The document is a presentation by Thomas Langenberg about his background, research, and future plans. It summarizes his educational and professional background, discusses his dissertation research on information exchange in user communities and social networks, and presents some initial findings. It then briefly outlines some potential future directions, including continuing research on technological innovation, online social networks, and riding "waves" of new opportunities.

1. Information Exchange in User Communities: A Study of Individual Level Determinants and Firm Level Effects in the U.S. Snowsports Industry Public Dissertation Defense by Thomas Langenberg August 31, 2007

6. Let me introduce to you Bob, the R&D manager, and Frank, an engineer. Both are enthusiastic about skiing and work for Rossignol Skis on a technology project. Bob, R&D Manager Frank, Engineer INTRODUCTION Bob & Frank, a social network Bob and Frank have been assigned to work together on a new powder ski project. They work in a team of five (1 Bob and many Franks). signals information flow in one direction only Information Exchange in Social Networks The Franks and Bob actively exchange information about potential aspects of this project. signals information flow in two directions

7. It is interesting to look at Bob and Frank’s social network, because the academic literature shows increasing interest in the comparison of structural network configurations and their effects on information exchange (IE) INTRODUCTION The network could look like this .. Structural Configuration Effects on IE Frank is dependent on Bob’s input Bob can actively control what Frank knows information exchange it could also look like that vs Both Bob and Frank are sharing the same information Frank is totally independent from Frank

10. Based on an intensive literature review, I find that Rossignol’s ability to innovate is among other things a result of Bob’s position in the engineering team’s set-up myRESEARCH FINDINGS Set-ups of Engineering Team Bob, R&D Manager Frank, Engineer Bob’s position : decentral Network Structure : sparse Ability to Innovate : low Explanation : Bob has no control over or access to information and communication flows. no product Effect on Rossignol’s Innovativeness Bob’s position : central Network Structure : dense Ability to Innovate : high Explanation : Bob has access to information and communication flows. Also, team members are always informed about what is going on. innovative product

12. U.S. alpine skiing is an interesting subfield of U.S. Snowsports due to its contradicting developments: decreasing sales & participation and increasing firm creation activities source: leisuretrends.com source: SIA Report 2005 myRESEARCH INTRODUCTION Participation & Equipment Sales are Decreasing Entrepreneurial Wave in U.S. Alpine Skiing 30% of the currently competing ski firms in U.S. alpine skiing have been founded during the last 6 years. All of them are in the freestyle skiing segment.

13. For companies operating in U.S. alpine skiing, there are basically two technical dimension along which they can differentiate themselves from competitors (2) Differentiation along core design & construction principles source: www.skibuilders.com (1) Differentiation along ski geometry/design parameters source: www.fischer-ski.com myRESEARCH INTRODUCTION Ski length Running length Camber Tip and tail width Waist width

17. Bob and Frank are members of various communities, such as newschoolers.com or skibuilders.com. In all of them, they are perceived as very important. Why? myRESEARCH INTRODUCTION Creative individuals often use online communities to share ideas Research Question: Why are Bob and Frank indispensable for information exchange, while others are not? It is not yet clear how one can identify members that are more relevant to informaiton exchange in a user community than others Research Gap

20. According to my analysis Frank and Bob indeed outperform most of the members with respect to participation in information exchange and emotional commitment Descriptive Statistics & Pairwise Correlation Regression Results myRESEARCH FINDINGS

25. Being active members in the newschoolers.com community strengthens Jim & Pam’s opinion about Rossignol as being not very credible in U.S. freestyle skiing Perceived Credibility of Rossignol Low Exposure to newschoolers.com High Exposure to newschoolers.com myRESEARCH Low FINDINGS Low Case 1: Low Exposure to Media < Perceived Credibility of Rossignol of Perceived Credibility of Rossignol of Explanation Jim is influenced by the “prevailing opinion” of newschoolers.com members High Exposure to Media Pam Pam Jim Jim

26. Actively sourcing additional information from the media helps Jim & Pam to improve their perception of Rossignol’s credibility in U.S. freestyle skiing Exposure to Media Low Exposure to newschoolers.com High Exposure to newschoolers.com Case 2: High Exposure to Media High Low High Perceived Credibility of Rossignol > Perceived Credibility of Rossignol of Perceived Credibility of Rossignol of Explanation Jim learns in the media that Rossignol is quite active when it comes to driving freestyle skiing myRESEARCH FINDINGS Pam Jim Pam Jim

29. What am I going to do next? Good question, because there are so many options and opportunities … myFUTURE (Semi) Professional Triathlete Iron Ore Mining & Steel Making Expert

30. … in any case, as many of you might already know, I think I will continue to ride waves! e-governance open source software technolgical innovation online social networking Aerospace Engineering IT Consultancy & System Integration Academic Program Manager & Researcher Researcher Social Sciences Professional Triathlete technology & operations management myFUTURE http:// thomaslangenberg.com

31. This is the end! Thank You For Your Attention