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Afrouz Hojati

Assistant Professor
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Overview

Afrouz Hojati is an Assistant Professor in Digital Technology at the Smith School of Business, Queen's University.

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Appointment Type

Tenure/Tenure-Track

Academic Area

  • Digital Technology

Interest Topics

  • Analytics & Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Content Moderation
  • Economics of Information Systems
  • Government & Policy
  • Social Media
  • Technology & Information Systems

Faculty Details

Profile

Full Bio

Afrouz Hojati is an Assistant Professor in Digital Technology at the Smith School of Business, Queen's University.

She was previously a Postdoctoral Associate at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, where she also earned her Ph.D. in Business Technology Management. Her research examines the economics of information systems, focusing on digital platforms, social media, and content moderation, using a combination of analytical modeling, empirical analysis, and machine learning methods. Her work has been published in journals such as Information Systems Research, Decision Support Systems, and the International Journal of Electronic Commerce. Prior to joining academia, she worked as a product marketing analyst and business analyst in the e-commerce and consumer goods industries.

Academic Degrees

PhD | Information Systems (2024)
University of Calgary, Canada

MBA (2015)
University of Tehran, Iran

BSc | Computer Science (2011)
Isfahan University of Technology, Iran

Academic Experience

Smith School of Business | Queen's University
Assistant Professor (2026 - Present)

University of Calgary | Canada
Postdoctoral Associate (2024-2026)

Publications

Publications

Hojati, A. and Nault B. R., (2025), “Content Moderation with Shadowbanning,” Information Systems Research.

Gopal, R.D., Hojati, A. and Patterson, R.A., (2025), “A Little Bit Goes A Long Way: Indirect Effects of Content Moderation on Online Social Media,” International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 29(1), 39-64. (authors listed alphabetically)

Gopal, R.D., Hojati, A. and Patterson, R.A., (2022), “Analysis of Third-party Request Structures to Detect Fraudulent Websites.” Decision Support Systems, 54, p.113698. (authors listed alphabetically)

 

Working Papers & Works in Progress

Hojati, A. and Nault B. R., “Content Moderation with Visibility Reduction,” working paper, major revision from Information Systems Research.

Hojati, A. and Nault B. R., “A Comparative Analysis of Regulatory Approaches to Content Moderation across Western Democracies,” working paper, under review.

Hojati, A. and Nault B. R., “Regulation-Based vs. Market-Based Content Moderation Governance in Social Media,” work in progress.

Teaching

Guest Lecturer | Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary
  • Ph.D. Seminar I, Analytical Modeling in IS Research (BTMA 799) - Fall 2025
Sessional Instructor | Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary
  • Data Analytics I — Gathering, Wrangling, and Analyzing Data in R (two sections) - Winter 2024
  • Introduction to Business Analytics (two sections) - Fall 2022
Teaching Certificate, University of Calgary
  • Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) - Spring 2023

Research

Interests

Areas: Economics of Information Systems, Social Media, Content Moderation, Digital Governance

Methodologies: Analytical Modeling, Econometrics, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Simulation

 

Presentations

Conference Proceedings, Presentations, and Talks

“Content Moderation Governance in Social Media: Regulation-Based vs. Market-Based Approaches”.
  • Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC), 2026 (Refereed)
“Content Moderation with Visibility Reduction”
  • Smith School of Business, Queen’s University, Canada, March 2026 (invited talk)
  • Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Canada, December 2025 (invited talk)
  • Laval University, Canada, December 2025 (invited talk)
  • Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST), 2025 (Refereed)
“Content Moderation with Shadowbanning”
  • Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York (CUNY), February 2025 (invited talk)
  • Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, February 2025 (invited talk)
  • Workshop on Information Systems and Economics (WISE), 2023 (Refereed; presenter).
“Content Moderation and Social Contagion”
  • Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS), 2022 (Refereed; presenter).
“Third-party Supply Chains for Detection of Fraudulent Websites”
  • Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS), 2020 (Refereed; presenter).

Awards

Paramount Resources Ltd Graduate Scholarship, Sep 2022 - Apr 2023

Professional Development Grant, University of Calgary, 2023

Conference Travel Funding, Department of BTM, Haskayne School of Business, 2023

University of Calgary Pre-Candidacy Award, 2020

Graduate Study Scholarship/Fellowship (Ph.D), University of Calgary, Sep 2019 - Apr 2024

Undergraduate Tuition Scholarship, Isfahan University of Technology, Sep 2006 - Aug 2010

Service

Reviewer

  • Information Systems Research (ISR), 2026
  • Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC), 2026
  • European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), 2026
  • Canada Graduate Research Scholarship-Doctoral, Preliminary Assessment, University of Calgary, 2025
  • International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), 2024
  • Workshop on Information Technologies Systems (WITS), 2022

Student Liaison

  • INFORMS - Women in OR/MS, 2025

Co-supervisor

  • Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE), University of Calgary, 2023
  • Mentor International Student Mentorship Program, University of Calgary, 2021,2023

 

Professional Memberships

Association for Information Systems (AIS)
INFORMS Information Systems Society (ISS)
INFORMS Analytics Society, INFORMS Women in OR/MS

Professional Experience

Sessional Instructor University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Fall 2022, Winter 2024

Product Marketing Analyst Kalleh Co. (private dairy company)
Jan 2016 - Apr 2018

Business Analyst DigiKala Co. (private e-commerce company)
Jan 2015 - Dec 2015