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Social Cohesion

The research area on social cohesion in business informatics examines how digital technologies can influence and promote social cohesion in society.

 

We address the following research questions in this focus area:

  • What impact do parasocial relationships with AI-based agents or virtual influencers have on digital loneliness and social well-being?
  • How do gaming platforms such as Twitch or Reddit influence social cohesion and identity formation within communities?
  • What social challenges arise from new business models in the gig and sharing economy, and how do these influence individuals and society?

Sample publications from the chair:

Bäumler, J., Kaufhold, M. A., Voronin, G., & Reuter, C. (2024). Towards an Online Hate Speech Classification Scheme for German Law Enforcement and Reporting Centers: Insights from Research and Practice. In Mensch und Computer 2024 Workshop Proceedings (pp. 10-18420). Gesellschaft für Informatik eV.

Bezzaoui, I. S., Schewina, K., & Voronin, G. (2024). Navigating Democracy's Challenges: A Review of Research Projects on False Information and Hate Speech. Wirtschaftsinformatik 2024 Proceedings, 122.

Mirbabaie, M., Bunker, D., Stieglitz, S., Marx, J., & Ehnis, C. (2020). Social media in times of crisis: Learning from Hurricane Harvey for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic response. Journal of Information Technology, 35(3), 195-213.

Ross, B., Pilz, L., Cabrera, B., Brachten, F., Neubaum, G., & Stieglitz, S. (2019). Are social bots a real threat? An agent-based model of the spiral of silence to analyze the impact of manipulative actors in social networks. European Journal of Information Systems, 28(4), 394-412.

Stieglitz, S., Hofeditz, L., Brünker, F., Ehnis, C., Mirbabaie, M., & Ross, B. (2022). Design principles for conversational agents to support emergency management agencies. International Journal of Information Management, 63.

Stieglitz, S., & Dang-Xuan, L. (2013). Emotions and information diffusion in social media—sentiment of microblogs and sharing behavior. Journal of Management Information Systems, 29(4), 217-248.

Stieglitz, S., Mirbabaie, M., & Potthoff, T. (2018). Crisis Communication on Twitter during a Global Crisis of Volkswagen—The Case of “Dieselgate.”

Stieglitz, S., & Dang-Xuan, L. (2013). Social media and political communication: a social media analytics framework. Social network analysis and mining, 3, 1277-1291.

Voronin, G., Abramova, A., & Stieglitz, S. (hopefully). Primary and Spillover Effects of Social Media Intergroup Contact on Social Cohesion: Evidence from an Intervention Study on Instagram. Journal of Association of Information Systems.