ILROB 3280

Competing with Social Networks

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2015-2016.

Social networks are an important part of our life.  We rely on personal networks to meet new people, to find a new job, to make our friendships stronger. Unfortunately, our social networks do not always perform as well as we expect them.  For example, our social connections may not know about any job opportunities that we already do not know about.  This is how Social Network Failure occurs.  In the past decade or so a number of online social platforms and social media organizations, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and eHarmony among others, arise to address the failure of real world social networks by helping people who cannot meet and stay in touch in the offline world do so effectively online.  This class will focus on understanding how such organizations operate and compete.  Specifically, we will focus on uncovering principles that explain how online social platform organizations can (1) build a sufficient user membership; and (2) monetize on this membership without scaring members off.  Using lectures, case analyses and discussions of both the "new age" companies, like Facebook and Twitter, and traditional companies, like American Express and Nike, we will learn how to apply the network failure framework to help social network organizations create competitive advantage.

When Offered Fall.

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