New impetus for digital innovation: US fellow Mattie Bryant conducts research at HNU

Mattie Bryant found her way to HNU and the IDI through Prof. Dr. Marten Risius, with whom she has been working since the beginning of her doctoral studies. “ My experience at HNU has been extremely rewarding. I have greatly enjoyed the collaborative atmosphere in the IDI office, which has provided me with many opportunities to engage in inspiring research discussions,” says the scientist, summing up her time on the Wiley campus. 

HNU stay advanced two research projects 

During her stay, Bryant worked with Prof. Dr. Risius on two projects: The first involved analyzing a panel session from the Paris Defense & Strategy Forum (PDSF) 2025, where military leaders discussed how information systems and management scholars can generate research that addresses their sociotechnical challenges. The second project was an online experiment investigating how “shadowbanning," a form of visibility reduction on social media platforms, may unintentionally stigmatize users who disclose their shadowbanned experiences.

Her research projects are directly linked to the IDI's focus areas, which deal with digital innovation and the social consequences of information systems. “I have greatly benefited from the group’s constructive feedback, particularly on refining theoretical framing and strengthening experiment designs“, Bryant reports. She hopes that the results of their research on shadowbanning will contribute both to the academic literature on platform governance and user behavior, as well as to practical insights for social media users navigating platform policies.

Collaboration with international fellows opens up new perspectives 

“With her highly topical research projects, Mattie Bryant has once again demonstrated how enriching international cooperation is for research and teaching at HNU,” says HNU President Prof. Dr. Uta M. Feser, who spoke with the visiting scholar about her experiences at the university. “Close cooperation with young international researchers strengthens our visibility and at the same time opens up new perspectives for joint research.”

About

Mattie Bryant graduated from The University of Alabama in May 2023 with both a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Management Information Systems (MIS) and a Master’s degree in MIS. During her time there, she served as the lead teaching assistant for the Intro to Programming course and worked as support staff for the MIS program. In Summer 2022, she completed an internship with The Walt Disney Company, working on the Project Management and Enabling Technology team at the Disney Studios office in Burbank, California. In Fall 2023, Mattie Bryant began her PhD in Information Systems at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she is now entering her third year.

Contact
Prof. Dr. Marten Risius