New NSERC Funding for Data-Driven Study of Information Worker Productivity

Jacomo Corbo will investigate the “Social and Economic Effects of Information Propagation in Large Networks” using a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

His research will map the flow of information in real organizations over time and will combine economic theories of production with social network theory to estimate the effects of information diffusion on the productivity of individuals and teams. It will utilize data on information flow and interactions within organizations and on online social networks to develop general predictive models of behaviour in settings with local network effects.

The objectives of the project are to estimate and enhance the productivity of information workers; to model, measure and improve organizational performance and our ability to forecast organizational behaviours; and to improve performance-related intervention strategies in information-networked environments.

Canada Research Chair in information and performance management since October 2011, Corbo actively participates in the IBM Centre for Business Analytics and Performance, at the Telfer School of Management. He will receive $95,000 from NSERC over five years.