Two-mode Social Network Analysis Research Articles

Promoting the Application of Big Data in Construction through Stakeholder Collaboration Based on a Two-Mode Network

Presently, the application of big data in the construction industry encounters numerous obstacles and involves diverse stakeholders, with the intricate network of relationships between these factors and stakeholders remaining unclear. Investigating stakeholders’ management priorities and collaborative patterns can facilitate the development of BDAC. Therefore, this study employs a two-mode social network analysis to explore stakeholders’ power and attitudes toward the factors of BDAC. Firstly, the initial list of stakeholders and factors is identified based on the literature and expert interviews, followed by a questionnaire to establish stakeholder–factor relationships and construct the network. Subsequently, the adjacency matrix, centrality, core–periphery structure, and hierarchical cluster are adopted to analyze the network. The results found that (1) technical factors need to be addressed by all stakeholders due to complexity; (2) due to the low resource similarity of factors and low power similarity of stakeholders, all stakeholders should be involved in the collaboration; and (3) government, developers, and consultants, as core stakeholders, exhibit a proactive inclination towards collaborative efforts in addressing central factors, and can coordinate with peripheral stakeholders. Consequently, this study establishes a stakeholder collaboration model centered on the government–developer–consultant trio, which provides clear responsibility allocation and strategic guidance for fostering long-term, effective collaboration in BDAC.

Development and analyses of stakeholder driven conceptual models to support the implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management in the U.S. Caribbean.

Fisheries management agencies in the U.S. Caribbean are currently taking steps into transitioning from a single species approach to one that includes Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) considerations. In this study, we developed and analyzed stakeholder-driven conceptual models with seven different stakeholder groups in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to assess and compare their perceptions of the fishery ecosystem. Conceptual models were developed for each stakeholder group during 29 separate workshops involving a total of 236 participants representing Commercial Fishers, Managers, Academics, Local Businesses, Environmental NGOs, and the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) District Advisory Panels (DAPs) and Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC). Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (nMDS) and two-mode social network analysis were used to investigate differences and similarities between stakeholder groups as well as to identify priority ecosystem elements and threats. Results show important variations between stakeholders and islands in terms of their perceived importance of ecosystem components and relationships, which supports the need for collaborative approaches and co-production of knowledge in the United States (U.S.) Caribbean region. Despite this variation, important areas of common concern among stakeholders were identified such as: habitat integrity (e.g., coral reefs), water quality, and influence of recreational fisheries and tourism on marine ecosystems. Findings of this study support the use of stakeholder-driven conceptual models as effective tools to guide decision-making, aid prioritization of data collection, and increase collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders in the context of fisheries management.

Overcoming the Collaboration Barriers among Stakeholders in Urban Renewal Based on a Two-Mode Social Network Analysis

The relationship among stakeholders is complicated and full of collaboration barriers, which makes urban renewal an intersection of various contradictions. However, the existing literature considers the barriers to urban renewal independent of stakeholders, and the interaction between multiple stakeholders and barriers to collaboration has been ignored. Therefore, this study uses a literature review and expert interviews to identify stakeholders and their collaboration barriers in the process of urban renewal. Based on the results of expert questionnaires, a two-mode network model of stakeholder–collaboration barrier is constructed to clarify the complex interaction and reveal the power and status of stakeholders in a network relationship. The study found that each barrier was associated with at least three stakeholders, indicating the necessity of stakeholders to establish partnerships. Further analysis shows that the government, local and other administrative organizations, consulting parties, and developers are the most influential stakeholders. The vague boundary of property rights, lack of expert advice and expertise, and different stakeholder awareness were identified as key barriers affecting sustainable collaboration. Finally, this study proposes and validates five strategies to promote collaboration among stakeholders. This study helps practitioners identify the priority problems to be solved under limited resources and provides effective measures to promote stakeholder collaboration.

Exploring stakeholder collaboration based on the sustainability factors affecting the sharing economy

Stakeholder collaboration is receiving increasing attention due to its promoting effect on the sharing economy. However, what forms do stakeholders take to collaborate in light of the sustainability factors affecting the sharing economy on the economic, environmental and social dimensions is not clear. Therefore, this paper proposes a methodology that integrates the value net model and two-mode social network analysis to study stakeholder collaboration by analysing the network structure of stakeholders and sustainability factors. The research finds that the core stakeholders in the sharing economy consist of individual suppliers, firm suppliers and sharing economy platforms. The social motivation, security mechanism, industry supervision, economic benefits and level of cooperation are the key factors of sustainable development, which provide more paths for stakeholders to take measures for collaborative development. Regarding the encouragement of sustainable development of the sharing economy, more stakeholders, such as suppliers and platforms related to sharing economy, have the ability to generate economic and social value rather than environmental value. However, economic, social and environmental value can to some extent be simultaneously improved by adjusting the strategy of stakeholder collaboration.

An evolving international research collaboration network: spatial and thematic developments in co-authored higher education research, 1998\u20132018

Co-authored research articles in the disciplinarily heterogeneous field of higher education have dramatically increased in this century. As in other fields, rising international co-authorships reflect evolving international collaboration networks. We examine higher education research over two decades, applying automated bibliometric topic identification and social network analysis of 9067 papers in 13 core higher education journals (1998–2018). Remarkable expansion in the volume of papers and co-authorships has, surprisingly, not resulted in a more diverse network. Rather, existing co-authorship patterns are strengthened, with the dominance of scholars from a few Anglophone countries largely maintained. Researchers globally seek to co-author with leading scholars in these countries, especially the US, UK, and Australia—at least when publishing in the leading general higher education journals based there. Further, the two-mode social network analysis of countries and topics suggests that while Anglophone countries have led the development of higher education research, China and Germany, as leading research-producing countries, are increasingly influential within this world-spanning network. Topically, the vast majority of co-authored papers in higher education research focuses on individual-level phenomena, with organizational and system or country-level analysis constituting (much) smaller proportions, despite policymakers’ emphasis on cross-national comparisons and the growing importance of university actorhood. We discuss implications thereof for the future of the multidisciplinary field of higher education.

Overcoming Collaboration Barriers in Urban Renewal Through Stakeholders: A Two-Mode Social Network Analysis

Overcoming Collaboration Barriers in Urban Renewal Through Stakeholders: A Two-Mode Social Network Analysis

Linking corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and organizational performance in the construction industry: A resource collaboration network

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been touted as an important agenda among construction practitioners. Hitherto, the nexus between CSR and organizational performance is still a lack of investigation in the CSR in construction knowledge. This study explores the capabilities of various CSR practices toward achieving productive business benefits among construction firms. Firstly, a two-stage variable formulation procedure results in a list of practices and the perceived benefits of CSR. Then, we collected data from ninety extra-grade construction firms through an online questionnaire survey and analyzed data using a two-mode social network analysis approach. The results of the centrality analysis show that, with the highest centrality scores in the network, (i) the most influential CSR practices include such as “implement safety production management system” and “constrain consumption of materials and reduce material waste”; and (ii) the top key perceived benefits of CSR include such as “local and overseas business opportunities,” “brand, image, and reputation,” and “reduction of supply risk of building materials.” The developed CSR practice-perceived benefit network presents a core-periphery structure, with 26 practices and five perceived benefits situate in the core positions and have intensive relationships. Drawing upon the integrated stakeholder theory and the contingency resource-based view of firms, the demystified novel CSR resource collaboration network enriches the theoretical discourses of CSR by recognizing stakeholder salience and the need for relationship management. Practically, the findings of this study provide a helpful reference for practitioners to collaborate corporate resources, optimize their current CSR strategies, and improve business performance for sustainable development.

Improving Construction Industrialization Practices from a Socio-Technical System Perspective: A Hong Kong Case.

Construction Industrialization (CI) tends to improve industrial performance and contributes substantially towards global sustainability. Considering these merits, many countries and regions, including Hong Kong, have released policies to promote CI uptake. However, those policy interventions ignore the dynamic influence of stakeholders and technologies, which significantly influence the efficient management of CI. In response, this study aimed to objectively depict a real socio-technical system of CI uptake based on a representative case study in Hong Kong. Further, this study identified the critical issues associated with the CI uptake and proposed policy-related recommendations to overcome the key issues. In addition, this study proposed a novel approach based on two-mode social network analysis to facilitate the analysis from a socio-technical perspective. Theoretically, this depicts the interactions of construction industry stakeholders and artifacts within a dynamic, complex socio-technical environment, indicating a new stance for construction management. Finally, this research also provides valuable implications for the government to anticipate the impact of different CI policies on promoting its uptake within the complex socio-technical system.

Stakeholders’ power over the impact issues of building energy performance gap: A two-mode social network analysis

Abstract Energy-related stakeholders play a critical role in energy-saving and emission reduction. However, most previous studies focused on only a few stakeholders (e.g., occupant, designer and owner). Therefore, there is a lack of systematic analysis of energy-related stakeholders. Improving building energy efficiency requires the collaboration of all stakeholders in the building lifecycle. This study applies a two-mode social network model to investigate the stakeholders’ power over the impact issues of building energy efficiency. Results show that all issues can be addressed by at least two stakeholders, thereby indicating the potential of collaboration in building energy management. Designers, manufacturers, commissioning agents and researchers are the most influential stakeholders with the highest degree centrality, betweenness centrality and eigenvector centrality. Insufficient knowledge and experience, lack of information integrity and unclear responsibility are the most influential impact issues. With the density of interaction being 1.000, nine core stakeholders (i.e. owner, designer, contractor, subcontractor, supervisor, manufacturer, commissioning agent, energy manager and researcher) and four core issues (i.e. unclear responsibility, poor collaboration and communication, insufficient knowledge and experience, and lack of information integrity) have intensive relationships. The core stakeholders account for 75% of the total stakeholders, whereas the core issues account for 25% of the total issues. Moreover, five strategies that are useful in promoting collaboration are proposed and validated. After the proposed strategies are implemented, the density of the collaboration network increased from 1.242 to 2.652. This study is not only expected to help researchers in understanding the complex interrelationships between stakeholders and issues but also practitioners in promoting effective collaboration strategies.

A framework for mapping stakeholders interests related social sustainability in residential building

Dwelling is the primary necessity of every human being. Population growth and urbanization movements without being matched by land availability in urban areas make the need for residential buildings higher. Land use from horizontal to vertical patterns gives not only advantages but also disadvantages. Buildings need to adopt sustainable construction concepts to provide maximum benefits in short as well as long term throughout their life cycles. Social sustainability is one aspect of sustainable development that has a relationship with community needs. The different roles of each stakeholder make them have a different interest too and very important to fulfil it, so it is necessary to identify each stakeholder’s interest. Commonly used method only indicating which stakeholders or criteria are more significant separately does not explain how stakeholders can influence it. To bridge the research gap, this paper aims to propose a framework that can analyze stakeholders’ influence to achieve social sustainability. The result of paper is a model using two-mode social network analysis to map stakeholders and their claims relating to social sustainability in residential buildings. The model can show the importance of the social sustainability criteria and stakeholders who have a significant role and should be prioritized more comprehensively.

Social Network Analysis of Dementia Wards in Psychiatric Hospitals to Explore the Advancement of Personhood in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

Background:Little is known on investigating how healthcare teams in dementia wards act for promoting personhood in persons with Alzheimer’s disease (PWA).Objective:The current research aimed to identify the social networks of dementia health carers promoting the personhood of PWA in acute or long-term dementia wards in public and private psychiatric hospitals.Methods:We used a mixed-method research approach. Ethnographic observations and two-mode Social Network Analysis (SNA) captured the role and social networks of healthcare professionals promoting PWA personhood, using SocNetv version 2.4. The social network graphs illustrated how professionals participated in PWA care by computing the degree of centrality (%DC) for each professional; higher values indicated more statistical significance of a professional role compared to others in the provision of personhood care. The categories of personhood were biological, individual, and sociologic. Nurses, doctors, ward managers, hospital managers, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, care coordinators, physiotherapists, healthcare assistants, and family members were observed if they were promoting PWA personhood.Results:The highest %DC in SNA in biological personhood was held by the ward nurses (36%), followed by the ward doctors (20%) and ward managers (20%). All professional roles were involved in 16% of cases in the promotion of individual personhood, while the hospital managers had the highest %DC (33%) followed by the ward managers and nurses (27%) in the sociologic personhood.Conclusion:All professional roles were deemed to promote PWA personhood in dementia wards, although some limitation exists according to the context of the assessment.

Brokers in a destination's knowledge networks

Abstract This paper applies a two-mode social network analysis approach to identify the brokers in knowledge networks resulting from interactions taking place at specialized seminars and courses organized in a tourism destination. Empirical findings show that technology and innovation centers can be the leading hub of ‘administered knowledge networks’ – understood as efficient knowledge governance arrangements – in which a wide variety of actors, including universities, private-sector associations, public organizations, and firms play complementary roles depending on the nature of the interactions (formal transfer versus informal exchange flows). These structures are found to be fundamental for the functioning of localized systems of learning.

Overcoming barriers to off-site construction through engaging stakeholders: A two-mode social network analysis

Rapid urbanization and the issue of environmental degradation compel developing countries to find a cleaner approach to replace or complement the traditional on-site construction method. Off-site construction (OSC) with its various advantages has been regarded as a promising approach to address the problems confronted in developing countries. However, promoting the adoption of OSC is indeed a tough task that still faces multiple barriers. It is stakeholder collaboration by integrating diverse resources within the construction industry that can potentially address these barriers. Although multiple studies have been conducted from various perspectives, the issue of stakeholder collaboration, as the key to promoting OSC adoption, has been overlooked. This research aims to explore stakeholders’ influencing power over such barriers using two-mode social network analysis. Firstly, 13 barriers to the OSC adoption, as well as 15 stakeholders with the power to overcome these barriers, were identified based on literature and expert judgments. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was conducted comprising 39 responses from experts with rich experience in OSC in Chongqing, China. Centrality and core-periphery structure analyses were adopted to study the network. The results show that the government and developers have the highest degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and eigenvector centrality, and thus are the most influential stakeholders in the network. Similarly, the lack of knowledge and expertise, and the dominant conventional project process have the highest values of centrality among all barriers. With the density of interaction being 0.814, core stakeholders and barriers have intensive relationships, and the network shows an apparent core-periphery structure. Theoretically, this study demonstrates the use of the two-mode social network in construction research, and practically, this study sheds lights on how to effectively drive the adoption of OSC in developing countries through promoting stakeholder collaboration.

Political embeddedness in environmental contexts: the intersections of social networks and planning institutions in coastal land use

ABSTRACTDespite well-documented climate change risks, coastal developments are still built. This article argues that the success or failure of development approval is conditioned by political embeddedness: the intersections of social network and institutional power. By synthesizing Granovetter’s theory of structural embeddedness with a Polanyian account of land’s institutional embeddedness in protective zoning, two-mode social network analysis methods are utilized to explore how both forms of embeddedness influence development processes. Comparing two South Australian case studies of an apartment complex and a surf club development, we illustrate how influential social actors emerge from within land use institutions, who then occupy network positions to co-ordinate the exercise of power between, and through, organizations. This theoretical approach to political embeddedness brings back in a finer-grained appreciation of how power is actively practised through the uneven social topography arising out of land use zoning. An implication of these findings is greater analytical attention should be given to how different land use zonings open divergent lines of contest in attempts to achieve more environmentally just outcomes. By doing so, we call for a sociologically informed conceptualization of political embeddedness in environmental studies, which is in contrast to current theoretical and methodological eclecticism.

Who should take the responsibility? Stakeholders' power over social responsibility issues in construction projects

Construction projects involve multiple stakeholders with different abilities that enable them to deal with the social problems that arise during the project lifecycle. This research aims to study the dynamic stakeholder power in implementing social responsibility issues in construction projects. Empirical research among Hong Kong construction industry practitioners was conducted to investigate the powers of seven stakeholders over thirty-five social responsibility issues. The data was analyzed using two-mode social network analysis methods and processed by Netminer 4. It was found from the results that internal and external stakeholders have control in different domains pertaining to social responsibility issues, but it does not mean either group has superior power. Ranked by the power status on social responsibility issues, the seven stakeholders are classified into five hierarchies: 1) governments, developers, and main contractors; 2) district councils, 3) consultants; 4) non-government organizations; 5) end users. The dynamic nature of stakeholders' powers has been elucidated by describing the power changes in different project stages, as well as in different social responsibility dimensions.

Improving Management of Green Retrofits from a Stakeholder Perspective: A Case Study in China.

Green retrofits, which improve the environment and energy efficiency of buildings, are considered a potential solution for reducing energy consumption as well as improving human health and productivity. They represent some of the riskiest, most complex, and most uncertain projects to manage. As the foundation of project management, critical success factors (CSFs) have been emphasized by previous research. However, most studies identified and prioritized CSFs independently of stakeholders. This differs from the reality, where the success of green retrofits is tightly interrelated to the stakeholders of projects. To improve the analysis from a stakeholder perspective, the present study proposed an innovative method based on a two-mode social network analysis to integrate CSF analysis with stakeholders. The results of this method can provide further understanding of the interactions between stakeholders and CSFs, and the underlying relationship among CSFs through stakeholders. A pilot study was conducted to apply the proposed method and assess the CSFs for green retrofits in China. The five most significant CSFs are identified in the management of green retrofit. Furthermore, the interrelations between stakeholders and CSFs, coefficient and clusters of CSFs are likewise discussed.

Network Characteristics and the Value of Collaborative User-Generated Content

User-generated content is increasingly created through the collaborative efforts of multiple individuals. In this paper, we argue that the value of collaborative user-generated content is a function both of the direct efforts of its contributors and of its embeddedness in the content–contributor network that creates it. An analysis of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine reveals a curvilinear relationship between the number of distinct contributors to user-generated content and viewership. A two-mode social network analysis demonstrates that the embeddedness of the content in the content–contributor network is positively related to viewership. Specifically, locally central content—characterized by greater intensity of work by contributors to multiple content sources—is associated with increased viewership. Globally central content—characterized by shorter paths to the other collaborative content in the overall network—also generates greater viewership. However, within these overall effects, there is considerable heterogeneity in how network characteristics relate to viewership. In addition, network effects are stronger for newer collaborative user-generated content. These findings have implications for fostering collaborative user-generated content.