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Publications
  • May, 2019
  • Article
  • CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings

Who Would You Like to Work With?: Use of Individual Characteristics and Social Networks in Team Formation Systems

By: Diego Gomez-Zara, Matthew Paras, Marlon Twyman, Jacqueline N. Lane, Leslie A. DeChurch and Noshir Contractor
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Abstract

People and organizations are increasingly using online platforms to assemble teams. In response, HCI researchers have theorized frameworks and created systems to support team assembly. However, little is known about how users search for and choose teammates on these platforms. We conducted a field study where 530 participants used a team formation system to assemble project teams. We describe how users’ traits and social networks influence their teammate searches, teammate choices, and team composition. Our results show that (a) what users initially search for differs from what they finally choose: initially they search for experts and sociable users, but they are ultimately more likely to choose their prior social connections; (b) users’ decisions lead to nondiverse and segregated teams, where most of the expertise and social capital are concentrated in a few teams. We discuss the implications of these results for designing team formation systems than promote users’ agency.

Keywords

Team Formation; Groups and Teams; Recruitment; Networks; Diversity

Citation

Gomez-Zara, Diego, Matthew Paras, Marlon Twyman, Jacqueline N. Lane, Leslie A. DeChurch, and Noshir Contractor. "Who Would You Like to Work With? Use of Individual Characteristics and Social Networks in Team Formation Systems." Art. 659. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings (May, 2019).
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About The Author

Jacqueline Ng Lane

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • September–October 2024
    • Organization Science

    The Crowdless Future? Generative AI and Creative Problem-Solving

    By: Léonard Boussioux, Jacqueline N. Lane, Miaomiao Zhang, Vladimir Jacimovic and Karim R. Lakhani
    • 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Narrative AI and the Human-AI Oversight Paradox in Evaluating Early-Stage Innovations

    By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Léonard Boussioux, Charles Ayoubi, Ying Hao Chen, Camila Lin, Rebecca Spens, Pooja Wagh and Pei-Hsin Wang
    • May–June 2024
    • Organization Science

    Setting Gendered Expectations? Recruiter Outreach Bias in Online Tech Training Programs

    By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Karim R. Lakhani and Roberto Fernandez
More from the Authors
  • The Crowdless Future? Generative AI and Creative Problem-Solving By: Léonard Boussioux, Jacqueline N. Lane, Miaomiao Zhang, Vladimir Jacimovic and Karim R. Lakhani
  • Narrative AI and the Human-AI Oversight Paradox in Evaluating Early-Stage Innovations By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Léonard Boussioux, Charles Ayoubi, Ying Hao Chen, Camila Lin, Rebecca Spens, Pooja Wagh and Pei-Hsin Wang
  • Setting Gendered Expectations? Recruiter Outreach Bias in Online Tech Training Programs By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Karim R. Lakhani and Roberto Fernandez
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