Call for Papers: Managing Social Networks: How Ubiquitous Technologies and Social Media Can Foster the Marriage Between Innovation and Youth Entrepreneurship

A special issue of International Journal of Technology Management

Technology and social network-based entrepreneurship form a critical link between development of knowledge and economic growth and thus are a prerequisite for implementing innovation inside fast-growing companies. Even large investments in knowledge and technology development will not ensure economic outcomes if not supported by the entrepreneurial opportunity seeking and commercialisation of ubiquitous technologies.

In this scenario, social networks (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) re-created the way by which individuals and businesses use technology and internet. New generations of internet applications and social media services will build on active social networks, feature personalised content and offer the ability to exchange data and media with other users. The emergence and popularity of online social networks in recent years has changed the Internet ecosystem, leading to a more collaborative environment. The importance of this phenomenon for research in social sciences and technology management is clearly evidenced by the increasingly associated emerging technologies and applications including online content sharing services and communities, multimedia communication over the Internet, social multimedia search, interactive services and entertainment, health care and security applications.

In particular, social networks provided great opportunities for the development and growth of (mainly but not only) technology-based companies run by young entrepreneurs (e.g. students, researchers). Social networks can play the role of core service and/or critical communication channels of these companies.

 Although the connection between social networking and young entrepreneurship is quite common and strong, literature about this phenomenon is still scarce. The aim of this special issue is to explore how ubiquitous technologies and social networks/media foster the emerging of youth entrepreneurship and the development of innovation processes inside them. This call for papers is devoted to examine social networks as a new multidisciplinary research field that bridges business studies and technology management.

 We wish to inspire scholars with an interest in topics such as innovation, techno-entrepreneurship, information systems, social networks, organisational design or knowledge management to consider submitting their work to this special issue. We welcome both theoretical work and empirical research using quantitative or qualitative methods. All articles should demonstrate relevance to the understanding of social software and its implications for business and innovation. Readers of this special issue are technically savvy, scientifically demanding and drawn to practically relevant phenomena.

 The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the Sixth Edition of the International Conference Health, Research and Entrepreneurship expected to be held on 26th October 2012, but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate to the conference to submit papers for this call.

Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

•  Young entrepreneurs and technological innovation for the exploitation of social networks
•  Large established companies and social network-based companies promoted by young entrepreneurs
•  Financing social network-based companies promoted by young entrepreneurs
•  Cross-cultural and/or cross-industry comparisons between young entrepreneurs in the social network age
•  Strategy and business models of social network-based companies promoted by young entrepreneurs
•  Organisational innovation carried out from social networks in youth enterprises
•  Tools, frameworks and techniques for integrating social networks and ubiquitous interactions in youth enterprises
•  Adapted interaction in social networks, contextual friend grouping and labelling mechanisms in youth enterprises
•  Online social networks as virtual context sensors for youth entrepreneurship
•  Mobile sensing, social networks integration, geo-social mobile systems and ubiquitous interactions for fast growing firms
•  Creation of technology-based ventures (sources of financing, resource and opportunity seeking, success factors and barriers, entrepreneurs’ profiles, motives and attitudes, case studies of technology-based ventures)
•  Growth of technology-based ventures promoted by young people through social networks (business models and strategies of achieving growth, financing the growth).
•  Public policy for technology entrepreneurship promoted by young people through social networks (technology parks, financing instruments, legal and tax arrangements promoting investments in technology).

Furthermore this special issue aims at answering research questions which include:

•  Do innovation processesthat emerge from social networks of actors or communities differ from the processes inside traditional organisational boundaries? What are the consequences of networks of innovation for enterprise evolution?
•  Industry incumbents protect their markets by erecting entry barriers. Networks building on social software infrastructure may undercut entry barriers by utilising the Internet for one or more activities in the value chain. What are the successful new strategies that enable firms to enter industries?
•  Revealing information, knowledge, and technology to peers and competitors can be a promising strategy in order to sustain knowledge exchangeand motivate external experts to contribute their know-how and time. However, the presence of for-profit firms can crowd-out volunteer participation. How can collaboration and the social interaction of communities of volunteers and firms be initiated and sustained?
•  Entrepreneurs embrace new technologies in search of opportunities in existing and new markets. Which social media applications best enable new innovation practices? What are the technologies that allow entrepreneurs to successfully experiment with social media/networks?

Important Dates
Submission Deadline (Extended Abstracts [max 500 words plus references]): 30 June 2012
Notification of Acceptance (Extended Abstracts): 15 July 2012
Submission Deadline (Full Paper): 30 November 2012
Notification of Acceptance/Revisions (Full Paper): 28 February 2013
Final paper production deadline: 30 April 2013