Individual Dynamics in Dynamic Groups

Individual Dynamics in Dynamic Groups | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Individual Dynamics in Dynamic Groups Raji Ghawi, Jürgen Pfeffer This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7866719/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 03 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Applied Network Science → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Groups are inherently dynamic social entities whose function, adaptation, and outcomes are fundamentally driven by continuous changes in individual membership and affiliation patterns. Existing analytical frameworks often treat the group as the primary unit of analysis, overlooking the complexity of individual trajectories within these shifting structures. To address this gap, we introduce a unified, granular framework that shifts the unit of analysis from the group to the individual, formally representing their presence across multiple groups over time. Building on this formalization, we define a comprehensive set of individual-level and affiliation-level metrics to quantify the dynamics of participation. We validate the framework using three real-world datasets from distinct domains: online gaming (Travian) and professional sports (Football and NBA). The empirical results demonstrate the framework’s flexibility and explanatory power, revealing generalizable structural regularities. This framework provides a robust quantitative tool for characterizing and predicting individual behavior within dynamic group systems. Dynamic Groups Individual Dynamics Group Affiliation Behavioral Metrics Social Systems Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 03 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Applied Network Science → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 06 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 22 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 16 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 16 Oct, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 16 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 15 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7866719","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":536911111,"identity":"fcb7bd72-2072-4e87-88ca-3cde27ecb9f5","order_by":0,"name":"Raji Ghawi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAzElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHCChAMMDEDEzHwAxGNsIEELW2IDsVpAAGQBjyFxWszbDzw8wPDrjrzBcZ7vj3lzGGT7CWmROZOQcICx75nhhsO8G5t5tzEYzyRkjQQDSEvPYcZtUC2JGw4Q0sL/AKzFftthnodgLfsJapEA2sLw43AiUAsjxBZCfpGQANqS2HA4ef9hNsOZc7dJGM8g7LCc5A8f/hy2ndl/+MGHt9tsZPsbCFnDwJPAkNiGMIKgeiBgBzrkDzEKR8EoGAWjYMQCAKN7S7824JlLAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Munich","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Raji","middleName":"","lastName":"Ghawi","suffix":""},{"id":536911112,"identity":"960b2a1c-1f1b-4ceb-b0ec-6d3adf1f1e25","order_by":1,"name":"Jürgen Pfeffer","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Munich","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jürgen","middleName":"","lastName":"Pfeffer","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-15 10:08:03","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7866719/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7866719/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s41109-026-00774-7","type":"published","date":"2026-02-03T15:58:12+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":94831407,"identity":"f5716c14-e03f-4964-a652-ec855616e049","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-31 07:25:02","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":751126,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"IndividualDynamicsinDynamicGroupsv61ANS.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7866719/v1/e66d09c0d895a2a1a02dbfe5.pdf"},{"id":94831406,"identity":"0b6527d1-e0a5-42e7-b671-a5fd25deab3c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-31 07:25:02","extension":"json","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":4336,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"463a605dc8ab466b904100e95f3fcd36.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7866719/v1/1624bf4ff5a7fc1e63b10720.json"},{"id":102235256,"identity":"08bf0c80-942a-499d-82ff-c2e0c752a1d4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-09 16:16:10","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":554850,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"IndividualDynamicsinDynamicGroupsv61ANS.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7866719/v1_covered_6a970056-d9dd-4101-90ef-c4beaa437470.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Individual Dynamics in Dynamic Groups","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"applied-network-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"apns","sideBox":"Learn more about [Applied Network Science](http://appliednetsci.springeropen.com/)","snPcode":"41109","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/41109/3","title":"Applied Network Science","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Dynamic Groups, Individual Dynamics, Group Affiliation, Behavioral Metrics, Social Systems","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7866719/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7866719/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Groups are inherently dynamic social entities whose function, adaptation, and outcomes are fundamentally driven by continuous changes in individual membership and affiliation patterns. Existing analytical frameworks often treat the group as the primary unit of analysis, overlooking the complexity of individual trajectories within these shifting structures. To address this gap, we introduce a unified, granular framework that shifts the unit of analysis from the group to the individual, formally representing their presence across multiple groups over time. Building on this formalization, we define a comprehensive set of individual-level and affiliation-level metrics to quantify the dynamics of participation. We validate the framework using three real-world datasets from distinct domains: online gaming (Travian) and professional sports (Football and NBA). The empirical results demonstrate the framework’s flexibility and explanatory power, revealing generalizable structural regularities. This framework provides a robust quantitative tool for characterizing and predicting individual behavior within dynamic group systems.","manuscriptTitle":"Individual Dynamics in Dynamic Groups","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-31 07:24:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7866719/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-12-06T15:54:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-11-15T22:12:32+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-29T12:42:47+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-22T18:50:47+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"330375882309229606833518198518679317367","date":"2025-10-22T18:12:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"46504766027304429889758367994293188640","date":"2025-10-18T14:52:25+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"190840441643977508984425146115293055580","date":"2025-10-16T15:35:03+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-16T13:27:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-10-16T11:48:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-10-16T04:23:27+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Applied Network Science","date":"2025-10-15T09:52:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"applied-network-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"apns","sideBox":"Learn more about [Applied Network Science](http://appliednetsci.springeropen.com/)","snPcode":"41109","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/41109/3","title":"Applied Network Science","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"c93d4cb0-ad93-439c-b439-c8e5fb6c66d9","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 31st, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-09T16:13:44+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7866719","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s41109-026-00774-7","journal":{"identity":"applied-network-science","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Applied Network Science"},"publishedOn":"2026-02-03 15:58:12","publishedOnDateReadable":"February 3rd, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-31 07:24:57","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s41109-026-00774-7","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s41109-026-00774-7","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7866719","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7866719","identity":"rs-7866719","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}