2022.Dec.23

REPORTS

The 3rd BAIRAL Research Meeting for 2022 Report on “The Application of Social Science Research for Business”

On June 29th, 2022, “BAIRAL” (a study group organized by research assistants of the B’AI Global Forum) held its third meeting for 2022 online. The guest speaker was Mr. Naoki Maejima, who is responsible for research and development at Sansan, Inc. and has high expertise in social network analysis. In the meeting, he gave a presentation on his company, basic concepts and recent trends in social network analysis, and how social network analysis is utilized for the development of business products. This was followed by participants asking and discussing related topics.

To achieve the goal “Turning encounters into innovation,” Sansan, Inc. offers various services such as a contact database for corporations based on the exchange of business cards. In the presentation, Mr. Maejima mainly introduced basic knowledge on social network analysis which underlies many of the products offered by Sansan, Inc. Social network analysis is a scientific method to investigate patterns of relations among people or groups (social networks) and examine the cause or result of such connection. A well-known idea developed in social network analysis, for instance, argues that people are likely to acquire useful information for changing jobs from casual acquaintances who can bridge different social groups. This phenomenon is known as ‘the strength of weak ties.’ In addition, in recent years, researchers have not only analyzed existing social relations but also conducted experimental studies which intervene in the formation and design of social networks. Applying theories and findings in such social network analysis to business situations, Mr. Maejima has developed services to analyze the aptitudes of employees, support team building, and facilitate encounters among employees in different fields.

Following the introduction by Mr. Maejima, participants discussed a variety of topics such as the details of the procedures of social network analysis and social issues which might be solved by utilizing social network analysis. For example, one participant asked the following question: “what can social network analysis do to support the connection among female engineers, in other words, to decrease the gender gap in a community?” According to Mr. Maejima, although difficult to answer, this question is definitely important and could be solved by utilizing social network analysis. One insight proposed by him, for instance, is that it is possible to distinguish “the diversity of group members” from “the diversity of networks among members” and that we should not only pursue the former but also achieve the latter.

Through this meeting, we learned a variety of concepts, perspectives, and potentials of social network analysis. Although there are still lots of arguments and uncertain findings in social network analysis, this research field, in the age of big data, can develop and expand more rapidly and has huge potential to be applied into various social issues.