Leveraging social networks in the adoption of mobile technologies for collaboration

Mobile devices such as tablets, smart phones, and portable computers are connecting users in a myriad of contexts. Social networks can be a benefit for individuals in the knowledge acquisition process, and group dynamics disclosed by Social Network Analysis provides a good basis for studying how mobile collaboration is affected by social networks. This study focuses on two aspects of social network mechanism, namely eigenvector centrality and network reciprocity. The assumption is that social networks influence mobile technology use behaviors, and can be optimized to leverage mobile collaboration. A series of controlled field experiments involving 327 groups were conducted to evaluate the differences between two modes of mobile collaborative settings: individual non-collaborative vs. group collaborative. Results indicate that by leveraging social networks in a mobile platform, study participants were able to positively heighten their collaborative knowledge acquisition process through enhanced group interactions and enjoyment.