University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire
Ezgi Akar
Assistant Professor of
Information Systems
Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from Bogazici University. Researcher in social networks, online communities, and online mental health. Based at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, with previous appointments at UT Arlington and UT Dallas.
Courses Taught
Research Interests
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View Profile →Curriculum Vitae
Résumé
Academic Positions
2021 – present
Assistant Professor of Information Systems
University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI
2019 – 2021
Visiting Assistant Professor
University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX
2018 – 2019
Adjunct Lecturer
University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX
Education
2018
Ph.D., Management Information Systems
Bogazici University
2013
M.A., Management Information Systems
Bogazici University
2009
B.Sc., Management Information Systems
Bogazici University
Courses Taught
UW–Eau Claire
Introduction to Business Analytics
UW–Eau Claire
Database Management Systems
UT Arlington
Advanced Application Development
UT Arlington
Advanced Systems Development
UT Arlington
Database Management Systems
UT Dallas
Information Technology for Business
Research Interests
Social networks · Online communities · Online mental health · Online consumers · Marketing analytics
Licenses & Certifications
Jun 2025
Google AI Essentials Specialization
Google · Credential ID: 94UC42FJ03LG
May 2025
AUAI: Experimenter
Auburn University
Sep 2023
Google Data Analytics Certificate
Coursera
Dec 2022
Dedication to Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire
May 2021
Certificate Program to Improve Teaching Practices and Enhance Student Learning
Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning · University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire
May 2021
Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Power BI
edX Verified Certificate · Credential ID: 9945d05e88184cc3b2b0ee5c970cb9d0
Nov 2019
Data Science and Big Data Analytics: Making Data-Driven Decisions
MIT xPRO · Credential ID: 003e2632-0792-42c6-863d-60e8b57bc9a8
Scholarly Work
Publications
2025
Connecting for well-being: a role-based network analysis of online mental health communities
Behaviour & Information Technology — Published online first
Empirically identifies and classifies user roles based on topic engagement patterns within online mental health groups and reveals their influence on information dissemination. Analysed 8,580 posts from r/MentalHealth, identifying 12 main discussion topics.
Exploring the impact of social network structures on toxicity in online mental health communities
Computers in Human Behavior, 165
Examines how structural social capital influences online toxicity using degree, closeness, eigenvector, and betweenness centralities on a network of 7,562 users and 12.7 million relationships.
2024
Digital consumerism in times of crisis: exploring the shift in online shopping behaviour
British Food Journal, Vol. 126 No. 9, pp. 3441–3462
Investigates shifts in consumer online shopping behaviour across COVID-19 phases via the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Behavioural Inhibition System.
Unmasking an infodemic: What characteristics are fuelling misinformation on social media?
International Journal of Advanced Media and Communication, 8(1), 53–76
Builds a research model on COVID-19 misinformation drawing on the Undeutsch hypothesis, four-factor theory, and source credibility theory.
Exploring community dynamics and contributions to toxicity in online mental health groups
AMCIS 2024 Proceedings
Topic modeling, toxicity analysis, and social network analysis on 8,577 submissions from 7,562 r/MentalHealth users, revealing distinct subcommunities.
2022
Let's Get United and #ClearTheShelters: The Factors Contributing to Users' Network Centrality in Online Social Networks
Journal of Information Technology Research, 15(1), 1–18
Network analysis on 13,270 Twitter users and 24,354 relationships exploring centrality factors in the #ClearTheShelters social movement.
Ahmed, A., & Akar, E. — An empirical examination of technology and security services in sharing economy
AMCIS 2022 Proceedings
Studies competitive advantage from technology- and security-based services for Airbnb listings in a saturated short-term rental market.
What sells on fake news market?: examining the impact of contextualized rhetorical features on popularity of fake tweets
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 12(1), e202201
Analyzes how rhetorical features, topic categories, and design motivations influence fake news popularity.
2021
Customers' online purchase intentions and customer segmentation during the period of COVID-19 pandemic
Journal of Internet Commerce, 20(3), 371–401
Survey of 520 online customers in Turkey extending the theory of planned behavior with pandemic concern variables.
2019
Is it a new tulip mania age? A comprehensive literature review beyond cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, and blockchain technology
Journal of Information Technology Research, 13(1), 44–67
Reviews the evolution of cryptocurrencies and blockchain through 334 scholarly journal articles.
User roles in online communities and their moderating effect on online community usage intention: An integrated approach
International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 35(6), 495–509
Identifies user roles via structural role theory, social network analysis, and contribution behavior to develop community motivation strategies.
2018
Understanding online consumers' purchase intentions: A contribution from Social Network Theory
Behaviour & Information Technology, 37(5), 473–487
Integrates social network theory and theory of planned behavior to analyze purchase intentions using Twitter data.
User roles and contribution patterns in online communities: A managerial perspective
SAGE Open, July–September 2018
Combines managerial and social domain theories, SNA, and contribution patterns to identify user types and develop motivation strategies.
2015 – 2016
Factors affecting the adoption of cloud computing: A case of Turkey
KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems, 10(1), 18–37 · 2016
A review of literature on consumers' online purchase intentions
Journal of Customer Behaviour, 14(3), 215–233 · 2015
A roadmap for an integrated university information system based on connectivity issues: Case of Turkey
International Journal of Management Science and Information Technology · 2015
Get in Touch
Contact
Email
akare [at] uwec.edu
Institution
University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire
Department of Information Systems
Eau Claire, WI
Department of Information Systems
Eau Claire, WI
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