Breaking the Norm - On the Determinants of Informational Nonconformity in Online Social Networks

Behavior in social groups follows unwritten codes, with the social group one is embedded in defining what behavior is acceptable and what is not. Prior research has found strong tendencies toward informational isomorphism in groups in online social networks, as social peers seem to establish a shared understanding of what behavior is acceptable and what informational content is okay to share. However, these isomorphic tendencies have disadvantages, in that not all the available and potentially useful information is shared within the social group. Peers who actively introduce new and potentially controversial information are key in overcoming this problem, but this bears the risk of violating social norms. We seek to identify the determinants that explain why individuals decide to take the risk, and derive an explanatory model from theory. This research-in-progress paper describes the theoretical reasoning behind our model, and introduces our measurement strategy.