Data Science for Social Good

2023 | Journal of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Abbasi, Ahmed; Chiang, Roger; Xu, Jennifer

Abstract: Data science has been described as the fourth paradigm of scientific discovery. ... Expand

Abstract: Data science has been described as the fourth paradigm of scientific discovery. The latest wave of data science research, pertaining to machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), is growing exponentially and garnering millions of annual citations. However, this growth has been accompanied by a diminishing emphasis on social good challenges-our analysis reveals that the proportion of data science research focusing on social good is less than it has ever been. At the same time, the proliferation of machine learning and generative AI has sparked debates about the sociotechnical prospects and challenges associated with data science for human flourishing, organizations, and society. Against this backdrop, we present a framework for "data science for social good" (DSSG) research that considers the interplay between relevant data science research genres, social good challenges, and different levels of sociotechnical abstraction. We perform an analysis of the literature to empirically demonstrate the paucity of work on DSSG in information systems (and other related disciplines) and highlight current impediments. We then use our proposed framework to introduce the articles appearing in the JAIS special issue on data science for social good. We hope that this editorial and the special issue will spur future DSSG research and help reverse the alarming trend across data science research over the past 30-plus years in which social good challenges are attracting proportionately less attention with each passing day. Collapse

Topics: societal evaluation criteria digital dashboard productivity social media pandemic

Methods: word embedding literature study literature sample longitudinal research design science

An Investigation of Domain-based Social Influence on ChatGPT-Related Twitter Data

2023 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Ahangama, Supunmali

Abstract: ... Expand

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Topics: Twitter social influence social media social identity robotic

Methods: chatGPT sentiment analysis multiple linear regression term frequency–inverse document frequency NLTK

Relating Social Media Diffusion, Education Level and Cybersecurity Protection Mechanisms to E-Participation Initiatives: Insights from a Cross-Country Analysis

2023 | Information Systems Frontiers | Citations: 0

Authors: Ahangama, Supunmali

Abstract: Virtual Social Networks (VSN) act as a catalyst for the success of the active pa ... Expand

Abstract: Virtual Social Networks (VSN) act as a catalyst for the success of the active participation of citizens in information sharing, collaboration, and decision making. VSN based e-participation tools allow many-to-many communication and collaboration near real-time with users who might be in geographically dispersed locations. It provides a platform to voice opinions and perspectives and share them with others in new and innovative ways. Cybersecurity is a key area that needs to be considered for the success and continuous use of e-participation systems as it protects user privacy and helps to avoid scams, harassment, and misinformation. The intervening effect of cybersecurity protection mechanisms and citizens’ education level on the relationship between VSN diffusion and e-participation initiatives is explored in the proposed research model presented in this paper. Moreover, this research model is explored for different stages of e-participation (e-information, e-consultation, and e-decision making) and the five dimensions of cybersecurity (legal, technical, organizational, capacity building, and cooperation). The findings indicate that improved VSN usage has increased e-participation (especially in e-consultation and e-decision making) as a result of improved cybersecurity protection and public education, highlighting the varying importance of different cybersecurity protection measures for three stages of e-participation. Thus, considering the recent problems like platform manipulation, misinformation and data breaches associated with the use of VSN for e-participation, this study emphasizes the importance of regulations, policies, partnerships, technical frameworks, and research to ensure cybersecurity, as well as the importance of education to enable the public to interact productively in e-participation activities. This study is performed using publicly available data from 115 countries and the research model is developed, drawing theoretical basis from the Protection Motivation Theory, Structuration Theory, and Endogenous Growth Theory. This paper recognizes the theoretical and practical implications, and limitations while recommending future research directions. Collapse

Topics: IT security decision making human resource management social network government system

Methods: survey partial least squares path modeling cross sectional research mediation analysis archival research

Theories: protection motivation theory structuration theory

Responsible innovation with digital platforms: Cases in India and Canada

2023 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 6

Authors: Ahuja, Suchit; Chan, Yolande E.; Krishnamurthy, Rashmi

Abstract: Marginalized communities globally encounter grand challenges such as lack of acc ... Expand

Abstract: Marginalized communities globally encounter grand challenges such as lack of access to education, healthcare, and sustained livelihoods. Several initiatives to address these complex, global problems have resulted in fragmented solutions. Recognizing this, there have been several calls for the study of responsible innovation (RI) to address grand challenges. Digital platforms such as AirBnB, Uber and so forth have now become commonplace and are known to generate economic value but also face criticism for being exploitative and exclusive. Only a handful of studies show how similar platforms can innovate responsibly to serve marginalized communities by generating simultaneous economic and social value. To address this gap, our study examines the cases of two platforms that orchestrated ecosystems consisting of individuals from marginalized communities, government agencies, and other entities to provide physical, digital and societal solutions based on principles of RI. We contribute to the RI and IS literatures to show how RI solutions can be fostered through digital platforms to address grand challenges. The article provides empirical evidence of all four dimensions of the RI framework—anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion, and responsiveness - and their operationalization through digital platforms. This research lays the foundation for future studies at the intersection of RI and digital platforms literature. The study also provides practice insights on developing digital platform solutions for marginalized communities to address grand challenges and is useful to policymakers to formulate appropriate interventions. It pushes the theoretical and practice boundaries of our understanding of RI and digital platforms. Collapse

Topics: digital platform mobile application social media innovation management business model

Methods: qualitative interview theory development case study triangulation archival research

Theories: theory of economic development

Brand Crisis and Customer Relationship Management on Social Media: Evidence from a Natural Experiment from the Airline Industry

2023 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 0

Authors: Al Balawi, Ramah; Hu, Yuheng; Qiu, Liangfei

Abstract: In this study, we investigate the effect of a brand crisis on the customer relat ... Expand

Abstract: In this study, we investigate the effect of a brand crisis on the customer relationship management (CRM) efforts of brands on social media. Despite the opportunities social media offers to brands to connect and engage with customers, it is still unclear how a brand crisis can change a brand’s social CRM efforts. Social media platforms can amplify the negative consequences of a brand crisis. However, the unique and public nature of social media platforms can offer new means for brands to handle a brand crisis and publicly manage their customer relationships. Compared with traditional CRM, social media enables brands to communicate with their customers publicly, which can strengthen their relationships with customers and maintain higher levels of customer engagement. Leveraging a natural experiment setting, we investigate the impact of the United Airlines crisis on three dimensions of social CRM efforts: informativeness, timeliness, and attentiveness. Contrary to traditional CRM efforts and recommendations, we find that the brand crisis increases informativeness efforts but reduces timeliness and attentiveness efforts.History: Yong Tan, Senior Editor; Beibei Li, Associate Editor.Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2022.1159. Collapse

Topics: social media Twitter customer service customer satisfaction customer relationship management

Methods: mediation analysis longitudinal research robustness check natural experiment experimental group

Get a Word in Edgewise: Post Character Limit and Social Media-Based Customer Service

2023 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Al Balawi, Ramah; Hu, Yuheng; Qiu, Liangfei

Abstract: In this paper, we study the role of extending character limits on firm responses ... Expand

Abstract: In this paper, we study the role of extending character limits on firm responses on social media. By leveraging a natural experiment setting: the unexpected increase in post character limit on Twitter, we empirically investigate the impact on the linguistic styles of social media-based customer service responses. Using a Regression Discontinuity in Time Design and leveraging a panel dataset, our results suggest that extending character limits influences firm to change the linguistic styles in their responses which could influence consumers' perceptions. Our results show that extending post-character limits significantly reduces the readability ease of firm responses, on average, while increasing the concreteness and personal closeness scores of these responses, on average. We show that these changes were effective in influencing customer satisfaction. Collapse

Topics: social media Twitter customer service customer satisfaction user experience

Methods: instrumental variables estimation regression discontinuity design descriptive statistic regression analysis method robustness check

Theories: theory of affordance

The Roles of Opinion Leaders in Elevating Online Health Discussion: Evidence from Reddit

2023 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Alazazi, Massara; Wang, Bin

Abstract: Social networking sites and online communities are used by billions of people g ... Expand

Abstract: Social networking sites and online communities are used by billions of people globally. It is important to understand the participation in these collaborative platforms and the roles different participants play. In this study, we examine the roles both local and global opinion leaders play and their influence on the community using content related to Covid mental health from Reddit. We employed social network analysis to identify opinion leaders based on their network position and connections, and we used sentiment analysis and econometric models to examine their impact on online health community participation. Our study reveals that global opinion leaders have more influence on thread participation than local opinion leaders. In addition, negative emotions expressed encourage more participants' involvement in online health community discussion. Collapse

Topics: electronic health Reddit covid 19 social network website

Methods: sentiment analysis social network analysis regression analysis method econometric modeling statistical hypothesis test

sPAN-pROP: Combatting Contextualized Social Media State-Linked Propaganda in the Middle East

2023 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Aleroud, Ahmed; Melhem, Abdullah Bani; Alhussien, Nour; Albert, Craig

Abstract: Social Cyber-attacks such as propaganda, conspiracy theories, anger, and hate d ... Expand

Abstract: Social Cyber-attacks such as propaganda, conspiracy theories, anger, and hate discourse are very old phenomena that inflict harm to humans, organizations, national security, public officials, democratization efforts, careers, and policies. There have been significant efforts to identify anti-US speech on social media which includes propaganda. Such efforts largely ignore the attempts by other countries to manipulate social media in some regions including the Middle East. Research in this area is computational and solely focuses on fine tuning language models to detect general propaganda attacks. This paper addresses a new category of propaganda attacks that are tied to state-linked accounts that spread anti-US propaganda by taking advantages of specific geo-political crises in the Middle East. We investigated the role of general language models and training data to detect those forms of propaganda. Our study concludes that existing propaganda training data is unable to successfully detect targeted propaganda. We propose a contextualized span detection approach to identify these types of propaganda and show that our targeted training models work significantly better compared to the existing general propaganda detection approaches. Collapse

Topics: Twitter IT security threat social media armed conflict misinformation

Methods: language model experiment deep learning PyTorch literature study

Social media platforms and social enterprise: Bibliometric analysis and systematic review

2023 | International Journal of Information Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Ali, Imran; Balta, Maria; Papadopoulos, Thanos

Abstract: A considerable number of contributions at the intersection of social media platf ... Expand

Abstract: A considerable number of contributions at the intersection of social media platforms and social entrepreneurship has been witnessed over the past decade. The multi-disciplinary nature of current literature necessitates inte­ grative insights on the topic. We thus undertake a two-pronged approach – bibliometric analysis followed by systematic review – to map the extant literature in a structured, objective, and quantitative way. We contribute to the literature as we (i) offer a classification of the literature in three clusters, namely ‘social media platforms, social collaboration and social marketing’, ‘social media platforms and crowdfunding, and ‘social media plat­ forms and crowdsourcing’; (ii) analyze recent research development in each cluster, methodological develop­ ment, countries co-authorship and evolution of research in the area; and (iii) propose a conceptual framework -accompanied by research propositions- that provides an overview of the literature at the intersection of social media platforms, various social entrepreneurial practices and their influence on the social enterprise perfor­ mance. Our review culminates with numerous impactful research avenues for scholarly progression in the area. From a practical standpoint, this review integrates scattered findings into one body, allowing the practitioners and policymakers to discern the role of social media platforms in dealing with emerging societal problems and increasing operational efficiencies of social enterprises (SEs). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review of its kind, offering unique perspectives at the nexus of social media platforms and SE’s performance. Collapse

Topics: social media crowdsourcing marketing management crowdfunding digital platform

Methods: literature sample bibliometric analysis literature study structured literature research co-citation analysis

Theories: structuration theory dynamic capabilities theory

Human vs. Automated Sales Agents: How and Why Customer Responses Shift Across Sales Stages

2023 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 0

Authors: Adam, Martin; Roethke, Konstantin; Benlian, Alexander

Abstract: Customers in sales processes increasingly encounter automated sales agents (ASAs ... Expand

Abstract: Customers in sales processes increasingly encounter automated sales agents (ASAs) that complement or replace human sales agents (HSAs). Yet, little is known about whether, how, and why customers respond to ASAs in contrast to HSAs across successive decision stages of the same sales process. Even less is known about customer responses to HSA-ASA combinations, where both agents assume distinct roles and focus on complementary tasks that are traditionally performed by only one single sales agent. Against this backdrop, this paper explores the influence of increasingly common sales representative (rep) types (i.e., ASA, HSA, and HSA-ASA) on customer decisions across sales stages. Drawing on information processing theory and the literature on hedonic-utilitarian decision making, we investigate customer responses to text-based ASAs from vendor companies in two common early stages of email sales processes (i.e., sales initiation stages) when customers successively decide whether to indicate their initial interest in an offer and then, whether to provide their contact information. Specifically, we conducted two complementary multi-decision experiments, namely (1) a randomized field experiment in a high-stakes sales initiation setting (n = 325) and (2) a subsequent randomized online experiment to complement the real-world insights (n = 408). Our core findings reveal reversing effect patterns of sales rep types across stages: although customers are more likely to indicate their initial interest to HSAs (versus ASAs) because of HSAs’ higher levels of social presence, they are less likely to provide contact information to HSAs because of HSAs’ lower levels of performance expectancy and effort expectancy. We also show that HSA-ASA combinations can be reasonable options for single ASAs, yet contextual features of the sales setting may affect differential customer responses to HSA-ASA combinations (versus ASAs) in each sales stage. Taken together, we uncover shifting effect patterns in customer responses to sales rep types across successive sales stages and shed light on the consecutive underlying mechanisms that explain these shifts. These findings have significant implications for vendor companies seeking to allocate HSAs and/or ASAs effectively across various decision stages in sales processes and beyond. History: Wonseok Oh, Senior Editor and Khim Yong Goh; Associate Editor. Funding: This work was supported by the Center for Responsible Digitality (ZEVEDI) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) [Grant 471168026]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2022.1171. Collapse

Topics: electronic mail social presence decision making recommender system information system use

Methods: experiment randomized field experiment regression analysis method experimental task field experiment

Theories: information processing theory