Keywords
Artificial Intelligence
Social Media
Human-AI Interaction
AI-Mediated Systems
Abstract
Social technologies, such as social media, online communities, and prediction markets, have long been central to information technology research, demonstrating how social interaction, network structure, incentives, and platform design jointly shape individual behavior and collective outcomes. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in machine learning and generative models, are fundamentally altering the nature of social technologies. AI is no longer merely a background analytic tool. It is increasingly an active participant that mediates social interactions, reshapes incentives, and transforms institutional arrangements. This study synthesizes prior research on social technologies, with emphasis on sustained contributions examining social interaction, incentives, and market design. Building on this foundation, it articulates a coherent research agenda for the intersection of social technologies and AI across micro-, meso-, and macro-levels of analysis. We argue that future research must reconceptualize social technologies as adaptive, AI-mediated systems, and develop theories, methods, and designs that account for endogenous human-AI interaction.
Accessibility Summary:
In accordance with Title II regulations this content meets all points of exemption as Archived web content and/or Preexisting conventional electronic documents.
References
Acemoglu, D., & Johnson, S. (2023). Power and progress: Our thousand-year struggle over technology and prosperity. PublicAffairs.
Aral, S. (2020). The hype machine: How social media disrupts our elections, our economy, and our health—and how we must adapt. Crown Currency.
Bapna, R., & Ghose, A. (2024). Thrive: Maximizing well-being in the age of AI. MIT Press.
Bapna, R., & Umyarov, A. (2015). Do your online friends make you pay? A randomized field experiment on peer influence in online social networks. Management Science, 61(8), 1902-1920.
Bapna, R., Qiu, L., & Rice, S. (2017). Repeated interactions versus social ties: Quantifying the economic value of trust, forgiveness, and reputation using a field experiment. MIS Quarterly, 41(3), 841–866.
Bapna, S., Benner, M., & Qiu, L. (2019). Nurturing online communities: An empirical investigation. MIS Quarterly, 43(2), 425–452.
Bikhchandani, S., Hirshleifer, D., & Welch, I. (1992). A theory of fads, fashion, custom, and cultural change as informational cascades. Journal of Political Economy, 100(5), 992-1026.
Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The second machine age: Work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. W. W. Norton & Company.
Burtch, G., Hong, Y., Bapna, R., & Griskevicius, V. (2018). Stimulating online reviews by combining financial incentives and social norms. Management Science, 64(5), 2065-2082.
Cao, Z., Zhu, Y., Li, G., & Qiu, L. (2024). Consequences of information feed integration on user engagement and contribution: A natural experiment in an online knowledge-sharing community. Information Systems Research, 35(3), 1114-1136.
Chen, H., De, P., Hu, Y., & Hwang, B. H. (2014). Wisdom of crowds: The value of stock opinions transmitted through social media. The review of financial studies, 27(5), 1367-1403.
Cheng, H. K., Fan, W., Guo, P., Huang, H., & Qiu, L. (2020). Can “gold medal” online sellers earn gold? The impact of reputation badges on sales. Journal of Management Information Systems, 37(4), 1099–1127.
Cho, S., Qiu, L., & Bandyopadhyay, S. (2016). Should online content providers be allowed to subsidize content?—An economic analysis. Information Systems Research, 27(3), 580-595.
Cho, S., Qiu, L., & Bandyopadhyay, S. (2020). Vertical integration and zero-rating interplay: An economic analysis of ad-supported and ad-free digital content. Journal of Management Information Systems, 37(4), 988-1014.
Choe, C., Matsushima, N., & Shekhar, S. (2025). The bright side of the GDPR: Welfare-improving privacy management. Management Science, 71(8), 6836-6858.
Constantinides, P., Henfridsson, O., & Parker, G. G. (2018). Introduction—platforms and infrastructures in the digital age. Information Systems Research, 29(2), 381-400.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The" what" and" why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268.
Dellarocas, C. (2003). The digitization of word of mouth: Promise and challenges of online feedback mechanisms. Management Science, 49(10), 1407-1424.
Dennis, A. R., Lakhiwal, A., & Sachdeva, A. (2023). AI agents as team members: Effects on satisfaction, conflict, trustworthiness, and willingness to work with. Journal of Management Information Systems, 40(2), 307-337.
Greenwood, B. N., & Wattal, S. (2017). Show me the way to go home: an empirical investigation of ride-sharing and alcohol related motor vehicle fatalities. MIS Quarterly, 41(1), 163-187.
He, S., Qiu, L., & Cheng, X. (2022). Surge pricing and short-term wage elasticity of labor supply in real-time ridesharing markets. MIS Quarterly, 46(1), 193-228.
Kankanhalli, A., Tan, B., & Wei, K. K. (2005). Contributing knowledge to electronic knowledge repositories: an empirical investigation. MIS Quarterly, 29(1), 113-143.
Kitchens, B., Johnson, S. L., & Gray, P. (2020). Understanding echo chambers and filter bubbles: The impact of social media on diversification and partisan shifts in news consumption. MIS Quarterly, 44(4), 1619-1649.
Krakowski, S. (2025). Human-AI agency in the age of generative AI. Information and Organization, 35(1), 100560.
Kumar, N., Venugopal, D., Qiu, L., & Kumar, S. (2018a). Detecting review manipulation on online platforms with hierarchical supervised learning. Journal of Management Information Systems, 35(1), 350-380.
Kumar, N., Qiu, L., & Kumar, S. (2018b). Exit, voice, and response on digital platforms: An empirical investigation of online management response strategies. Information Systems Research, 29(4), 849-870.
Kumar, N., Venugopal, D., Qiu, L., & Kumar, S. (2019). Detecting anomalous online reviewers: An unsupervised approach using mixture models. Journal of Management Information Systems, 36(4), 1313–1346.
Kumar, S., & Qiu, L. (2022). Social media analytics and practical applications: The change to the competition landscape. CRC Press.
Lambrecht, A., & Tucker, C. (2019). Algorithmic bias? An empirical study of apparent gender-based discrimination in the display of STEM career ads. Management science, 65(7), 2966-2981.
Lee, S. Y., Qiu, L., & Whinston, A. (2018). Sentiment manipulation in online platforms: An analysis of movie tweets. Production and Operations Management, 27(3), 393-416.
Lin, Y. (1947). The gay genius: The life and times of Su Tungpo. John Day Company.
Liu, Y., Pu, J., Chen, Y., Qiu, L., & Cheng, H. K. (2025). Departmental Boundaries and Knowledge Sharing in Corporate Online Communities. Information Systems Research, forthcoming.
Lucas Jr, R. E. (1988). On the mechanics of economic development. Journal of Monetary Economics, 22(1), 3-42.
Mayzlin, D., Dover, Y., & Chevalier, J. (2014). Promotional reviews: An empirical investigation of online review manipulation. American Economic Review, 104(8), 2421-2455.
Nimalendran, M., Pathak, P., Petryk, M., & Qiu, L. (2025). Informational efficiency of cryptocurrency markets. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 60(3), 1427-1456.
Pan, Y., & Qiu, L. (2022). How ride‐sharing is shaping public transit system: A counterfactual estimator approach. Production and Operations Management, 31(3), 906-927.
Pavlou, P. A., & Dimoka, A. (2006). The nature and role of feedback text comments in online marketplaces: Implications for trust building, price premiums, and seller differentiation. Information Systems Research, 17(4), 392-414.
Petryk, M., Qiu, L., & Pathak, P. (2023). Impact of open-source community on cryptocurrency market price: An empirical investigation. Journal of Management Information Systems, 40(4), 1237-1270.
Petryk, M., Rivera, M., Bhattacharya, S., Qiu, L., & Kumar, S. (2022). How network embeddedness affects real-time performance feedback: An empirical investigation. Information Systems Research, 33(4), 1467-1489.
Pu, J., Chen, Y., Qiu, L., & Cheng, H. K. (2020). Does identity disclosure help or hurt user content generation? Social presence, inhibition, and displacement effects. Information Systems Research, 31(2), 297-322.
Pu, J., Liu, Y., Chen, Y., Qiu, L., & Cheng, H. K. (2022a). What questions are you inclined to answer? Effects of hierarchy in corporate Q&A communities. Information Systems Research, 33(1), 244-264.
Pu, J., Nian, T., Qiu, L., & Cheng, H. K. (2022b). Platform policies and sellers’ competition in agency selling in the presence of online quality misrepresentation. Journal of Management Information Systems, 39(1), 159-186.
Qiu, L., Rui, H., & Whinston, A. (2013). Social network-embedded prediction markets: The effects of information acquisition and communication on predictions. Decision Support Systems, 55(4), 978-987.
Qiu, L., Rui, H., & Whinston, A. B. (2014a). Effects of social networks on prediction markets: Examination in a controlled experiment. Journal of Management Information Systems, 30(4), 235-268.
Qiu, L., Rui, H., & Whinston, A. B. (2014b). The impact of social network structures on prediction market accuracy in the presence of insider information. Journal of Management Information Systems, 31(1), 145-172.
Qiu, L., & Kumar, S. (2017). Understanding voluntary knowledge provision and content contribution through a social-media-based prediction market: A field experiment. Information Systems Research, 28(3), 529–546.
Qiu, L., & Whinston, A. B. (2017). Pricing strategies under behavioral observational learning in social networks. Production and Operations Management, 26(7), 1249-1267.
Qiu, L., Cheng, H. K., & Pu, J. (2017). Hidden profiles in corporate prediction markets: the impact of public information precision and social interactions. MIS Quarterly, 41(4), 1249-1273.
Qiu, L., Shi, Z., & Whinston, A. B. (2018). Learning from your friends’ check-ins: An empirical study of location-based social networks. Information Systems Research, 29(4), 1044-1061.
Qiu, L., Chhikara, A., & Vakharia, A. (2021). Multidimensional observational learning: Theory and experimental evidence. Information Systems Research, 32(3), 876–894.
Qiu, L. (2026). AI-Empowered corporate social media: Exploring internal and external strategy. Palgrave Macmillan.
Rivera, M., Qiu, L., Kumar, S., & Petrucci, A. (2021). Are traditional performance reviews outdated? An empirical analysis on continuous, real-time feedback in the workplace. Information Systems Research, 32(2), 517–540.
Rivera, M., Guo, X., Shan, G., & Qiu, L. (2025). Stimulating feedback contributions using digital nudges: A field experiment in a real time mobile feedback platform. MIS Quarterly, forthcoming.
Shan, G., & Qiu, L. (2025). Examining the impact of generative AI on users’ voluntary knowledge contribution: Evidence from a natural experiment on Stack Overflow. Information Systems Research, forthcoming.
Shi, C., Hu, P., Fan, W., & Qiu, L. (2024). Competitive peer influence on knowledge contribution behaviors in online Q&A communities: a social comparison perspective. Internet Research, 34(5), 1577-1601.
Su, Y., Zhang, K., Wang, Q., & Qiu, L. (2025). Generative AI and human knowledge sharing: Evidence from a natural experiment (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 4628786). Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4628786.
Sun, X., Wang, Q., Qiu, L., & Xu, W. (2025). Guardians of tomorrow: Leveraging responsible AI for early detection and response to criminal threats. INFORMS Journal on Computing, forthcoming.
Susarla, A., Gopal, R., Thatcher, J. B., & Sarker, S. (2023). The Janus effect of generative AI: Charting the path for responsible conduct of scholarly activities in information systems. Information Systems Research, 34(2), 399-408.
Wang, H., Du, R., Shen, W., Qiu, L., & Fan, W. (2022). Product reviews: A benefit, a burden, or a trifle? How seller reputation affects the role of product reviews. MIS Quarterly, 46(2), 1243–1272.
Wang, L., Luo, X., Qiu, L., Xu, F., & Cui, X. (2025a). Win by hook or crook? Self-injecting favorable online reviews to fight adjacent rivals. Information Systems Research, 36(3), 1333-1353.
Wang, X., Wang, C., Qiu, L., & Weng, X. (2025b). You Get What You Pay For! An Economic Analysis of the Impact of Data Sponsorship on Content Production. Information Systems Research, forthcoming.
Wang, X., Lin, Y. W., Han, W., & Qiu, L. (2025c). When Gig Workers No Longer Gig: The Impact of California Assembly Bill 5 on the Online Labor Market. Information Systems Research.
Wasko, M. M., & Faraj, S. (2005). Why should I share? Examining social capital and knowledge contribution in electronic networks of practice. MIS Quarterly, 29(1), 35-57.
Wessel, M., Adam, M., Benlian, A., Majchrzak, A., & Thies, F. (2025). Generative AI and its transformative value for digital platforms. Journal of Management Information Systems, 42(2), 346-369.
Xu, X., Wang, Q., Liu, Y., & Qiu, L. (2025). Social audience size as a reference point: Evidence from a field experiment. Management Science, forthcoming.
Yoo, Y., Henfridsson, O., & Lyytinen, K. (2010). Research commentary—the new organizing logic of digital innovation: an agenda for information systems research. Information Systems Research, 21(4), 724-735.
Zhang, D., Jiang, H., Qiang, M., Zhang, K., & Qiu, L. (2025). Time to Stop? An Empirical Investigation on the Consequences of Canceling Monetary Incentives on a Digital Platform. Information Systems Research, 36(2), 781-801.
Zhang, X., & Zhu, F. (2011). Group size and incentives to contribute: A natural experiment at Chinese Wikipedia. American Economic Review, 101(4), 1601-1615.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Liangfei Qiu