The Social Accumulator as a Concept to Manage Social Energy in the Age of Digital Transformation An Explanation Model for Digital Interaction among Human Actors

Abstract

The increasing intensity of digital supported interaction and communication stimulated by the COVID19 pandemic over a period of roughly two years has changed and the perception and experiences with those new forms of interaction by human actors. While not being completely new, the massive use of the technologies made a difference for the users that lead to different socio-technical effects. As a result, the concept of the Social Accumulator (SOAC) is introduced in this paper and related to known concepts like Social Energy. It builds on the experiences from the intensified digital interactions both in academia and business life and should serve as an explanation model for the effects of digital interaction that is easy to understand and to apply. The SOAC should help to understand the processes of Knowledge Creation and Knowledge Sharing when being driven by digital tools, which becomes increasingly important in a world that transforms education and businesses towards a highly digitized world.

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International Journal o
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Volume
1
6
, Numbers
3
&
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, 20
2
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CONTENTS
pages: 91
-
102
The Social Accumulator as a Concept to Manage Social Energy in the Age of Digital Transformation
Karsten Böhm, FH Kufstein Tirol
-
Univer
sity of Applied Sciences, Austria
Jürgen Sammet, HAM
–
University of Applied Management Ismaning, Germany
Joel Schmidt, HAM
–
University of Applied Management Ismaning, Germany
pages: 103
-
115
VR
-
V&V: Immersive Verification and Validation Support for Trac
eability Exemplified with ReqIF, ArchiMate, and
Test Coverage
Roy Oberhauser, Aalen University, Germany
pages: 116
-
129
Fine
-
tuning BERT with Bidirectional LSTM for Fine
-
grained Movie Reviews Sentiment Analysis
Gibson Nkhata, University of Arkansas, USA
U
sman Anjum, University of Cincinnati, USA
Justin Zhan, University of Cincinnati, USA
Susan Gauch, University of Arkansas, USA
pages: 130
-
139
An Extended Study on the Usage of Audit Data Analytics within the Accountancy Sector
Lotte Verhoeven, Research Ce
ntre
–
Future
-
proof Auditor Zuyd University of Applied Sciences & RSM Netherlands
Accountants N.V., the Netherlands
Eric Mantelaers, Research Centre
–
Future
-
proof Auditor Zuyd University of Applied Sciences & RSM Netherlands
Accountants N.V., the Netherla
nds
Martijn Zoet, Research Centre
–
Future
-
proof Financial Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands
pages: 140
-
149
Design Analysis and Fabrication of High Gain Wideband Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna for Satellite Communication
Applications
Nitin
Muchhal, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, India
Renato Zea Vintimilla, Fraunhofer IIS, GERMANY
Mostafa Elkhouly, Fraunhofer IIS, GERMANY
Yaarob Fares, Fraunhofer IIS, Germany
Shweta Srivastava, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, INDIA
p
ages: 150
-
158
Finite Memory Arithmetic and the Number Representations on Computing Machines
Pavel Loskot, ZJU
-
UIUC Institute, China

The Social Accumulator as a Concept to Manage Social Energy
in the Age of Digital Transformation
An Explanation Model for Digital Interaction among Human Actors
Karsten Böhm
FH Kufstein Tirol University of Applied Sciences
Kufstein, Austria
e-mail: karsten.boehm@fh-kufstein.ac.at
Jürgen Sammet, Joel Schmidt
HAM University of Applied Management
Ismaning, Germany
e-mail: {juergen.sammet|joel.schmidt}@fham.de
Abstract The increasing intensity of digital supported inter-
action and communication stimulated by the COVID19 pan-
demic over a period of roughly two years has changed the
perception and experiences with those new forms of interaction
by human actors. While not being completely new, the massive
use of the technologies made a difference for the users that lead
to different socio-technical effects. As a result, the concept of the
Social Accumulator (SOAC) is introduced in this paper and
related to known concepts like Social Energy. It builds on the
experiences from the intensified digital interactions both in
academia and business life and should serve as an explanation
model for the effects of digital interaction that is easy to
understand and to apply. The SOAC should help to understand
the processes of Knowledge Creation and Knowledge Sharing
when being driven by digital tools, w hich becomes increasingly
important in a world that transforms education and businesses
towards a highly digitized world.
Keywords Digital Transformation; Social Interaction;
Social Energy; Higher Education; Digital Interaction; CSCW;
Communication; Collaboration.
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, digitization and digital transformation of
the economy and society have emerged as central topics.
Furthermore, the global COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a
catalyst for rapid digital transformation in many economies.
Austria and Germany witnessed a significant real-world
application of fully digital work experiences during this period,
representing a large-scale implementation. In contrast,
countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and Estonia had already
gained extensive experience with digital transformation on a
broad scale. These varied experiences underscore the need for
support in navigating digital shifts and the lack of simple,
effective frameworks for understanding the effects of digital
transformation on cognition and social interaction.
This paper builds on Böhm's [1] contribution at the 2022
eKNOW conference held in Porto, Portugal, making several
valuable contributions extending the original content: 1) an
expanded time-frame including 2023 promotes a shift of focus
to post-pandemic conditions reflecting the current movement
of organizations to use digitally supported communication; 2)
an increased depth and breadth of theoretical foundations, as
the SOAC concept is embedded within the theory of social
energy, providing new insights and understanding of
relationships between these two concepts; 3) an extension of
potential applications of the SOAC concept in three areas.
In terms of knowledge management, the pandemic
situation offers a unique context for the use of information
technology in developing knowledge intensive businesses and
activities. Much can be gained by reflecting on experiences
during the pandemic from the perspective of knowledge
management considering the interactions among human users
(mostly) using digital channels.
Initially, during early stages of the pandemic the technical
challenges dominating the agendas of businesses,
organizations and academia included improvement of
infrastructure, availability of software systems and the
development of necessary skills. Yet surprisingly, the
challenges that were at first considered major barriers to
technology adoption within the knowledge management
community were resolved rather quickly. For example,
collaboration challenges in the digital world were solved with
new tools and strategies, which gained almost immediate
acceptance, becoming the "new normal" of online interaction.
As the duration of the pandemic extended into the second year,
it became increasingly apparent that the new mode of digital
interaction had unique properties resulting in both advantages
and disadvantages. Advantages included the ability to
establish immediate connections between colleagues and
peers; communication and collaboration between individuals
and groups of all sizes was facilitated by a wide range of
useful tools that were developed on demand as new needs,
requirements and features were identified. Geographic
distance and location were no longer impediments, meaning
frustrations with travel times were non-existent. The transition
from paper to digital in office settings became a reality, and
its implementation lead to easier and more efficient ways of
knowledge sharing among office staff. Disadvantages
included the difficulties in differentiation between working
time and free time as boundaries became much more blurred;
the significant increase in frequency and duration of digital
meetings; and the shrinking availability of time slots for
concentrated work. Despite massive use of digital
communication tools, the individual feelings of loneliness and
isolation increased, as informal conversation or
communication became more difficult or simply did not occur.
This has hindered informal knowledge exchange and will
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continue to have a negative impact on human health and well-
being. The long-term negative effects led to a unique form of
[2]. Recent research has validated this effect in a
study carried out in Germany [3].
Channel reduction theory (from the German
"Kanalreduktionstheorie") [4] assumes that remote communi-
cation generally has deficits. Recent studies identify a shift in
relationships between communication partners. At the same
time, new phenomenon starts to emerge: 1) Intimacy between
communication partners can be even higher in an online
setting, because the situation leads to a higher readiness of
self-
digital settings often focus only on the factual level. These
new developments are positively received as communication
is more efficient and less status oriented, referring to the
disentrainment hyperpersonal model of computer mediated
communication [5].
Based on the this rapid and
large-scale switch from in-
already been identified in the literature as remote living or
[6], which emphasizes that people will collaborate
more remotely. Given these observations, it is clear that the
massive application of technology mediated communication
and collaboration does not only have benefits and positive
effects, but also drawbacks which is to be expected in
massive use of any technology. Therefore, the right balance
between digital interaction and direct interaction of human
actors is of critical importance and warrants more in-depth
exploration and consideration.
Direct interaction between human and digital interaction,
in which technical means are used for the communication (e.g.,
a phone call, a chat or a video conference call) are perceived
differently in terms of richness and cognitive load, as well as
towards trust building and perceived interactivity. As this
might simply be due to the fact that the channels are less rich
[7], [8], both channels will be included in this current analysis.
In essence, most users perceive direct interactions as more
attractive and easier to use than digital interactions. This
became increasingly clear during the COVID19-pandemic
with the switch to solely digital interaction for an extended
period of time. With this understanding in mind, it is important
to address the questions of when and how: When to use each
channel? How to more effectively interweave the two
channels?
This paper introduces the concept of the Social
Accumulator (SOAC) as an explanation model for the digital
interaction of human actors, focusing on both positive and
negative effects of computer supported collaborative work
(CSCW). By emphasizing different factors in a simple
conceptual model, the SOAC supports the interweaving of
digital and in-person channels during communication and
collaboration activities.
The paper is structured as follows: Section II provides an
overview of the concepts of social energy; Section III
introduces the concept of SOAC; Section IV provides an
illustration of positive and negative characteristics effecting
the SOAC of human actors; Section V presents application
areas of the model, including challenges for implementation.
The paper concludes in Section VI with a summary and an
outlook for future research.
II. SOCIAL ENERGY
The concept of energy is a crucial element in
understanding psychological well-being, yet there is no
standard definition of energy in the body of relevant literature.
According to Lavrusheva [9] it is often linked with vitality,
vigor, and overall well-being. Lavrusheva has identified five
characteristics of vitality, which are also applicable to the
energy concept. First, vitality is subjective, reflecting the
feeling of aliveness and energy of an individual. Therefore,
assessing energetic or vital states depends on self-reported
evaluations, resulting in various interpretations. Second,
vitality is deeply tied to positivity, involving a positive
sensation of energy [10]. This means that energy is frequently
associated with positive experiences. Third, vitality is in an
ongoing state of fluctuation, as it becomes depleted and
replenished, which encourages comparison to a renewable
resource [11], [12]. Fourth, vitality can be regulated and
managed by individuals, which can assist in dealing
effectively with life's challenges and improving performance
at work [13]. Fifth, vitality includes both physical and
psychological aspects, underscoring its comprehensive nature
[9].
Klijn and colleagues [14] have also outlined four
dimensions of ersonal energy , namely physical, emotional,
mental and spiritual. The physical dimension pertains to
nutrition, exercise, sleep, and overall physical health.
Emotional energy involves positive emotions and the
avoidance of negative emotions, contributing to feeling
energized . The mental energy dimension emphasizes
cognitive focus and maintaining a peaceful mind, similar to
Csiksentmihalyi's flow [15]. Lastly, spiritual energy relates to
beliefs and personal values, where feelings of meaningfulness
lead to an energized state.
Among the various theoretical frameworks that have been
applied to the study of vitality, self-determination theory
(SDT) is one that is most commonly [9]. Developed by Deci
and Ryan in the early 1970s [10], SDT argues that individuals
have inherent psychological needs for autonomy, competence,
and relatedness. As explained by Ryan and Frederick [10],
when these needs are fulfilled, individuals experience an
increase in vitality. Autonomy involves a sense of self-
directed behavior and volition, leading to greater satisfaction,
intrinsic motivation, and authenticity. Competence refers to
the desire for skill development, aligning with personal values
and interests, fostering a sense of achievement and self-
efficacy. And finally, relatedness emphasizes the importance
of social connections and a sense of belonging, fulfilling the
inherent need for meaningful relationships and emotional
support.
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In conclusion, the exploration of energy and vitality
in psychological well-being reveals the multi-dimensional
nature of these constructs and their interplay with individual
and social factors. An aspect that is particularly interesting
from the standpoint of social energy is the need for relatedness.
Social interactions have long been recognized as energy-
consuming processes, as posited in the communicate bond,
belong (CBB) theory, which is based on human energy
management (HEM) [16]. HEM is guided by two principles:
energy conservation (where individuals seek to minimize
energy expenditure) and energy investment (where
individuals invest energy to achieve valued goals, often with
the intention of conserving energy in the long run) [17]. One
of the valued goals in energy investment is the need to belong
[18], which drives individuals to invest social energy in
interactions to fulfill the desire for connection and avoid
disconnection, ultimately resulting in feeling energized.
One current definition of social energy, is put forward by
Hall and Merolla who define it
emotional, and cognitive tasks required for engaging in social
[19], where the level of social energy plays a
significant role in determining the outcomes of these
interactions. Both connecting and disconnecting socially
demand substantial energy expenditures [20]. Interestingly,
research has shown that individuals who feel more connected
after a social interaction are more likely to seek solitude later
in the same day, suggesting a need for energy recovery [20].
It has also been shown that repeated social interactions lead to
the investment of more energy in relationships, resulting in
reduced energy requirements during future interactions [21].
These findings support the CBB model as it maintains that
energy recovery takes place during periods of solitude.
Various factors influence the level of social energy
expended during interactions. Topics of communication,
personal interests, and characteristics of conversation partners
all play a crucial role [20]. Interaction length also affects
energy expenditure.
In a separate study, Hall et al. investigated which commu-
nication media is most suitable to satisfy the need to belong
[22]. Face-to-face interactions were found to have a primacy
for promoting connection and avoiding disconnection.
However, the results for video-calls were inconclusive, with
mixed evidence for their ability to foster connecting and avoid
disconnecting.
In conclusion, the SOAC model, especially its focus on the
need for relatedness, provides valuable insights into human
energy management during social interactions. Understanding
the dynamics of energy expenditure and recovery in social
settings contributes to a deeper understanding of human
behavior and well-being.
As noted, the medium in which interaction occurs plays a
significant role in determining the amount of social energy
that must be expended to satisfy the need to belong (CBB) or
the need for relatedness (SDT). The COVID-19 pandemic has
popularized videoconferencing in unprecedented ways (both
in terms of frequency of use and length of use). At the same
time, there are indications that videoconferencing can be
exhausting and often results in the opposite of feeling
energized, culminating in the phenomenon of Zoom fatigue .
Shockley et al. [23] determined that one major cause of fatigue
lies in the way individuals present themselves through the
camera. Self-presentation is fundamental to any form of
interaction [24] as individuals strive to appear in a positive
light. Self-presentation requires a high level of self-regulation
and monitoring. Thus, it is an activity that consumes energy.
When a person sees their own image on the screen, it leads to
an increased use of self-evaluation [25]. Simultaneously,
uncertainty grows, as only a small video clip is visible. Users
continuously receive non-verbal cues that are
incomprehensible due to the limited video frame. Perception
of the images is only possible in 2D, and the other three senses
are not directly engaged. Furthermore, reciprocal eye contact
is not possible, affecting perception [26]. This results in
uncertainty along with further increased use of self-
monitoring [27]. The use of the camera is tiring, but Bennett
et al. [28] describe various ways to reduce this fatigue or even
reverse it. Indeed, their research asserts that video
conferencing can be a good way to satisfy the need to belong.
Bennett and colleagues identified seven recommendations for
reducing fatigue and increasing energy:
1. Holding meetings earlier in the day can help to
reduce fatigue, since they would be scheduled when
employees are generally less tired, according to
Hülsheger et al. [29]. Consequently, meetings as
emotionally charged events [30] could even have a
positive impact on the energy curve of the day [30].
2. Enhancing group cohesion helps to reduce fatigue
by making participants feel more connected with
each other and increasing interest in participating in
meetings, thereby minimizing attention-demanding
efforts and associated fatigue, as shown by Kaplan
and Berman [31].
3. Muting the microphone during a meeting when not
speaking can help to reduce attention and thereby
fatigue, as proposed by Kaplan [32], since it
minimizes distractions from background noise,
lowering the mental effort required to maintain a
quiet environment during the meeting.
4. Turning the video camera on during a meeting can
affect the sense of group belonging, as it helps a
person to feel more connected with the other
participants, which could reduce fatigue.
5. Turning the video camera off during a meeting helps
to reduce the number of visual stimuli on the screen,
which could decrease fatigue. With the video
camera turned off it helps a person to spend less time
worrying about their appearance or what is
happening in the background while enhancing the
sense of group belonging.
6. Breaks during and between video conferences are an
effective way to reduce fatigue, according to Kaplan
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[32]. These breaks provide participants with the
opportunity to mentally disengage and switch off,
which is of critical importance when there are no
natural breaks occurring between meetings.
7. Establishing group norms can reduce fatigue, as they
eliminate uncertainties about acceptable behavior,
thereby reducing the mental effort required by
participants [32], [33]. Additionally, strong norms
could enhance the sense of group belonging, helping
to increase interest and participation in meetings,
which could further reduce fatigue.
To summarize, it can be concluded that the concept of
social energy is a broadly researched topic that has gained new
attention within the context of the pandemic situation and the
massive use of digital communication channels, and has had a
lasting impact on the way people communicate and
collaborate with each other in both enterprise settings and
educational settings. The ideas presented in this paper provide
insight into the current evolution of the workplace of the
future (often referred to as that is only just
beginning. This evolution will be driven by (positive) social
energy as it achieves an interactive and long-lasting change
process [34]. An explanation model that makes the changes
brought about by social energy more visible, would be a
valuable contribution to this context of evolution and change.
III. THE CONCEPT OF THE SOCIAL ACCUMULATOR
The main contribution of this paper is the concept of the
SOAC, which serves as an explanation model for the
characteristics of (intensified) digital interaction. The authors
perceive a need for deeper understanding of the positive and
negative effects of digital interaction in a simplified form in
order to plan, facilitate and execute digital communication and
other forms of direct communication in the most effective way,
without needing to be an expert in that research field. The
concept of the SOAC provides insight and guidance in
achieving the right balance between traditional and digital
communication and interaction in an increasingly digital
world. The SOAC concept is also very relevant, offering
valuable contributions in the discussion about the future
workplace [35] and post pandemic education models [36].
The SOAC builds on the analogy of an electric accumu-
lator that stores electric energy, transformed to the aspect of
interaction between human actors. Recharging activities are
providing an energizing element and feel good for the humans
interacting with each other. However, there are also draining
activities which are perceived by the human actors as taking
energy from them. These positive/negative or charging/drain-
ing aspects with the perceived social or personal energy have
also been identified by other models, as elaborated in Section
II, but the SOAC incorporates those observations and bundles
them together by using a metaphor that is easy to understand
for non-experts, as it draws from our everyday experiences
with rechargeable batteries. This approach of connecting to
everyday experience is also supported by [37] who
investigated the appropriateness of a battery shaped icon
scales to represent energy levels. Figure 1 illustrates the
concept of a SOAC.
Figure 1. The social accumulator (SOAC) concept with examples of
charging and discharging aspects.
The term social accumulator is not a common term,
although it is briefly mentioned over ten years ago in [38],
albeit within a very different context, namely the social status
of youth.
social battery
which is not a medical concept, but rather
[39]. This metaphor relates to the SOAC in terms of
conceptualizing the limited capacity that each individual has
This limited capacity
depends on individual aspects, such as personality (e.g., being
more introverted or more extroverted), as well as social
interaction (which can lead to feeling either drained or
recharged, depending on one's personality) [39], [40]. In
addition, a number of aspects have been identified that deplete
the social battery (for instance, a person's social network, the
type of interaction, the size of the group, to name a few), but
there is no mention of the digital channel or digital tools as a
potential cause for depletion. Therefore, the social battery
concept differs from the concept of the SOAC, which has a
special focus on digital channels and the use of digital tools,
in order to effectively balance draining and charging aspects.
The concept of a social battery is mostly used by youth in the
generation Z, and is often related to social media settings [40].
Research is still lacking on the term and concept, but it is
interesting to note that there is an awareness about limited
capacity, including charging and discharging aspects of social
interaction, especially in younger generations that might even
lead to consequences like social burnout [41]. Relating to the
observations of social energy in Section II, there are similar
characteristics found in a number of models. The authors
interpret these similarities to mean that the existence of social
energy can be viewed as a valuable and finite resource, a
viewpoint common in younger generations who are intuitively
aware of both benefits and limitations as they monitor their
interactions more or less closely. Digital technologies
(especially in the domain of social media) may amplify these
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effects, which contributes to the awareness and the potential
negative effects (e.g., affecting the need to belong [18], both
in a positive or a negative way).
For the sake of completeness, it should be noted, that the
term social battery is misleading in terms of the analogy to the
technical concept of a battery: an ordinary battery cannot be
recharged without damaging it, whereas an accumulator can
be recharged multiple times. The authors therefore prefer to
use the term accumulator.
Furthermore, the authors are convinced that the metaphor
of a battery charging or discharging enables the intuitive
perception of comparison with communication or cooperation
activities. In terms of digital interaction, it is important to
consider the general observation that a direct conversation
between human actors ("face to face") is perceived as richer
and more satisfying than a digital interaction. Therefore, the
SOAC concept identifies in-person types of interactions as
positive (charging) activities, while extensive digital
interactions are identified as negative (discharging) activities,
in line with the concept of zoom fatigue.
Based on these observations the concept of a SOAC is
charged in (most) direct face-to-face interactions of human
users and discharged in (many) digital interactions. Recent
research [42] has found that a low level of interaction between
participants in a digital domain might also lead to the
perception of fatigue. However, the involvement of all
stakeholders in a digital communication is important, which
can be easily overlooked in this context. When balanced
correctly a viable amount of social energy is available for the
human user, and the interaction is perceived as sufficient. If
the level drops below a certain level, this becomes a
(perceived) problem, affecting the well-being of the user,
especially if the situation continues over a longer timeframe
(which explains observations from the longer COVID19
periods). If the level substantially exceeds the average energy
level, then the interaction is perceived as a valuable interaction
(e.g., users refer to a good chat as being inspirational). If this
excessive level situation occurs more often, then the context
of the interaction is positively perceived (e.g., an inspirational
workplace or motivating group). Figure 2 illustrates the
process on a schematic level.
It is important to note that neither digital nor direct
interaction are inherently negative (discharging) or positive
(charging), but that with the right balance or orchestration,
both charging and discharging effects are important for a
functioning communication relationship between the
participants. In the context of active management of social
energy of individuals and groups, it is important to monitor
and influence the levels in such a way that they remain above
the lower threshold and at times exceed the higher threshold
in order to achieve "inspirational peaks" in individual or group
collaboration. Due to the greater importance of digital
interaction and the limitations of digital channels in terms of
richness for all senses, social energy management in this area
is even more important. In this case, awareness of the SOAC
charging level for individuals or groups can be used as a
management objective.
The level of social energy available to human actors has a
strong influence on the ability to create and share knowledge,
and could also affect levels of creativity and innovation [40],
thereby resulting in a strong impact on knowledge intensive
activities (e.g., in companies or in educational institutions).
The relationship between social energy and
communication is not adequately defined and described only
informally in the literature [43]. In the context of this paper,
social energy is defined as the individual and subjectively
perceived energy level of a human actor in terms of their
capability or willingness to participate in or contribute to a
physical or digital conversation.
Figure 2. Changes in the SOAC charging stage influenced by direct interactions and digital interactions over time.
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As discussed in Section II, the concept of social energy has
multiple dimensions, leading to many different effects. Figure
3 presents the most important dimensions of social energy,
personal energy, and the effects of digital communication. A
special emphasis is placed upon digital communication, which
is influenced by the other two dimensions. For example, the
level of personal energy at a specific time of day may impact
the perceived energy level of the SOAC (which might not
relate to the digital communication channel, but rather to
personal circumstances). An assessment of the individual
SOAC level should also consider other dimensions as
contextual parameters.
As an immediate result of the charging and discharging
effects, social energy has a strong impact on knowledge
related activities, such as knowledge creation, knowledge
sharing, knowledge use and knowledge transfer. Social energy
changes over time and even during a conversation. Parallel to
this, the management of social energy is not usually the main
focus of the interacting users, and consequently, may not be
noticed early enough to intervene before the primary activity
is harmed or influenced.
The awareness created by the SOAC model enables
reflection on communication and collaboration
situation, making it possible for the actor to take appropriate
and effective action.
Figure 3. The different influences on charging and discharging
effects of SOAC, with an emphasis on the effects of digital channels
Assessing the current situation provides a starting point in
becoming more aware of the SOAC charging state, and with
reflection can lead to a change of the communication mode
(e.g., from digital interaction to direct interaction). Possible
next steps taken by a human actor could involve tracking
social energy over time to learn more about positive and
negative aspects on digital interaction from their individual
perspective.
The intent of the authors is to use this model to explain the
dichotomy of direct vs. digital communication. The focus is
placed on the channel and its methods and characteristics. It is
clear that human interaction is also largely influenced by the
topic of the communication, along with the opinions and
general feelings of human actors. These aspects have positive
and negative aspects, requiring specific and appropriate
responses (e.g., conflict resolution). However, these responses
are not dealt with in detail within this paper.
IV. CHARGING AND DISCHARGING THE SOAC
The aspects and characteristics of both digital and direct
communication channels can be considered in terms of their
charging effects (adding social energy to the SOAC) and the
discharging effects (taking social energy from the SOAC),
which will also be a subject for detailed future research. Some
general observations regarding already
been illustrated in Section II. In order to examine the effects
on digital channels and direct interaction in greater detail,
some examples of both categories will be described in the
following subsections.
A. Positive aspects charging the SOAC
To illustrate the positive (charging) aspects that increase
social energy some examples are described below in more
detail:
1. A fruitful conversation: between two human actors
that evolves into interesting and sometimes
unexpected results is a good example of a charging
activity. Very often it is not only the exchange of
information, but the overall situation, including
gestures and mutual empathy that makes a positive
impact. As an important side effect psychological
safety is created in such situations.
2. An informal talk: at a coffee corner or similar place
is a form of latent communication that happens as a
by-product of another activity (e.g., taking a coffee).
This often leads to the exchange of interesting
information, knowledge sharing and even the
creation of new knowledge stimulated by the situ-
ation. The main characteristic is spontaneity that it is
unplanned, but not unlikely. These events happen
less frequently in digital interactions. A possible
explanation for this could be that interactions in
digital environments are less frequent and less
original.
3. A team experience: almost always requires a pre-
sence setting to allow for the emergence of team
spirit while working on a common goal or being
submerged in a joint activity. Very often these
activities serve as trust building entities for new
groups or are reassessing mutual trust levels for an
existing team charging the SOACs of the participants.
Such settings can create transparency within the
group as an important side-effect that fuels the
positive perception of the group-members.
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4. A collaborative activity: working together within the
same time and space toward a common aim can
contribute to the sense of belonging and might even
stimulate a mutual learning from the observations
and activities of the people involved. The joint goal
and making contributions to it provides opportunities
for charging effects for the SOAC. When working
together on the same physical object (e.g., a shared
physical whiteboard or similar collaboration space)
the perception of joint work might also be intensified.
B. Negative aspects discharging the SOAC
To illustrate the negative (discharging) aspects that
decrease social energy some examples are described below in
more detail:
1. A high frequency and/or long duration of digital
interactions: might be considered as tiring to the
human actors. This fact has been reported in a
number of studies and it is important to clarify that
this could also occur in situations in which only one
of the human actors is under such a high load of
digital interaction leading to a communication
setting which is perceived very different by the
participants (e.g., a team lead that is connecting to its
peers in a 1:1 session).
2. Few interactions during a digital interaction: are
another impact factor that is adding cognitive load to
the human user, especially if the video setting is
static, which requires additional effort for the human
brain to remain focused. When presentation settings
are transferred 1:1 from an in-person setting, they are
often perceived as more demanding in the digital
communication and take more time or include more
interactions to retain the attention of the audience.
3. The perception of constant availability: for human
actors also adds to the perceived stress level. The
lowered barrier of getting in contact with the other
participants in a synchronous interaction might
impact the current working process. The cultural
assumption within the organization that everyone is
expected to be almost always available and instantly
can lead to less efficiency in the working tasks and a
high level of engagement at the same time.
4. An imbalance of the presence for different users:
When different means of participating in the digital
communication are used with different levels of
channel richness (e.g., video on/off, different audio
quality) the perception of direct engagement and
involvement might vary among the users, leading to
a discharging effect on human users, independent of
their role in the setting (active/passive). It is a
challenging situation for presenters if they cannot
turned off and the level of interaction is limited.
V. POTENTIAL APPLICATION AREAS OF SOAC
In this section potential application areas for the SOAC
will be explained in detail. It is interesting to note that the
SOAC can serve different purposes in diverse application
areas. From a knowledge management perspective, the
charging and discharging aspects of the SOAC are helpful to
identify barriers in the related fields of knowledge (co)-
creation, knowledge sharing and knowledge use among the
different actors in the application settings that are described
below. The concept of the SOAC can also contribute to
achieving the right balance of in-person activities and online
activities in the post-pandemic era, in which almost all sectors
are reconfiguring their mode of operation in order to anticipate
the experience from the past two years, along with the
challenges and expectations for the future of the new
work(place) [44].
A. The context of higher education
The effects of the COVID19 pandemic and the intensified
use of distant teaching has transformed how higher education
of the future is seen by students and lecturers alike. Initial
studies after the pandemic show that the fast transition to
distant teaching had a massive impact, as [43] reported for the
medical domain. Although focused on a specific sector, the
results could be similar in other areas, especially those where
more intensive communication and collaboration is as
important as experience and applicable knowledge for
(complex and diverse) problems. Learning from these
experiences is important not only to be better prepared for
similar situations in the future, but also to strike a balance
between face-to-face and distance learning (sometimes
referred to as hybrid learning) in academic institutions.
Due to those experiences higher education institutions
(HEI) will have to reflect on how to modernize the education
in post-pandemic age with a mixture of in-person and distance
teaching activities. It is very likely that even education pro-
grams that in the past have relied solely on in-person teaching
will (have to) include some form of distance learning elements
into their curricula, also due to expectations of Generation Z
[45]. Even hybrid settings where in-person teaching and
distance teaching occur simultaneously might be a valid
scenario for the future.
It is obvious, that some topics are more suitable for
distance teaching than others (e.g., labs and exercises), yet
some students will favor digital interactions, while others will
prefer a more direct interaction. Balancing those two forms of
interaction between lecturer and students in the right way (in
terms of didactic requirements and individual preferences),
will retain a competitive advantage for an HEI in a market that
is constantly becoming more competitive and globalized, due
to extension into the digital domain by market participants
(e.g., Coursera, Udacity and others). Additionally, a
generation issue is currently felt in this area as the behavior
and expectations of lecturers (often members of Generation X
or Y) and students (often members of Generation Z) differ
substantially, as [46] reported.
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From a post-pandemic perspective, it is interesting to
recognize the initial movement away from online teaching and
the return to in-person teaching, on the student side as well as
on the lecturers/HEI side. With the model of the SOAC in
mind, this shift can be explained by a reaction on the number
of discharging effects given the massive use of digital
channels that needed to be compensated by social interactions
(charging the SOAC). For some groups this effect has already
been mitigated, since the positive aspects of distance learning,
such as time and location independence gained focus again,
which has led to requesting more digital channels. From a
SOAC perspective, this development can be explained in a
fully recharged state (by direct interaction) that provides
enough energy for a set of digital interactions. In the long-term,
it will be important for HEI to understand the duality of in-
person and online teaching, and to use both modes in a
systematic and planned ways that helps lecturers and learners
to plan the different activities in the most efficient way. The
SOAC model might support this development of
understanding in this context as a balancing device. Otherwise
important experiences and knowledge gains within the HEI
are in danger to be lost as initiatives of individuals may not be
valued and recognized, and investments in technology might
not be used as planned, which will prevent their maintenance
and iterative development.
The SOAC helps instructors to derive a measurement
system during planning and execution of their teaching to find
the right mix of direct and digital interaction. For students
SOAC can function as a tool for self-reflection on individual
learning preferences, in terms of their preferred form of
communication, helping them to adapt accordingly by
becoming aware of the advantages and drawbacks of digital
interaction.
B. The context of professional trainings
For professional training in workplace settings and as part
of lifelong learning, the results of the COVID19 pandemic
revealed to companies and trainers that digital training can be
effective and efficient. The requirement of traveling to a
training became less of a demand and the integration into
everyday work schedules was much easier for digital training,
leading to a higher acceptance rate for training in general and
budget saving aspects (no travel and accommodation costs).
However, the focus on the training itself in an in-person
training, along with the direct and valuable exchange between
participants and towards the trainer, had been assigned a new
value due to the drawbacks of digital trainings. Overall, it can
be expected that the market for professional trainings will
change, due to the results of the pandemic. Yet it still remains
to be seen what exactly the long-term effects will be.
The SOAC can be helpful in two distinct ways. First, in
many organizations, training is still understood as mostly a
passive transmission of knowledge, with the focus primarily
on content. Aspects of relationship building and interaction
are often neglected in this approach. In this context, the SOAC
can assist by creating an awareness of the social aspects of
learning, emphasizing the importance of collaboration,
communication, and engagement in the learning process.
Second, the SOAC can help trainers design interaction
with the participants more effectively by mixing direct and
digital interactions so that participants receive optimal benefit
from the training. Being aware of the characteristics of the
charging and discharging effects helps to establish a level of
social interaction that is common in a direct training, and also
in a digital setting. The SOAC is not merely another plea for
the well-known concept of blended learning, but rather goes a
level deeper. It recognizes that the different mix of various
learning formats, such as online training, peer-learning,
classroom training, self-study, and more, serves not only the
design of the content level of the learning process, but also the
social energy levels. Unlike traditional models that primarily
focus on content, the SOAC emphasizes a more holistic
approach. In the SOAC model, content learning objectives are
supplemented by "social energy objectives." This shift
recognizes the importance of human interaction, collaboration,
and engagement as essential elements of the learning
experience. Rather than simply transferring information, the
emphasis is on creating a dynamic and interactive learning
environment where participants can energize and motivate
each other.
SOAC helps to incorporate education in professional job
settings, achieving a match to the individual requirements,
thereby providing a framework for the trainer to derive and
monitor the charging state of the participants. The concepts of
SOAC can also be combined with more agile approaches in
delivering the teaching practices. By emphasizing the human
and interactive dimensions of training, the SOAC framework
enables a more effective, responsive, and learner-centered
approach, which is essential in the ever-evolving landscape of
professional learning
C. The context of companies and digital business
The third application area highlighting the benefits of
SOAC is the digitization process within companies, which
have also been accelerated by the pandemic situation. Here,
became a reality through
the perception and evolving work models of many
organizations, who had previously resisted such changes. This
significant and ongoing change in the organization of
companies often leads to more distributed or even virtualized
companies, especially in the IT-domain. While it is a common
pattern in northern European countries, this is relatively new
in the DACH area.
In the post-pandemic context in 2023 a re-evaluation of
the office and mobile work (home office) environment is
being carried out in many organizations, often moving
towards one of the extremes: either (fully) back to the office
or (fully) remote work. Some initial studies, such as [49] [35]
indicate that there are different perspectives, including the
organization, the employer, and also the regulatory side with
laws and rules that create a framework. Apart from setting up
the rules [49] this perspective emphasizes the need to
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communicate an organizational decision to move back to the
office, which represents at least one aspect where the SOAC
model can be useful as an explanation model (e.g., to (re)build
a team spirit within an otherwise distributed team).
The influence of the pandemic can also have future
impacts on the workplace based on the experiences and
expectations of the new workforce (Generation Z), who
demand more remote work possibilities wherever possible,
addressing their need for autonomy and freedom. This means
the attractiveness of the workplace will also be measured in
the dimension of flexibility between working remotely and
on-site, which directly relates to direct and digital
communication channels and the effects on the SOAC. Some
sectors will be more affected by this movement than others;
the IT-sector might be a good example as it is an employee-
market in the DACH-region (there is more demand than
supply for employees) and since the work context is already
digital and predominantly digitized.
From a managerial point of view this change creates new
challenges for managing teams and projects due to the fact of
(perceived) fewer social interactions. From the perspective of
digital leadership, these aspects were already being discussed
even before the pandemic. Digital leadership refers to both the
restructuring of organizational and infrastructural frameworks,
as well as the design of new working methods and styles that
positively embrace digital transformation. Consequently, it
affects both corporate management (including both strategic
and operational levels), and personnel leadership. Similar to
professional trainings, the focus in many organizations has
been less on social aspects and more on technical, strategic,
and organizational factors.
Many studies have found that only a few leaders possess
the competencies of a digital leader. In a rapidly changing
digital landscape, leadership must go beyond merely under-
standing technology; it requires a blend of strategic insight,
adaptability, and a keen awareness of the human factors that
drive innovation and change.
In this context, the SOAC can create an easily
understandable framework to shift the awareness towards the
social aspects of interaction. By placing an emphasis on the
relational and interactive elements of leadership, it
complements the technical and strategic components. The
SOAC underscores the importance of empathy, collaboration,
and social engagement in leading a modern organization,
particularly in an era where digital transformation is
paramount.
The SOAC as a managerial concept will help managers
and team leaders to better understand the needs of their
colleagues and team mates, and to act according to their
(individual) needs, since they are able to sense and classify the
charging and discharging activities during the digital and
direct interactions. For employees the SOAC functions as a
model that helps them to become aware and to voice their
needs in terms of communication and interaction over the
various channels.
Monitoring the social energy of the members of a group
has always been an important task for leaders. However, in a
hybrid working environment with a large amount of digital
interaction it will be more important to monitor the social
energy of the team members and to recharge their SOACs
motivation and performance. The concept of SOAC can help
to manage team social energy more actively.
D. Challenges for the application of SOAC
Applying the mental model of a SOAC has its challenges,
which are a subject for future research. Some of the foreseen
challenges are briefly mentioned in order to provide some
hints for the application in the settings described above.
It will be important to retain the simplicity of the concept
and to stay as close to the accumulator metaphor as possible
in order to make application simple and intuitive for the
human actors in the communication process. The notion of the
social battery that is familiar to the younger generation might
help to introduce the concept.
Likewise, it will be important and challenging to make the
current social energy visible for the individual and for the
group in order to create awareness and the opportunity to
appropriately act on critical states of the SOAC. A promising
approach for teams could be the use of retrospectives as a
method from the agile software development for groups [50].
An adapted and simplified version might even work for the
individual as a form of self-retrospective that can be mapped
to the communication events in the recent period to plot the
social energy levels over time. Integration in already
established routines will be a key factor in this context, and
feedback activities of all sorts might be a promising candidate
for integrating SOAC.
Finally, charging and discharging factors will overlay each
other and communication setting (in-person or digital) might
not be directly related to the social energy level or being
conscious for the human users in every situation. Therefore,
the identification of relevant communication events and their
contribution to the social energy level in a precise way is going
to be another challenge. As indicated in Figure 3, personal
energy and social energy may also influence the SOAC
concept as it focusses on digital versus direct communication
and collaboration; therefore, these aspects should be
considered as contextual factors. Furthermore, the capacity
and the loading/unloading events are highly individual and
subjective by nature, which makes a comparison of SOACs of
different persons challenging, the observation of an individual
SOAC charging state over time might be more promising.
VI. CONCLUSIONS & FUTURE RESEARCH
The main contribution of this paper is the introduction of
the SOAC as a mental concept that serves as a simple
explanation model depicting the social energy level of an
individual or a group, along with the perceived differences of
direct and digital interactions. The SOAC concept supports
understanding and the interplay between the different forms
of interaction and thus enables the improvement of the overall
interaction between human users, as both forms are and
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continue to be present in our daily professional life. In
addition, the paper helps to identify various individual aspects
that need to be considered when planning and orchestrating
the various forms of interaction. This is exemplified by using
application examples from three different fields. The
embedding of the concept in the field of social energy clarifies
the current state of the art in this domain and explains the
contribution of the SOAC concept with its focus on the
alternation between direct and digital communication and
collaboration.
A limitation of the research is the current focus on the
conceptual level. There is a lack of empirical data, the
collection of which is the subject of further research in the
various usage scenarios mentioned above. This next step will
also serve to gather responses from the human actors in the
interaction process regarding the understanding and
usefulness of the mental model of a SOAC.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank the Tyrolean Science
this research under grant number F.33280/6-202 and the
colleagues and reviewers which helped to improve it.
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