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, teachers, researchers, and teacher trainers to actively focus on the promotion of L2 pragmatic routines. Moreover, this monograph presents some theories and practices that EFL educators may draw on to increase learners’ reception and production of routines in EFL contexts.

Achievement Goal Orientations of Iranian EFL Teachers in Postmethod Pedagogy Expertise

Purpose: The efficacy of postmethod pedagogy (PMP) in Iran remains undetermined despite the growing attention being paid to it. A multitude of factors may contribute to differing levels of motivation among teachers in effectively implementing postmethod principles. The Achievement Goal Theory (AGT), rooted in a socio-cognitive perspective, provides a framework for understanding the types of goals individuals tend to pursue in achievement situations. Hence, this study aims to investigate the goal orientations of experienced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers who are practicing postmethod tenets. Methodology: The current study employed an applied qualitative approach to explore the goal orientations of 18 experienced EFL teachers from various language institutes in Kermanshah, Iran. Participants were selected in two phases: first, a postmethod questionnaire was administered to identify respondents familiar with Postmethod Pedagogy (PMP) principles. Next, a semi-structured interview was conducted to elicit their goal orientations while adopting PMP conditions. Field notes were also used to document the researcher’s reflections and opinions, facilitating data analysis. The researchers utilized a three-stage approach for data analysis, following the inductive data coding method of open, axial, and selective coding. Findings: After analyzing the interview transcripts, it became apparent that the implementation of postmethod pedagogy tenets in teachers' teaching practice was influenced by their achievement goal orientations. This included learning, relational, and performance-approach goal orientations. The findings revealed that expert teachers predominantly exhibited learning goal orientations. In contrast, performance-approach goal orientations were the least prevalent among these educators. Conclusion: Examining teachers’ goal orientations through the socio-cognitive lens of postmethod language teaching can benefit the growth and development of teacher training programs, curriculum planning, and policymakers.

Not a Fairy Tale at All! Examining the Factors Underlying the Myths About Domestic Violence Among Romanian, Highly Educated Adults

ABSTRACT The myths about domestic violence refer to the false, stereotypical beliefs aimed to minimize, deny, or justify the aggression. The present research explored the factors underlying the myths about domestic violence using a socio-cognitive perspective. In a sample of 364 Romanian adults with a university degree, aged 19 to 75 (M = 36.46, SD = 10.97, 79.9% females), we explored how sexism, patriarchal beliefs, moral disengagement, and the Dark Triad traits might predict participants’ views on domestic violence. Regression analyses suggested that, in the male sample, the only predictor for the acceptance of the myths regarding domestic violence was moral disengagement, and the model accounted for more than 50% of the variance of the dependent variable. In the female sample, the strongest predictor was hostile sexism, and the model accounted for more than 40% of the variance of the acceptance of the myths regarding domestic violence. We discuss our results focusing on the practical implications of people’s beliefs about domestic violence and the importance of examining the underlying personal and cultural factors.

Visual metaphor of sadness in poetry comics: a socio-cognitive perspective.

Earlier literature on conceptual metaphor studies has extensively examined verbal metaphors of sadness in different text types and with cultural variations. However, there has been by far limited research on the visual metaphor of sadness. Adopting a socio-cognitive perspective, this study investigates the conceptual metaphor of sadness in the exemplary case of Chinese poetry comics drawn by Cai Zhizhong. The findings reveal that (1) BEING SAD IS BEING CONFRONTED WITH NATURAL FORCE and BEING SAD IS BEING PHYSICALLY ISOLATED are the two most frequently occurring visual metaphors across the panels; (2) all the visual metaphors at play can be explained according to the conceptual metaphor theory; (3) SADNESS IS BITTERSWEET FOOD OR DRINK and BEING SAD IS BEING PHYSICALLY ISOLATED are two additional kinds of sadness metaphors identified; and (4) the visual metaphors of sadness with Chinese cultural variations are rooted in mainstream Chinese cultural philosophies in the relevant period of history. The article also discusses the underlying mechanisms of the investigated visual metaphors in the Chinese culture by unveiling three cultural characteristics in the particular context.

A Sociocognitive Account of Willingness to Communicate from the Perspective of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory

This study investigates the dynamic nature of second language willingness to communicate (L2WTC) exploring the numerous factors that contribute to the construct. Drawing upon the sociocognitive perspective, we analyzed the environmental, individual, and linguistic factors that influence the development of L2WTC in an Iranian language learning context. Data were collected through interviews, stimulated-recall sessions, journal keeping, and observations from an intact class of five students. The environmental factors identified throughout the analysis stage were interlocutor familiarity, topic, teacher influence, task type, discussion dynamics, and family dynamics. The individual factors that were found to play a role in the development of L2WTC included anxiety, motivation, self-confidence, security, shyness, perfectionism, perceived need for the target language use, cultural identity, personality, interest in the topic, fear of failure, seeking validation, cultural adaptation, and emotional state. Finally, perceived and actual linguistic competence were among the linguistic factors that influenced L2WTC. Overall, the findings of this study confirmed that L2WTC is a multifaceted complex system that is constantly reacting to environmental changes.

Cognitions affecting innovation among generation Z entrepreneurs: the external enablement of digital infrastructure

PurposeThe current research aimed to investigate the external enablement role of Digital Infrastructures (DI) in the interplay of entrepreneurial cognitions and innovation.Design/methodology/approachData from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) were used for analyses. This yielded a sample of 8,601 Generation Z entrepreneurs operating in 25 European countries.FindingsApplying hierarchical moderated regressions showed that socio-cognitive components of an entrepreneurial mindset (self-efficacy, risk propensity, opportunity identification) affect innovation among Generation Z entrepreneurs. More importantly, DI plays an external enablement role in the interplay of cognitions and innovation among Generation Z entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the socio-cognitive theory of entrepreneurship by integrating an external enablement perspective into the study of cognitions and entrepreneurial outcomes (here, innovation). It contributes to the digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship by connecting the conversation about the socio-cognitive perspective of entrepreneurship regarding the role of cognitions in innovation to the conversation in information systems (IS) regarding technology affordances and constraints. This study extends the application of the external enabler framework to the post-entry stage of entrepreneurial activity and integrates a generational perspective into it.

Beyond learning opportunities: focused encounters in a sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition and teaching

Abstract This paper introduces the sociological concept of focused encounters (FEs) as a tool for researching interaction in second language acquisition and teaching. FEs are face-to-face interactions affording joint attention, intersubjectivity, interaffectivity, and interactional alignment, considered key contributors to learning in some SLA/T approaches. First, we introduce the FE concept. Second, we situate FEs within a sociocognitive approach to SLA/T. Third, we apply the FE concept in investigating interaction in an Australian English as a second language classroom. Fourth and finally, we discuss our analysis’s wider implications for learning and teaching: Studying interaction in FEs from a sociocognitive perspective enables investigation not just of language learning opportunities but of moment-by-moment learning processes.

Alignment and embodiment in a play script writing process: A sociocognitive perspective

Recent development in second language acquisition scholarship has advanced our understanding of how language is acquired by aligning the mind, body, and socio-material world. Although many studies have been conducted from this perspective, more study on alignment focusing on writing a play script story in literature is needed. Drawing upon the idea of socio-cognitive alignment, this study investigated English literature student interactions during the process of writing a play script. It aims were to find out how mind-body-world as socio-cognitive alignment could contribute to a meaning-making process during writing a play script. A moment analysis was used as a method for analyzing data which were elicited from an audio/videotape recording and semi-structured interviews using a digital platform. Results revealed that the integration of mind, body, and world was well-coordinated during the process of writing the play script. That is, the integration of mind-body-world was evident in how the students employed both verbal resources and other multimodalities in working with literary works and fiction. The study also demonstrated the importance of alignment and interaction for the development of fiction writing and language competence of EFL students.

A move analysis of Chinese L2 student essays from the sociocognitive perspective: Genres, languages, and writing quality

A move analysis of Chinese L2 student essays from the sociocognitive perspective: Genres, languages, and writing quality

Learner vs Teacher Centered Classes: Critical Discourse Analysis of Stakeholders' Stance from Socio-Cognitive Perspective

The research conducted for this study took place in a Pakistani educational institution. It compared the learner-centred (LC) and teacher-centred (TC) methods and investigated the learners' opinions regarding each method. This study employed qualitative methodology. Two classroom discussions were recorded in LC and TC modes to capture data. Participants in the study were given an open-ended questionnaire. Analyses of data were guided by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The application of the socio-cognitive model (Dijk, 2006) and 3D model (Fairclough, 1995) revealed speech and ideology differences between TC and LC. The learners preferred the LC method. This research will encourage other academics to research different instruction methods. This research will also benefit applied linguists, particularly language teachers, to determine the effectiveness of teaching methods.