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Global Village or Cyber-Balkans? Modeling and Measuring the Integration of Electronic Communities

Boston University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 595 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 30 Wadsworth Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
mva{at}bu.edu
erikb{at}mit.edu

Information technology can link geographically separated people and help them locate interesting or useful resources. These attributes have the potential to bridge gaps and unite communities. Paradoxically, they also have the potential to fragment interaction and divide groups. Advances in technology can make it easier for people to spend more time on special interests and to screen out unwanted contact. Geographic boundaries can thus be supplanted by boundaries on other dimensions. This paper formally defines a precise set of measures of information integration and develops a model of individual knowledge profiles and community affiliation. These factors suggest specific conditions under which improved access, search, and screening can either integrate or fragment interaction on various dimensions. As IT capabilities continue to improve, preferences—not geography or technology—become the key determinants of community boundaries.

Key Words: globalization; information economy; information flows; computerization of society; organizational structure; economic impacts; balkanization; social networks
History: Received: October 27, 1999;

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