Abstract

The exchange of information, goods, and services has long been acknowledged as a key component of social life. Social sharing behaviors – sharing of information and content- are fundamental practices within established social networks. This paper describes how social exchange theory and grounded theory methodology were used to inform the research design and analysis of data collected during a six month study of sharing among close established social networks (i.e., family and friends). An overview of theory, process, and methods used in this exploratory study explains how analysis based in grounded theory was applied in a cross-functional team setting. Insights prompted design ideas that led to the development of ambient and content enriched communications applications.