Used Studies
The Ventranet relationship algorithm wasn’t built on gut feeling. It rests on peer-reviewed research from four scientific fields — memory and forgetting research, network and tie-strength sociology, communication and channel research, and empirical work on reciprocity and trust. In total, more than 60 scientific studies and specialist sources were reviewed.
| Memory & forgetting research | 27 |
| Network, tie-strength & sociology research | 19 |
| Communication, channel & trust research | 21 |
| Total scientific studies | 67 |
| Plus: applied CRM / practice sources | 13 |
| Total (incl. practice sources) | 80 |
Memory & Forgetting Research
27 studiesBasis for the exponential decay model, the “stability” parameters, half-lives, the spacing effect and the reactivation windows.
- Ebbinghaus, H. — On Memory: the classic forgetting curve (reprint)
- Murre, J. M. J. & Dros, J. (2015) — Replication and Analysis of Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve, PLOS ONE
- Wixted, J. T. & Ebbesen, E. B. (1997) — Genuine power curves in forgetting
- Murre, J. M. J. & Chessa, A. G. (2011) — Power laws from averaging over individual exponential forgetting curves
- Wixted, J. T. (2004) — The psychology and neuroscience of forgetting
- Cepeda, N. J. et al. (2006) — Distributed practice / the spacing effect: a meta-analysis of 317 experiments
- Cepeda, N. J. et al. (2008) — Optimizing distributed practice (over 1,350 participants)
- Cepeda et al. (2008) — Spacing effects in learning (the temporal ridgeline)
- Bahrick, H. P. & Hall, L. K. (2005) — The importance of retrieval failures to long-term retention
- Bahrick, H. P. — Fifty years of memory for names and faces (the permastore)
- Maddox, G. B. et al. (2015) — Spacing and testing effects / retrieval difficulty
- Craik, F. I. M. & Tulving, E. — Depth of processing / levels-of-processing
- Peng, P. et al. (2024) — Levels of processing in immediate and delayed recognition
- McGaugh, J. L. (1996) — Emotional arousal and amygdala-mediated memory modulation
- Paré, D. (2023) — Emotional memory mechanisms (review)
- Phelps, E. A. & Sharot, T. (2008) — Emotion, vividness and subjective memory
- Hirst, W. & Phelps, E. A. (2016) — Flashbulb memories
- Pantelis, P. C. et al. (2008) — Distinctiveness and interference in face memory
- Kramer, R. S. S. (2021) — Forgetting newly learned faces (570 participants, first 24 hours)
- Paller, K. A. et al. (2003) — Person recognition and person-specific information
- MacKenzie, G. & Donaldson, D. I. (2016) — Person identification vs. face recognition
- Brédart, S. (2018) — The fragility of proper names in memory (review)
- James, L. E. et al. (2008) — Face–occupation vs. face–name associations
- Fogler, K. A. & James, L. E. (2010) — Learning descriptive vs. non-descriptive names
- Hamilton, L. J. & Krendl, A. C. (2023) — Social cognition and face–name memory
- Klein, S. B. et al. (2009) — The social functions of episodic memory
- Georgiou, A. et al. (2023) — Separating acquisition, retention and retrieval in memory
Additional consolidation research: Squire et al. (2015); “The Yin and Yang of memory consolidation”; time-dependent consolidation in distributed learning.
Network, Tie-Strength & Sociology Research
19 studiesBasis for the definition of relationship strength, the importance bands, Dunbar layers, the reactivation of dormant contacts and the value of weak and strong ties.
- Granovetter, M. S. (1973) — The Strength of Weak Ties, American Journal of Sociology
- Marsden, P. V. & Campbell, K. E. (2012) — Reflections on Conceptualizing and Measuring Tie Strength, Social Forces
- Marsden, P. V. & Campbell, K. E. (1984) — Measuring Tie Strength, Social Forces
- Levin, D. Z., Walter, J. & Murnighan, J. K. (2011) — Dormant Ties: The Value of Reconnecting
- Levin, Walter & Murnighan — How to Reconnect for Maximum Impact, MIT Sloan Management Review
- Roberts, S. G. B. & Dunbar, R. I. M. (2015) — Managing relationship decay
- Hill, R. A. & Dunbar, R. I. M. (2003) — Social network size in humans
- Miritello, G. et al. — Time as a limited resource: communication strategy in social networks
- Tamarit, I. et al. — Cognitive resource allocation and Dunbar circles
- Onnela, J.-P. et al. — Structure and tie strengths in mobile communication networks
- Aiello, L. M., Joglekar, S. & Quercia, D. — Multidimensional tie-strength analysis
- Mattie, H. et al. — Social network structure and relationship dynamics
- Burt, R. S. — Structural Holes (chapter)
- Wellman, B. & Wortley, S. (1990) — Different Strokes from Different Folks: Community Ties and Social Support
- Hall, J. A. & Baym, N. K. (2012) — Calling & texting: (hyper)coordination and friendship maintenance
- Tie-strength study — Science (2022): a weak-ties field experiment
- Scientific Reports (2023) — network and tie-strength analysis
- Dunbar layers — the fractal structure of social networks (arXiv)
- Relationship-maintenance study — Personal Relationships
Communication, Channel & Trust Research
21 studiesBasis for the interaction weights (like < comment < message < call < meeting), channel depth (DEPTH_RANK), reciprocity factors and the cross-channel sequence bonus.
- Daft, R. L. & Lengel, R. H. (1986) — Media Richness Theory, Management Science
- Dennis, A. R., Fuller, R. M. & Valacich, J. S. (2008) — Media Synchronicity Theory, MIS Quarterly
- Walther, J. B. (1996) — Computer-Mediated Communication / the Hyperpersonal Model
- Burke, M. & Kraut, R. E. — Communication and relationship strength on social platforms
- Scissors, L., Burke, M. & Wengrovitz, S. — What’s in a Like?
- Bos, N. et al. — Effects of four computer-mediated channels on trust development
- Kumar, A. & Epley, N. (2021) — It’s Surprisingly Nice to Hear You: voice and connection
- Schroeder, J., Kardas, M. & Epley, N. — The Humanizing Voice
- “They Like to Hear My Voice” — a voice-message study, MobileHCI 2020
- Channel Expansion Theory — an empirical test
- Social Information Processing Theory — Wiley SIP encyclopedia entry
- Social Presence — a review, JCMC
- Media Configurations — JCMC
- Social Presence — conceptualization
- Handshaking promotes deal-making — Harvard Business School
- Oxytocin & Trust
- Social bonding — a review
- Ambient Awareness — passive salience through social media
- Virtual Work Meetings
- Job interview / communication-mode meta-analysis — Journal of Organizational Behavior
- LinkedIn Trust Study
On the nonverbal / channel debate we also drew on the Lapakko critique, a SAGE reciprocity study and Cogent Engineering (2022).
Applied CRM & Practice Sources
13 sourcesNot peer-reviewed, but used to calibrate the contact cadences and health scores in practice.
All figures are verified and deduplicated from the four foundational research reports (Memory, Tie Strength, Interaction Weights and Blueprint).