Short Bio
Xhovana Prenga is a doctoral researcher in the International Doctorate Programme Business and Human Rights at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen–Nürnberg (FAU), where she explores the intersection of social media algorithms, sensemaking, business human rights, and digital well-being. She holds an M.Sc. in International Information Systems from FAU, a B.A. in Economics from the University of Massachusetts Boston, graduating summa cum laude, and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Tirana. Her academic trajectory spans information systems, data analytics, business strategy, and human rights, forming a strong interdisciplinary foundation for understanding the societal implications of digital technologies. During her Master’s studies, she worked as a student researcher at FAU’s Chair for Information Systems, contributing to projects on responsible and ethical AI and recommender systems.
Her current doctoral research investigates how users make sense of social media algorithms and platform design, and how these interpretations influence well-being, autonomy, and empowerment. With a focus on sustainability goals, her project aims to understand how can user sensemaking serve as both a pathway to individual well-being and empowerment, and a foundation for designing more effective social media governance frameworks.
- Prenga X., Horneber D.: User Folk Theories of Instagram’s Algorithm International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) (Nashville, Tennessee) In: Digit 2025 Proceedings 2025 URL: https://aisel.aisnet.org/digit2025/21 BibTeX: Download
- Prenga X.: Should ChatGPT Come with Warnings? International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) (Nashville, Teneessee) In: TREO (Technology, Research, Education, and Opinion) Talks 2025 URL: https://aisel.aisnet.org/treos_icis2025/129 BibTeX: Download
- Prenga X., Horneber D., Brechtelsbauer B.: “Now my Algorithm is Perfect”: How do Instagram Users Make Sense of its Algorithm? – Developing Folk Theories of Social Media Algorithms European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS) 2025 (Amman, Jordan, 15. Juni 2025 – 18. Juni 2025) In: ECIS 2025 Proceedings 2025 URL: https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2025/social_virtual/social_virtual/5 BibTeX: Download
Xhovana Prenga, David Horneber: Best Paper Runner-up Award “User Folk Theories of Instagram’s Algorithm” (The 35th Annual Workshop of the AIS Special Interest Group on Adoption and Diffusion of Information Technology (SIG ADIT)) – 2025