University of Michigan School of Information PhD student David Gamba has published his first paper as a UMSI student. The paper “Exit Ripple Effects: Understanding the Disruption of Socialization Networks Following Employee Departures” examines the communication dynamics of workplaces following employee departures. 

The paper was published in the May WWW '24: Proceedings of the ACM on Web Conference in collaboration with Yulin Yu, Yuan Yuan, Grant Schoenebeck, and Daniel Romero. The publication of a PhD student’s first paper is a big milestone in their career, initiating them into the scholarly community as producers of knowledge. UMSI supports their work as part of our mission to share knowledge. 

Gamba is a second year PhD student at UMSI. Before joining UMSI, he studied physics and systems engineering, then later developed an interest in data science. His research explores the use of data and artificial intelligence to tackle social issues. 

“My research investigates the interplay between individual choice and collective phenomena using tools from network science and data science,” Gamba says. “I am particularly interested in how personal actions and beliefs impact and are shaped by group behaviors and community decision-making. I'm also interested in exploring the limits of when it makes sense to address systemic issues at the individual level or the collective level.” 

Gamba’s PhD advisors are UMSI associate professors Grant Schoenebeck and Daniel Romero. Gamba is expected to graduate in 2027. 

“I deeply admire how the UMSI community, particularly the students, actively demonstrate and embody the program's principles and commitment to social justice,” Gamba says. “This goes beyond academic studies and research, extending into real-world action through organizing and activism. The community's dedication to creating material, positive change is what makes UMSI special to me.” 

Read Exit Ripple Effects: Understanding the Disruption of Socialization Networks Following Employee Departures” on the  WWW '24: Proceedings of the ACM on Web Conference and see the abstract below: 

Amidst growing uncertainty and frequent restructurings, the impacts of employee exits are becoming one of the central concerns for organizations. Using rich communication data from a large holding company, we examine the effects of employee departures on socialization networks among the remaining coworkers. Specifically, we investigate how network metrics change among people who historically interacted with departing employees. We find evidence of “breakdown” in communication among the remaining coworkers, who tend to become less connected with fewer interactions after their coworkers’ departure. This effect appears to be moderated by both external factors, such as periods of high organizational stress, and internal factors, such as the characteristics of the departing employee. At the external level, periods of high stress correspond to greater communication breakdown; at the internal level, however, we find patterns suggesting individuals may end up better positioned in their networks after a network neighbor’s departure. Overall, our study provides critical insights into managing workforce changes and preserving communication dynamics in the face of employee exits. 

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Learn more about David Gamba by visiting his UMSI profile. 

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— Noor Hindi, UMSI public relations specialist