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Abstract Online innovation competitions are ecosystems where institutions source numerous solutions from knowledge workers through a platform intermediary. By considering how an individual competitor’s performance varies based on their social positioning in a competition ecosystem’s collaboration network, we illustrate the value of social networks for individual outcomes in online competitions. The study reports results from Kaggle, a popular online competition platform for data science, where a sample of 350,956 users participated in 2,789 competitions over 4 years. We investigate how the number of collaborations, membership in the largest connected component in the network, and diversity of collaboration experiences impact the points and medals earned and how quickly competitors earn their first medal. Results show that positioning has a positive relationship with performance in competitive ecosystems. Relevant to the future of work, the study considers how knowledge workers in future workplaces should manage their online collaborations.
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Social Workers as Information Navigators: Insights into the Use of the Web for Serving Clients
Abstract Social workers’ critical role as service navigators on behalf of their clients is expanding in the online space at a faster pace than ever before. This study examined the process and outcome of online information navigation through the lens of service providers and service users based on observational and interactive surveys. T tests and correlation results showed that human services providers demonstrated a higher capacity to visit more websites and yield more accurate search outcomes in a similar duration of time compared with general service users. Results suggest that digital literacy for navigating information online can be improved through educational opportunities. At the same time, both groups shared some common feedback on desired features for future service navigation online, including but not limited to an open search bar, search filters, instruction videos, live chat, and discussion forums for seeking mutual help and networking. The findings bear implications for formulating the roles, responsibilities, and desired competencies of social workers for online service navigation in the digital and postpandemic future.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1737443
- PAR ID:
- 10371292
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Social Work
- Volume:
- 67
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0037-8046
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 351-361
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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