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PurposeThis study aims to understand how firms in developing economies acquire knowledge about social sustainability by leveraging the social capital embedded in firms' social network, through optimally governing relationships with network members. The study proposes that relational and contractual governance mechanisms interact with various structural facets of the network, resulting in varying degrees of social sustainability related knowledge acquisition.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data collected with a multiple respondent survey design from 204 manufacturing firms located in major industrial cities in Pakistan were used. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) followed by hierarchical regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe study finds that both relational and contractual governance mechanisms are positively related to a firm's social sustainability-related knowledge acquisition, but their effectiveness is impacted by the structural facets of the network. Network size positively moderates the relationship between relational governance and social sustainability related knowledge acquisition, whereas both network range and strength of ties negatively moderate the relationship between contractual governance and social sustainability related knowledge acquisition.Practical implicationsPractitioners with resource-constrained firms should interact with their social network to leverage the knowledge and resources embedded within. The findings prescribe optimal governance strategies for different combinations of network structure variables to gain maximum knowledge about social sustainability.Originality/valueThe literature lacks information on the effect of network structure on the relationships between social network governance and social sustainability-related knowledge acquisition for resource-constrained firms in the developing economy context, making this study's contributions unique.

Social network sites have taken a strong position in the space of socio-political communication. In the modern world, the necessity to analyze events occurring in the virtual space for a relevant reaction to events occurring in reality, is generally recognized. The study of online processes is largely based on the analysis of quantitative data that allows talking about the activity of users and their involvement. However, the meaning of the information transmitted in social networks remains important. In the framework of this study, an attempt is made to determine the specifics of broadcasting protest agendas in social networks and the impact of their transformation on the process of involving users in online protest activity. Examples of 7 protest campaigns accompanied by active coverage in social networks are given. Conclusions are drawn about the specifics of broadcasting protest agendas in social networks and supporting users from their transformation.

It is apparent that file sharing on the Internet has become an emerging norm of media consumption-especially among young people. This book provides a critical perspective on this phenomenon, exploring issues related to file sharing, downloading, peer-to-peer networks, ""piracy,"" and (not least) policy issues regarding these practices. Andersson Schwartz critically engages with the justificatory discourses of the actual file-sharers, taking Sweden as a geographic focus. By focusing on the example of Sweden-home to both The Pirate Bay and Spotify-he provides a unique insight into a mentality

AbstractSocial network analysis (SNA) is an increasingly popular approach that provides researchers with highly developed tools to map and analyze complexes of social relations. Although a number of network scholars have explicated the assumptions that underpinSNA, the approach has yet to be discussed in relation to established philosophies of science. This article argues that there is a tension between applied and methods‐orientedSNAstudies, on the one hand, and those addressing the social‐theoretical nature and implications of networks, on the other. The former, in many cases, exhibits positivist tendencies, whereas the latter incorporate a number of assumptions that are directly compatible with core critical realist views on the nature of social reality and knowledge. This article suggests that SNA may be detached from positivist social science and come to constitute a valuable instrument in the critical realist toolbox.

This is the first textbook on social network analysis integrating theory, applications, and professional software for performing network analysis. The book introduces the main concepts and their applications in social research with exercises. An application section explaining how to perform the network analyses with Pajek software follows each theoretical section

"Bilder kursieren auf Social Network Sites zuhauf. Doch welche Bilder stoßen bei den Usern tatsächlich auf Interesse, so dass sie auch angeschaut werden und vielleicht sogar für Gesprächsstoff sorgen? Sind es Bilder des Kultur- und Konsummarktes, Bilder mit ausgeprägt sexuellem Bezug oder letztlich ganz gewöhnliche Bilder aus dem Privatleben der User? Diese Studie hat mit festzeit.ch ein Portal untersucht, das wegen seiner wettbewerbszentrierten 'Fotocharts' die User ganz besonders zum Bilderanschauen ermuntert. Das Resultat stellt Spekulationen um die Marktdurchdringung und das 'Fremde' im Netz deutlich infrage: Zwar schwimmen in der Flut der Bilder die sexuellen Inhalte und die Bilder des Marktes regelmäßig obenauf. Aber gemessen an der Zahl privater Bilder ist ihr Anteil gering. Das gilt erst recht für die eigentlichen Bildgespräche: Selbst in den Charts, wo das Buhlen um Aufmerksamkeit die treibende Kraft ist, ernten private Bilder die meisten Kommentare. Methodologisch betrachtet ist die Studie im Schnittfeld quantitativer und qualitativer Netzwerkanalysen anzusiedeln. Der Schritt hin zu akteurszentrierten Interpretationsansätzen erfolgte mithilfe von bimodalen Netzwerkvisualisierungen, die u.a. um bildinhaltliche Aspekte angereichert waren." (Autorenreferat)