4th Social Networks Society (SNS) Conference

FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2026

8:30–8:55  Registration and light breakfast

8:55–9:00 Welcome

9:00–10:30 Plenary Full Paper Session 1

Perceiving Networks: Cognition, Bias, and Social Evaluation

• Who Comes to Mind? How Network Proximity Drives Recall Bias, Hui Sun, (Frankfurt School of Finance & Management);  Lisheng He, (Shanghai   University); Adam Kleinbaum, (Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business)
• Inferred Networking Motives: How observers’ inferences affect networkers’ relational outcomes, Theresa Floyd, (University of Montana); Meredith Woehler, (Purdue University); Kristin Cullen-Lester, (University of Mississippi); Seong Won Yang, (University of Mississippi); Siyu Yu, (University of Michigan)
• Gender Differences in the Forms of Agency Higher-Ranking Contacts Signal and their Impact on Men’s and Women’s Performance Evaluations, Meredith Woehler, (Purdue University); Kristin Cullen-Lester, (University of Mississippi); Caitlin Porter, (University of Missouri-Kansas City); Alexandra Gerbasi, (University of Exeter Business School)

Discussant: Eric Quintane, (ESMT Berlin – European School of Management and Technology)

10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break 

11:00 – 12:00 Plenary Short Session A –

Networks, Inequality, and Social Evaluation

• Escaping the Shadow of Giants: How Mentor Retractions Reshape Apprentices’ Scientific Careers, Raquel Pruna, (ESADE Business School); Kaushik Bagchi, (ESADE Business School)
• Who Becomes a Target of Dissonant Ties? Creativity and the Career–Social Tradeoff, Ying Li, (UCL School of Management); Shihan Li, (London Business School); Martin Kilduff, (UCL School of Management); Sunny Lee, (UCL School of Management)
• When Insiders Talk: Negative Gossip Network and the Socialization of Organizational Newcomers, Yifan Song, (Mays Business School, Texas A&M University); Huiwen Lian, (Mays Business School, Texas A&M University); Zishuo Ye, (Mays Business School, Texas A&M University); Qinglin Zhao, (Mays Business School, Texas A&M University); Jingzhou Pan, (Tianjin University)
• Gender Status Beliefs and Network Dynamics in the Solidarity Economy, Natalia Garrido-Skurkowicz, (ESADE Business School); Christian Steglich (University of Groningen)

12:00–12:15 Coffee Break

12:15–13:15 Plenary Short Paper Session B

Network Structure, Dynamics, and Innovation

• Inter-professional Brokerage and the Emergence of Innovation Catalysts, Camilla Mola, (LUISS Guido Carli University)
• Restructuring Workplace Networks: A Randomized Field Experiment, Ozgecan Kocak (Emory University), Abraham Oshotse  (Emory University), Jill Perry-Smith (Emory University), Andrea G. Dittmann (University of South California), Adam Kleinbaum (Tuck School of Business), Sameer Srivastava (UC Berkeley)
• Do Better Connected Neighborhoods Have More Startups? A Network Perspective, Neelam Jain, (Columbia Business School); Jorge Guzman, (Columbia Business School); Mario Small, (Columbia University)
• Language Multiplexity at Work: How Dual-Language Ties Shape Network Structure and Employee Outcomes, June Shin, (School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University)

13:15–14:15 Lunch

14:15–15:00 Keynote Presentation

• Tiziana Casciaro, (Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto)

15:00–15:15 Coffee Break

15:15–16:45 Plenary Full Paper Session 2

Gender, Inequality, and Access to Network Advantage

• Sense of Belonging Predicts Women’s (But Not Men’s) Brokerage in Organizational Networks, Andrew Choi, (UCL School of Management); Shihan Li, (London Business School); Raina Brands, (UCL School of Management); Aneeta Rattan, (London Business School) & Joshua Becker, (UCL School of Management)
• Who You Ask Matters: Gendered Returns to Family and Professional Advice in Early-Stage Innovation, Francesca Nannetti, (NEOMA Business School); Elisa Operti, (ESSEC Business School)
• Field Evidence of Gender Differences in Sponsorship Tie Formation and Dissolution, Elizabeth Campbell, (University of Minnesota); Shihan Li, (London Business School); Catherine Shea,(Carnegie Mellon University)

Discussant: Paola Zappa, (UCL School of Management)

16:45–17:15 Coffee Break

17:15–18:45 Plenary Paper Session 3

Strategic Networking in Context: Behaviour Across Social Enviroments

• Seeking but not Sharing: Mutual Networking-up and Asymmetric Knowledge Transfer in Organizations, Massimo Maoret, (IESE Business School); Ruo Mo, (Montpellier Business School); Fabio Fonti,  (NEOMA Business School); Arushi Aggarwal; (ESSEC Business School)
• Walls Within, Bridges Beyond: Woman-to-Woman Relationships in Men-Dominated Work Contexts, Jamie Strassman, (University of South Carolina); David Harrison, (University of Texas)
• The Paradox of Digital Environments: Signaling and Socialization among Newcomers in Entrepreneurial Networks, Julian Held, (University of Neuchâtel); Claudia Jonczyk, (University of Neuchâtel); Emmanuelle Fauchart, (University of Fribourg)

Discussant: Martin Kilduff, (UCL School of Management)

19:15–20:00 Cocktail

20:00 – 22:30 Dinner

SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2026

9:00–10:30 Plenary Paper Session 4

The Psychology of Network Formation and Social Capital

• Converting Pseudo Ties into Social Capital, Jung Won Lee, (ESSEC Business School); Shihan Li, (London Business School); Daniel Levin, (Rutgers University)
• Self-Affirmation and Network Behavior: A Field Experiment of Women Entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan, Madina Nurguzhina, (Imperial College London); Anne ter Wal, (Imperial College London); Hee Jung Jung, (Imperial College London); Michelle Rogan, (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford)
• Reducing Workplace Ostracism Experiences Through Social Network Change, Susan Zhu,(University of Kentucky); Mikhail A. Wolfson, (University of Kentucky); Giuseppe (Joe) Labianca, (University of Massachusetts); Nicolina Taylor, Wyoming College of Business); Robert Krause, (University of Kentucky); Seong-Won Yang, (University of Mississippi); Dale Watson, (Penn State Harrisburg); Noelle Otto, (University of Kentucky)

Discussant: Jessica Methot, (School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University)

10:30–10:45 Break

10:45–11:45 Parallel Short Paper Sessions C & D

Session C – Network Dynamics, Evolution, and Adaptation (Q-101)

• Resilience in Adversity: Adverse Events and the Evolution of Physician Collaborations, Victoria Zhang,(D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University)
• Network Dynamics in Scientific Problem-Solving: Selective Retention Across Phases, David McBee, (Estonian Business School)
• From Networks to Serendipity—and Back: Ego-Network Dynamics in Entrepreneurial Journeys, Emin Altun, (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Anna Moretti, (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
• Brokering Careers: Exploring the Role of Network Brokers in Creative Industries, Chesta Ahuja, (UCL School of Management); Raina Brands, (UCL School of Management)

Session D – Networks in Context: Teams, Mobility, Markets (Q-102)

• Network Favoritism: A Meta-Analytic Investigation, Thea Tomova Shakur, (Texas Christian University); Peyton Berry,  (University of Memphis); David Allen, (University of Exeter Business School)

• Shooting for the Stars: The Role of Informal Leaders’ Status in Team Assembly, Pol Solanelles, (University of North Florida); Kristin Cullen-Lester (University of Mississippi)

• Managing Transitions in Internal Mobility: How Movers’ Dual Embeddedness Creates Overall Gains, Yezi Kang (University of Groningen)

• The Structure of Price-Setting Interdependence: A Two-Step Network Framework, Yinji Zhou, (Bayes Business School, University of London); Simone Santoni, (Bayes Business School, City University London)

11:45–12:15 Coffee Break

12:15–13:45 Paper Session 5

Network Structure and Performance: From Teams to Firms

• Role Reversal: Why Structural Diversity, Not Just Demographics, Drives Team Success, Brandy Aven, (Carnegie Mellon University); Shihan Li, (London Business School)

• Inventor Network Community Structure and Firm Invention Outcomes, Yi-Jin Sam Chen, (University of Exeter Business School); Andrew Parker, (University of Exeter Business School; Stefano Tasselli, (University of Exeter Business School)
• Groove Robbers: The Impact of Copyright Litigation on Artists’ Collaboration Networks in Music, Arushi Aggarwal, (ESSEC Business School); Elisa Operti, (ESSEC Business School)

Discussant: Alessandro Iorio, (Bocconi University)

13:45–14:00  Conference Wrap-Up – Discussant: Stefano Tasselli

14:00–15:30 Cocktail lunch