• September 16, 2022
• Article

The authors analyzed data from multiple large-scale randomized experiments on LinkedIn’s People You May Know algorithm, which recommends new connections to LinkedIn members, to test the extent to which weak ties increased job mobility in the world’s largest professional social network. The experiments randomly varied the prevalence of weak ties in the networks of over 20 million people over a 5-year period, during which 2 billion new ties and 600,000 new jobs were created. The results provided experimental causal evidence supporting the strength of weak ties and suggested three revisions to the theory. First, the strength of weak ties was nonlinear. Statistical analysis found an inverted U-shaped relationship between tie strength and job transmission such that weaker ties increased job transmission but only to a point, after which there were diminishing marginal returns to tie weakness. Second, weak ties measured by interaction intensity and the number of mutual connections displayed varying effects. Moderately weak ties (measured by mutual connections) and the weakest ties (measured by interaction intensity) created the most job mobility. Third, the strength of weak ties varied by industry. Whereas weak ties increased job mobility in more digital industries, strong ties increased job mobility in less digital industries.

• September 6, 2022
• Article

This study analyzes the role of co-invention in the creation of a platform for print-on-demand-clothing, or PODC. Co-invention is the invention of a new business process to complement new technology, and turn it into a valuable commercial service. PODC copies a design onto clothing with immaterial effect on the cost, and irrespective of the scale of the batch. In its modern form, PODC extends to more than two dozen different pieces of clothing and other items, enabling buyers to personalize clothing with any art. The digital printing machines used in PODC contain numerous technical inventions, while the electronic commerce platform contains the important business processes. The study examines a pioneering PODC platform from Threadless, and analyzes how this new platform emerged from a sequence of co-inventions. The study highlights the level of discretion given to graphic artists to foster trust with the platform, and it shows how a hierarchy of business process co-inventions overcame the coordination issues inherent in building a large scale and new multi-sided platform.

• 2022
• Article

Growing enthusiasm for remote patient monitoring has been motivated by the hope that it can improve care for patients with poorly controlled chronic illness. In a national commercially insured population in the U.S., we found that billing for remote patient monitoring increased more than fourfold during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of this growth was driven by a small number of primary care providers. Among the patients of these providers with a high volume of remote patient monitoring, we did not observe substantial targeting of remote patient monitoring to people with greater disease burden or worse disease control. Further research is needed to identify which patients benefit from remote patient monitoring, to inform evidence-based use and coverage decisions. In the meantime, payers and policy makers should closely monitor remote patient monitoring use and spending.