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Skill complementarity enhances heterophily in collaboration networks.
Wen-Jie Xie1,2,3, Ming-Xia Li2,3, Zhi-Qiang Jiang1,4
1School of Business, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
Scientific Reports
|January 9, 2016
Summary
Skill complementarity drives heterophily in collaboration networks, showing people prefer diverse partners. This finding, observed in online societies, highlights the benefits of varied skills for increased production output.
Area of Science:
- Social Network Analysis
- Computational Social Science
- Human Behavior Studies
Background:
- Empirical evidence indicates strong homophily (similarity) in social network formation.
- Homophily suggests individuals tend to connect with similar others.
- Limited research exists on factors promoting network diversity beyond homophily.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how skill complementarity influences the formation of collaboration networks.
- To quantify heterophily (diversity) in collaboration networks.
- To explore the relationship between skill diversity and productivity.
Main Methods:
- Construction of a utility-maximization model for collaborator selection.
- Analysis of a large dataset from online societies to identify collaboration patterns.
- Model calibration to validate empirical findings on heterophily.
- Longitudinal analysis to track network evolution.
Main Results:
- Skill complementarity significantly enhances heterophily in collaboration networks.
- Individuals actively form ties with collaborators possessing different skills.
- Heterophily is a persistent feature in evolving online societies.
- Higher skill complementarity correlates positively with increased production output.
Conclusions:
- Skill complementarity is a key driver of diversity in collaboration networks.
- Online societies serve as valuable platforms for studying human behavior in socioeconomic systems.
- Promoting diverse collaborations can lead to enhanced productivity.
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