Network Effects in the Academic Market: Mechanisms for Hiring and Placing Ph.D.s in Communication (2007-2014)

Journal of Communication, Forthcoming.

40 Pages Posted: 16 Jan 2015 Last revised: 30 Mar 2015

See all articles by Bo Mai

Bo Mai

University of Pennsylvania

Jiaying Liu

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication

Sandra González-Bailón

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication

Date Written: January 14, 2015

Abstract

We analyze hiring and placement dynamics across communication Ph.D. programs using data collected in 2014. We assess changes compared to data collected in 2007 (as reported in Barnett, Danowski, Feeley, & Stalker, 2010), and we identify the factors that underlie the formation of recruitment ties. Our findings challenge prior conclusions that faculty-hiring patterns offer a good proxy to the quality of doctoral education. Instead, we find evidence that the recruitment network results from inter-organizational dynamics that are likely to emerge from faculty mobility; these dynamics are manifested in the form of reciprocity, transitivity, and cumulative advantage. Once we control for these network characteristics, institutional prestige, faculty seniority, and reputational rankings modestly drive the formation of recruitment ties.

Keywords: organizational networks; tie formation; reciprocity; transitivity; cumulative advantage; ERGMs; path dependence

Suggested Citation

Mai, Bo and Liu, Jiaying and González-Bailón, Sandra, Network Effects in the Academic Market: Mechanisms for Hiring and Placing Ph.D.s in Communication (2007-2014) (January 14, 2015). Journal of Communication, Forthcoming., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2549456 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2549456

Bo Mai

University of Pennsylvania ( email )

Philadelphia, PA
United States

Jiaying Liu

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication ( email )

Philadelphia, PA
United States

Sandra González-Bailón (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania - Annenberg School for Communication ( email )

Philadelphia, PA
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://dimenet.asc.upenn.edu/people/sgonzalezbailon/

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