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Tie and Network Correlates of Individual Performance in Knowledge-Intensive Work
... Considerable research has been conducted to understand how employees react to downsizing (Brockner et al., 1994(Brockner et al., , 2004Dlouhy & Casper, 2021;Fugate et al., 2008;Hargrove et al., 2012;Rafferty & Griffin, 2006;Sahdev, 2003) using theoretical frameworks such as social-exchange (e.g., Arshad & Sparrow, 2010;Iverson & Zatzick, 2011) and justice theories (e.g., Brockner et al., 2004), and examining company performance through commonly used metrics, such as expense ratios, profits, return on investment, and share prices (e.g., Cascio et al., 2021;Guthrie & Datta, 2008;McElroy et al., 2001). Yet, few studies have investigated the micro dynamics of communication relationships among employees in environments in which layoffs are announced and surviving employees suddenly become aware that they will soon lose access to a portion of their network relationships, with an immediate impact in some cases (for notable exceptions see Aalbers, 2020;Cross & Cummings, 2004;Shah, 2000). This leaves our theoretical understanding of tie-seeking behavior-that is, how survivors seek new connections-and the resulting structural consequences in intraorganizational networks less understood. ...
... This leaves our theoretical understanding of tie-seeking behavior-that is, how survivors seek new connections-and the resulting structural consequences in intraorganizational networks less understood. These dynamics are also important for improving employee performance in the aftermath of an organizational downsizing (Cross & Cummings, 2004;Shah, 2000). ...
... Employees' centrality and network connections have been shown to positively influence performance outcomes (Cross & Cummings, 2004;Shah, 2000;Sparrowe & Liden, 2005). As employees gain additional social ties, they can access ever-larger stocks of information and resources, ultimately placing them in strong, resource-rich positions that enable them to combat future resource losses and invest additional efforts in work. ...
Today’s corporations increasingly use downsizing as a change strategy to improve organizational performance. Although downsizing and employee networks have garnered attention from both scholars and practitioners, few studies have investigated the influence of downsizing on the temporal dynamics of communication networks among surviving employees or how changes in communication patterns in organizations affect performance. To study how downsizing affects layoff survivors—extending Conservation of Resources theory to longitudinal network and employee-performance data, we examine the impact of downsizing on both the behavioral and structural consequences in an organizational network and test whether temporal changes in network members’ out-degree centrality predict how employees who survive a downsizing event perform in their jobs. We find that, during the period immediately following a downsizing event, survivors’ new tie-seeking behavior results in gains in out-degree centrality when compared with out-degree centrality before the event or after organization routines stabilize. Moreover, survivors with lower pre-downsizing out-degree centrality achieve greater gains in out-degree centrality than those with higher out-degree centrality. We find that substantial gains in out-degree centrality are positively related to post-downsizing performance. Efforts to regain out-degree centrality are abandoned during the stabilization period, and changes in out-degree centrality are no longer positively related to post-downsizing performance. Our results demonstrate that dynamic changes in out-degree centrality during disruption and stabilization periods following a downsizing event have differential effects on work-related relationships and performance. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of these results and suggest future research directions.
... It is possible to actively share knowledge and information because of these heightened relationships with others [34]. Establishing a favourable position in the network provides opportunities for improving the ability to access information and absorb knowledge [35,36]. In addition, using external memory eliminates the need to recall all information and reduces memory overload, resulting in increased effectiveness and efficiency in performing professional tasks. ...
... The greater power of transactive memory, the more favourable the communication that occurs with the formation of transactive memory has a favourable effect on the operational capability of individuals [50]. People with strong transactive memory capabilities have a greater opportunity to acquire new and different types of knowledge as they link the flow of knowledge and information within a company due to their central position within the network [35]. Bachrach et al. [9] found that the strength of TMS (transactive memory system) for performance relationships varied depending on the characteristics of the national cultural context. ...
... 41.9% of the respondents were male, and 58.1% were female. Further, 40.8% of the respondents were members in the age group of [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]29.6% were between 21-30, 18.4% were between 41 and 50, and 11.2% were in the age group of 51 and above. The largest proportion of respondents, 71.5% of the data was collected from full-time (Regular) members of public universities. ...
... Extant literature provides arguments both in favor of and against consultancies as workplaces in which individuals develop human capital that is valuable outside of the consultancy context. On the one hand, working as a consultant exposes individuals to a diverse range of clients and their business challenges, allowing them to accumulate broad, relevant knowledge (Canato & Giangreco, 2011) that is rarely publicly available (Glückler & Armbrüster, 2003), and establish extensive professional networks (Cross & Cummings, 2004). Further, these individuals demonstrate that they are willing to work long hours (Blagoev & Schreyögg, 2019) and acquire professional skills for managing complex problems with various stakeholders (Robertson, Scarbrough, & Swan, 2003). ...
... Apart from the immediate knowledge acquisition, consultants can draw from a broad professional network for advice from former client firms (Cross & Cummings, 2004). This network can even constitute a precursor to employment opportunities outside of consulting, as consultants may be familiar with the resource environment of their former clients and former clients can judge their human capital based on prior interactions. ...
... Individuals in a network contribute unequally to service performance due to differences in their own personal characteristics as well as in their strategic position [35]. By specifying whether an individual is an opinion leader, sensitive, or in a central position can be helpful in examining the effects that exist between inequality and performance [36]. Furthermore, a broader examination of the metrics regarding network structure, including clustering coefficients, degree distributions, average path lengths, and graph densities, can facilitate a more detailed analysis of the service outcomes and resource exchange efficiency of a particular group [37,38]. ...
... Therefore, in the aspect of SNA, they are characterized by nodes not belonging to any group, usually because they are part of multiple commissioner groups, having the highest eigenvector centrality values, acting as bridges and channels within the group, with connected to nodes which are also typically of higher importance. At the same time, these core nodes often enjoy high influence and trust, so that they can coordinate resources excellently and achieve technical service goals [36]. Their average performance level is the highest of all four groups, which is key to enhancing the overall group performance level. ...
The Sci-Tech Commissioner System (SCS) is a result of exploratory efforts by the Chinese government to use science and technology to strengthen the agricultural sector. Social network analysis (SNA) and machine learning (ML) techniques make it feasible to assess the service performance in China's SCS by using indicators such as group types and structure features. In this study, SNA and a clustering algorithm were employed to categorize service group types of sci-tech commissioners. By comparing the accuracy of different classification algorithms in predicting the clustering results, LightGBM algorithm was finally select to determine the clustering features of sci-tech commissioners and establish an interpretable ML model. Then, the SHAP was used to algorithm to analyze influences affecting service performance. Results show that the service forms of sci-tech commissioners are group-oriented, and that group types include small groups of young commissioners with close cooperation, larger groups of young and middle-aged commissioners, small groups of middle-aged and old commissioners with close cooperation, and isolated points of highly-influential commissioners. Furthermore, while group size is not the determinant of a commissioner's average performance, group structure and coordination ability were found to be more critical. Moreover, while differences in distinct types of service performance are caused by various factors, but good group structures and extensive social contacts are essential for high service performance.
... Informal social networks facilitate information sharing and creation, which boosts a firm's success (Cross & Cummings, 2004), encouraging organisations to adopt governance systems that are consistent with their culture and goals. Aligning governance with organisational culture boosts performance and creativity (Finkelstein et al., 2008). ...
... Similarly, when informal social networking is fostered within an organization, it can act as a catalyst for exchanging knowledge, cooperation, and generating new ideas. This aligns with the concept of SCT, highlighting the significance of interpersonal relationships in achieving organizational success (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998;Cross & Cummings, 2004). ...
Corporate governance affects the ownership and control of a firm. Conflicts between agents, managers and shareholders caused the crises of WorldCom, Enron, Tyco and Lehman Brothers. Therefore, the impact of chief executive officer (CEO) duality or board size on sustainable innovation and performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is relevant for research and evaluation. This may reflect the CEO style that supports long-term business growth with limited resources to enhance accountability, fast decision-making, and minimise hindrances to governance, particularly in emerging markets like India. The finding will help SMEs in maintaining their long-term viability. The current study examines the impact of CEO duality, board size, and informal social networks on sustainable innovation, governance, and performance of Indian SMEs to enable management to assess the significance of factors that contribute to firms’ sustainable performance
... Within this study, graduating students' personal networks (ego) were examined with regard to people (alters) they considered relevant when transitioning to the labor market. Egocentric networks allow respondents to define their own network boundaries (Cross & Cummings, 2004). In this way, it is possible to obtain a broad picture of all the contacts who students view as relevant in their transition to the labor market without being limited to a specific context-for example, only including contacts within the educational institution (Van Waes & Van den Bossche, 2020). ...
... First, this study expands the literature on the importance of social networks in the school-to-work transition. By conducting egocentric networks, respondents were able to construct their own network and obtain a broad picture of all the contacts who they consider as relevant in their transition to the labor market without being limited to a specific context (Cross & Cummings, 2004;Van Waes & Van den Bossche, 2020). As a result, we found that students seek labor market-oriented interactions with different types of network actors in the personal, education, and work contexts. ...
This study examines the social networks and networking behavior of students graduating from higher education and transitioning to the labor market. To obtain an in-depth understanding of graduating students’ social networks, a mixed method social network study was conducted. Network data from 12 graduating students were collected. The results showed that students seek labor market-oriented contacts with individuals in the personal, education, and work contexts. Students received more practical and job-specific support from weak ties (e.g., colleagues at internships) and more social and emotional support from strong ties (e.g., parents and fellow students). The development of a labor market-oriented network occurred spontaneously through social media channels or when students proactively connected with others at educational institutions or job events. However, not all students felt confident developing a network. In these cases, the lack of awareness of relevant network actors, and interpersonal and intrapersonal characteristics play a critical role.
... A study done by Levin and Cross (2004) affirmed that trust arbitrates the relation between tie strength and knowledge sharing (also see Lin's, 2007). For this reason, academics began to pay attention to trust with regards to the influence of social tie content in terms of knowledge sharing (Cross & Cummings, 2004;Ying et al., 2011;Sefiani et al., 2016). In conclusion, Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998) proposed three measurements of social capital, which are relational, structural, and cognitive. ...
... Therefore, people prefer developing connections with those who can enhance their access to resources, since it is easier to contact someone who they trust within the networking circle. This finding is also consistent with those of Spender (1996a), Cross & Cummings (2004), Ying et al. (2011), Makela et al. (2012), and Sefiani et al. (2016) that the more trust and interaction, the higher the opportunity of sharing, which in turn reduces decision making uncertainty. Hence, wasta supports the existence of hidden knowledge sharing processes, and thus lack of transparency in business decision making. ...
This thesis examines the influence of wasta on employees and organisations in Kuwait in terms of human resource management (HRM) practices, knowledge sharing, innovation, and organisational commitment.
A mixed-method sequential exploratory research design is utilised to examine the specified research question. Based on a total of 343 individual responses, the outcomes identified with wasta in businesses are considerable, as it does not only impact employees’ performance but also the entire organisation’s performance. In addition, the results of this study developed new models that fit within the context of this research and suggest several recommendations that could be developed to reduce the unwanted effects of wasta and improve employees’ as well as organisations’ performance.
This thesis also contributes to new knowledge within the field of business in the Middle East and provides a basis on which further research could be carried out. Therefore, this research will support and provide additional value to the minimum research that is available on wasta in Kuwait and worldwide.
... In knowledge intensive work settings, workers are exposed to a large percentage of interactive activities that occur spontaneously, i.e., without formal planning Perlow, 1999). Research on social networks in the workplace has investigated different types of instrumental interactions such as communication, advice, knowledge transfer (e.g., Cross and Cummings, 2004;Sykes, et al., 2014) and the important role of individuals who occupy central network positions (Ahuja et al., 2003;Ibarra, 1993;Sparrowe et al., 2001). By centrality in instrumental networks, we here refer to the number of different people a person can reach for advice and help, above and beyond the formal requirements of the organization. ...
... By centrality in instrumental networks, we here refer to the number of different people a person can reach for advice and help, above and beyond the formal requirements of the organization. Centrality in instrumental networks has been associated to positive outcomes for individuals' ability to leverage work-related resources, including task quality and quantity of strategic information (Cross and Cummings, 2004;Fang et al., 2015;Sparrowe et al., 2001;Sykes et al., 2014), which often result in creative outcomes (Perry- Smith and Mannucci, 2017;Tang et al., 2017). ...
Purpose
This paper investigates how (1) a work environment designed to sustain creativity (i.e. through flexible arrangements and elements of the social-organizational work environment) and (2) the amount of enacted work interactions among employees, interpreted as facilitators of new idea generation (i.e. outdegree centrality in instrumental networks), differently impact creativity and work–life balance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a quantitative study in a knowledge-intensive multinational company and collected data through a survey on a sample of 207 workers.
Findings
Findings highlight that flexible work arrangements are positively related to increased work–life balance but not to creativity, whereas having access to a social-organizational work environment designed to foster creativity is associated to an increased level of idea generation, but to a reduction in work–life balance. In addition, centrality in instrumental social networks is also associated to a reduction of work–life balance. Findings thus point to a potential trade-off between structures aimed at increasing creativity and initiatives aimed at engendering work–life balance.
Originality/value
The research contributes to the current debate on new organizational practices for innovation and creativity, highlighting their unexpected implications for workers. The research also contributes to the literature on work–life balance by unraveling previously unexplored antecedents, i.e. social networks and the social-organizational work environment designed for creativity.
... Although knowledge providers can vary within an organization, including both supervisors and coworkers (Cabrera et al., 2006), supervisors hold unique positional advantages: they typically occupy higher levels within the organization and possess a wider range of information and expertise. This knowledge, often acquired through experience and organizational insight, may not be as readily accessible to coworkers at the same level (Cross and Cummings, 2004;Yoon et al., 2023), making supervisor knowledge sharing a distinctive and valuable resource for subordinates. ...
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the influence of supervisor knowledge sharing on the task performance and the overall evaluation of employees in the context of supervisor-subordinate relationships, a prevalent yet underexplored mode of knowledge transfer.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the social exchange perspective, we propose a framework integrating supervisors’ self-sacrificial leadership and employees’ supervisor-directed organizational citizenship behavior (OCB-S) as critical drivers of efficient knowledge transfer. By bridging micro- and macro-level organizational behavior, this study addresses a key research gap and provides a holistic understanding of factors that enhance knowledge transfer within organizations. To empirically test the hypotheses proposed in our study, we employed the PROCESS macro Model 7 to validate the moderated mediation model and conducted bootstrapping analyses to confirm the statistical significance of the predicted relationships.
Findings
This study offers insights into the micro-processes underlying interpersonal knowledge transfers within supervisor-subordinate relationships. It highlights the significance of self-sacrificial leadership and OCB-S in facilitating effective knowledge sharing, ultimately influencing the task performance and the overall evaluation of employees.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature on knowledge management by exploring the understudied area of knowledge sharing within supervisor-subordinate relationships. It provides a framework that integrates leadership and OCB as key factors influencing knowledge transfer efficiency. The findings offer practical implications for organizations seeking to optimize knowledge management practices, leadership development and performance appraisal processes.
... [3,4] 企 业在 线 产 品创 新 社区的 实 践 活 动区 别于以软 件 程序开发为目的的开放源代码社区，也不完全等同于以 促进社区成员品牌忠诚为主要目的的品牌社区。在线产 品创新社区目的在于产生丰富且有价 值的用户生成内容， 包括产品使用经验、改进建议和新创意等相关信息。由 于在线社区是开放和无边界的，社区用户可以选择贡献 或不贡献，社区里存 在着无数免费搭便车者。 [5] 国外学 者研究调研发现，相当数量的产品创新社区并没有带给 企业所期望的经济收益和回报，国内社区更为明显，在 线用户贡献行为表现不尽人意，包括参与度低、缺乏持 续有价 值的贡献等。 [6] (1) 在线产品创新社区的概念内涵。Von Hippel [7] 定 义用户创新社区是个人或公司通过产品信息传递而相 互连接形成的网络，网络结点连接可以是面对面、电子 或其他交流方式。根据 P i s a n o 等 [8] 合作模式的分类， 用户产品创新社区是任何用户都能提出问题、提供解决 方案和决定哪种方案被 采用的网络。 按照 F u l l e r 等 [9] 的观点，用户产品创新社区是一个场所，在这里成员能 积极讨论所提出的产品相关想法、 提供可能的解决方案、 或仅给出意见、或进一步描述和测试。Hau 等 [ [21] 用社会 资本理论来解释在线用户参与贡献行为 ；W i e r t z 等 [22] 则认为社会资本理论解释并不完善，提出要结合集体行 动理论以及个体属性等因素解释更合适； Rober ts 等 [23] 认 为，在 线用户参与行为可以借鉴 社 会交 换 理论来解 释 。 但其他学者，如 M a j c h r z a k [24] 则认为，仅用社会交换 或社会资本理论解 释在线社区用户贡献行为都不合适 ； St a n k o [25] 提出，在线创新社区的理论需要把现有理论 进行重新整合，形成重整理论来解释现象。因此，学者 呼吁后续研究者要重新审视现有的理论基础，探索其他 更为合理的理论基础和理论模型。 [25,26] 国内的研究较为集中在领先用户识别与参与动机意 愿、回答类社区用户贡献意愿等方面，针对企业构建的 ...
28 构建 在线产品 创新 社区成为越 来 越多企业的 选择。 本文 在国内外文 献 分析基 础上， 从 社区用户识别 机制角度，归纳分析了基于数量和基于质量的两种社区用 户识别机制， 分别选择海尔和星巴克 在线产品 创新 社区 为调研对象， 借鉴亲社会行为理论提出研究假设， 收集 3 个月的客观 数据，运用 L o g i t 模型分析方法实证 研究。 结果显示，在基于数量的用户识别机制社区，同行认可和 社区形象 激 励对用户主动贡献行为会产生正向的积 极影 响 ；在基于质量的用户识别机制社区，同行认可和社区形 象激 励分别会对用户主动贡献和反应贡献行为产生正向的 积极影响。两种用户识别机制的社区用户活跃程度存在明 显差异。研究证实了社区用户识别机制对用户贡献行为的 影响作用，丰富了在线社区用户行为研究的理论 视角，给 出了社区管理建议和未来研究方向。 识 别 机 制 ；亲 社 会 行为理论 ；在 线 产品 创 新社区 ；用户贡献行为 * 本 文受国家自然 科 学基 金 项目(71262023) 、 江西 省软科学研究计划重点项目(20161BBA10 015)资助 在线产品创新社区为企业利用外部智慧推动内部研 发 提 供了巨大机会， 知名企业 纷 纷 建立网络 社区平台， 鼓 励 终 端 用户通 过在 线 方 式参与产 品与服 务 的 创意 设 计等活动。 [1] 近期行业调研报告显示，相比基于代理的 客户服务中心模式，公司利用在线社区用户自助服务模 式能降低 70% 的成本。 [2] 例如，惠普 公司开设在线用户 社区论 坛，为公司节省成本数百万美元 ；无线公司通过 在线网站社区，让社区用户设计 T 恤图案，根据社区其 他用户的评分和订购意图来确定产量，商业利润丰厚 ； 星巴克公司依靠在线平台不断收集消费者的各种创意和 想法，评估后再采纳实施 ；海尔集团建立在线社区鼓励 产品使用者参与产品创意设计 ；小米公司在线社区让大 量发烧友参与手机操作系统的开发改进等。通过在线社 区，公司可得到快速和便宜的产品反馈信息，收集用户 智慧设计产品创新方案，还能建立忠诚用户网络，同时， 产品消费者能在社区论 坛获得大量自愿者的帮助，相互 交流产品体验，解决产品使用问题，企业和用户双方均 能获得益处。 [3,4] 企 业在 线 产 品创 新 社区的 实 践 活 动区 别于以软 件 程序开发为目的的开放源代码社区，也不完全等同于以 促进社区成员品牌忠诚为主要目的的品牌社区。在线产 品创新社区目的在于产生丰富且有价 值的用户生成内容， 包括产品使用经验、改进建议和新创意等相关信息。由 于在线社区是开放和无边界的，社区用户可以选择贡献 或不贡献，社区里存 在着无数免费搭便车者。 [5] 国外学 者研究调研发现，相当数量的产品创新社区并没有带给 企业所期望的经济收益和回报，国内社区更为明显，在 线用户贡献行为表现不尽人意，包括参与度低、缺乏持 续有价 值的贡献等。 [6] 文献梳 理发现，有关企业作为构 建主体的在线创新社区用户行为研究，现有文献主要从 用户内在动机与外在激励两个视角展开分析探讨，取得 了不少研究进展，但理论解释还不够系统和完整。就社 区平台构建主体的企业而言， 如何设 计 构建一 个 合理、 高效率的社区平台机制是非常关键的实际问题，即怎么 样的在线社区平台机制模式更利于产品用户的信息沟通 与贡献。但在线社区平台机制设计的探讨，还并未引起 国内学者的足够重视，研究空间较大。 基于此，本研究在文献综述基础上，归纳界定了两 种典型在线产品创新社区用户识别机制设计模式。以国 内知名企业海尔乐享在线社区、美国星巴克在线社区用
... Although knowledge providers can vary within an organization, including both supervisors and coworkers (Cabrera et al., 2006), supervisors hold unique positional advantages: they typically occupy higher levels within the organization and possess a wider range of information and expertise. This knowledge, often acquired through experience and organizational insight, may not be as readily accessible to coworkers at the same level (Cross and Cummings, 2004;Yoon et al., 2023), making supervisor knowledge sharing a distinctive and valuable resource for subordinates. ...
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the influence of supervisor knowledge sharing on the task performance and the overall evaluation of employees in the context of supervisor-subordinate relationships, a prevalent yet underexplored mode of knowledge transfer.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the social exchange perspective, we propose a framework integrating supervisors’ self-sacrificial leadership and employees’ supervisor-directed organizational citizenship behavior (OCB-S) as critical drivers of efficient knowledge transfer. By bridging micro- and macro-level organizational behavior, this study addresses a key research gap and provides a holistic understanding of factors that enhance knowledge transfer within organizations. To empirically test the hypotheses proposed in our study, we employed the PROCESS macro Model 7 to validate the moderated mediation model and conducted bootstrapping analyses to confirm the statistical significance of the predicted relationships.
Findings
This study offers insights into the micro-processes underlying interpersonal knowledge transfers within supervisor-subordinate relationships. It highlights the significance of self-sacrificial leadership and OCB-S in facilitating effective knowledge sharing, ultimately influencing the task performance and the overall evaluation of employees.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature on knowledge management by exploring the understudied area of knowledge sharing within supervisor-subordinate relationships. It provides a framework that integrates leadership and OCB as key factors influencing knowledge transfer efficiency. The findings offer practical implications for organizations seeking to optimize knowledge management practices, leadership development and performance appraisal processes.
... Furthermore, our findings indicate that the strength of social ties is closely linked to the duration and intensity of relationships, maintained through sustained daily contact. Consistent with Cross and Cummings (2004) and Fullwood et al. (2018), physical proximity and the availability of shared spaces within the team were described as playing a critical role in establishing and fortifying ties, as well as facilitating collaborative and KS activities. According to participants, the daily sharing of the laboratory space contributes to the strength of ties among research team members, although this may diminish for senior researchers who conduct their work outside of the laboratory. ...
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social ties and knowledge sharing among academics in a research team. A qualitative case study approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews to uncover key factors that facilitate or hinder this relationship. The findings emphasize the crucial role of social ties in facilitating knowledge sharing among academics and highlight the central role of research team leaders in promoting and strengthening these ties. Informal contexts and routines as well as in-person attendance were identified as core elements in cultivating social ties. Conversely, limited face-to-face interactions, workplace location, barriers to participation in informal activities, and differences in worldviews were identified as potential deterrents to the formation of strong social ties. We conclude that institutional administrators and research team leaders should promote shared physical and digital spaces and informal social practices, which, in turn, facilitate personal relationships and stimulate collaboration and knowledge sharing.
... A long tradition of network studies in the organisational field has demonstrated the positive effects of collective problem-solving, dependent on who an individual is connected with, who they go to for advice, and their position in the knowledge transmission chain. Much of this work seeks to understand patterns of knowledge creation that support employees' skills (Cross et al., 2001) and performance (Cross and Cummings, 2004), across formal and informal relationships (Cross et al., 2001) and with different tie strengths (Byosiere et al., 2010). Moreover, implicit reasons for advice-seeking include gaining access to meta-knowledge, problem solving, and validation, each with the potential to create different paths of knowledge and information transmission (Cross et al., 2001). ...
The present empirical study aims to explore medical knowledge sharing in the Australian healthcare context, aiming to broadly evaluate the potential impact of Project ECHO®, an online mentoring and networking health program. We focus on health-related knowledge sharing practices among the network of professionals through formal and informal channels, and across different health and non-health sectors and organisational systems. Studying knowledge transmission among professional networks is essential for optimizing healthcare delivery, promoting innovation, and providing insights on improvement of patient experiences within the healthcare system. We utilize a multilevel approach to shape our data collection strategy. Employing network measures and Multilevel Exponential Random Graph Models, we aim to explore how advice and knowledge sharing behaviours among healthcare professionals and their institutions are interdependently connected. Then, we incorporate network generated results within an evaluation framework for establishing some aspects of the efficiency of the ECHO program along four pillars: Acceptability, Capability, Reachability, and Integration. Our investigation found that among ECHO members, hierarchy is less pronounced compared to across levels and organizations, with certain individuals emerging as central in advice-sharing. The multilevel network perspective showed complex, informal patterns of knowledge and information sharing, including inter-organizational hierarchy, role and sector homophily, brokerage roles with popularity across health organizations, and connectivity through knowledge-sharing in cross-level small group clusters.
... Social capital networks can facilitate the discovery of opportunities and help with identification, collection and allocation of scarce resources, which means that these networks represent the meeting point between entrepreneurs and the owners of resources where information is likely to come from both strong and weak ties (Birley, 1985;Greene & Brown, 1997;Uzzi, 1999. Social capital theory helps in explaining motives for participating in online social network where individuals can gain many benefits which can take many forms, from tangible or intangible, economic or social, to psychological or emotional (Lin, 2001& Cross, 2004. ...
The Fifth Annual Conference of the Economic Forum of Entrepreneurship & International Business
Organized by Dr. Ghada Gomaa A. Mohamed
Conference venue: Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Conference date: January 29th. – January 30th. 2015
Editors:
Dr. Ghada Mohamed
Dr. Morrison Handley-Schachler
Dr. Daniel May
Dr. Thomas Henschel
https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/300/annual_conference_economic/v05.pdf
... Wide social networks serve as proxies for accessing resources, including those essential for task completion and experiential information related to tasks (29). Social networks help individuals acquire and assimilate potentially valuable knowledge (30). All these, in turn, facilitate organizational development and recognition in the professional sphere. ...
Aging is a challenge to global development. This challenge is particularly significant for China because it has the largest elderly population worldwide. The proportion of aging population continues to increase, and solely relying on government efforts to meet the needs of the elderly is inadequate. Hence, involvement of social organizations in elderly care services is needed. Their core members exhibit higher sense of responsibility and identification with the organization than regular members, thus profoundly affecting organizational development. Based on the Social Capital Theory, this study employed a multistage stratified random sampling method to examine the social capital stock of elderly social organizations and their core members across six cities in Anhui Province, China. Chi-square tests analyzed the relationship between the core members' demographic factors and individual performance. Independent-sample t-tests assessed the relationship between social capital and individual performance. Finally, binary logistic regression models determined the factors influencing the individual performance of core members. Social networks within core members' social capital and the internal social capital of elderly caring social organizations (ESOs) affect the individual performance of core members. Therefore, organizations should provide more training opportunities for core members to expand their networks. Cultivating a shared language and vision as components of social capital can enhance organizational cohesion and operational stability.
... Second, abundant links with people and other entities in the work domain also contribute to higher levels of retention decision satisfaction. Migrant workers can leverage others' advice and feedback to pursue their taskrelated goals through abundant instrumental links (Borgatti & Cross, 2003;Cross & Cummings, 2004), and they can gain a sense of belongingness and satisfy their need for enduring relationships via affective links (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). These benefits, realized through rich links in their organization, can, in turn, increase stayers' satisfaction with their retention decision. ...
Intracountry migrant workers contribute to the development of global supply chains and economic growth in many emerging economies; however, their high turnover rate poses a threat to their productivity. Our work therefore investigates the psychological processes underlying migrant workers' turnover decisions. From a "push-pull" perspective, we examine how organizational embeddedness interacts with two sequential modera-tors, geographic distance and general adjustment, in predicting voluntary turnover via retention decision satisfaction and turnover intention. Using multisource and lagged data collected from 512 Chinese migrant workers, we find that migrant workers' retention decision satisfaction mediates the negative relationship between organizational embeddedness and voluntary turnover. Furthermore, migrant workers with jobs closer to home have higher levels of general adjustment and are subsequently more likely than those working in distant host cities to have enhanced retention decision satisfaction and reduced turnover intention as a result of higher levels of organizational embeddedness.
... Third, although we controlled for formal hierarchy (i.e., position), an enhanced concrete and direct comparison between formal and informal hierarchies and their effects on employee outcomes should be made. For example, Cross and Cummings (2004) found that more connections to people in higher formal positions contributed to better job performance; this was because individuals with such contacts were more likely to have access to valuable information. Future research might further explain how formal and informal hierarchies independently and interactively relate to employees' work attitudes and other types of behavioral outcome, such as job performance. ...
Status difference is prevalent within working groups, profoundly influencing employees’ perceptions and behaviors towards coworkers and their groups. Despite this ubiquity, exploring the effects of status difference within groups remains relatively underexamined. Drawing on social identity theory, this study examined how and when horizontal status difference (i.e., status comparison between a focal employee and his/her peers) and vertical status difference (i.e., status comparison between a focal employee and his/her leader) influence employees’ perceived insider status and proactive behavior. Results from 421 employees across 113 working groups indicated that horizontal status difference was positively related to perceived insider status, but vertical status difference had a curvilinear effect on perceived insider status. Furthermore, perceived insider status significantly mediated the impact of horizontal and vertical status differences on proactive behavior. We also demonstrated that promotion criteria significantly moderated the relationship between horizontal status difference and perceived insider status; in particular, this relationship was stronger when organizations used a relative rather than an absolute promotion criterion.
... The existing research views social networking as a source of competitive advantage for employees over their coworkers (Wu, 2013) as the employees (e.g. bankers : Burt, 2004;research and development professionals: Reagans and Zuckerman, 2001) with better networking skills are more likely to obtain more favorable performance ratings from their supervisors and to receive better compensation (Burt, 1992(Burt, , 2005Podolny and Baron, 1997;Moren-Cross and Lin, 2006;Cross and Cummings, 2004). Thus, the employees with better networking behavior are more likely to secure their jobs when compared to the employees having weak networking behavior. ...
Purpose
The usage of social media at the workplace has become an undeniable reality, yet the role of social media use (SMU) in job-related outcomes is still unclear. This study uncovers a chain process through which SMU may strengthen job security perception of employees through social media disorder (SMD) and networking behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative study used ratings of 197 Emirati students enrolled in a higher education institution located in United Arab Emirates (UAE). The respondents were professionals serving in different public and private organizations in UAE.
Findings
The statistical results supported a significant serial mediation of SMD and networking behavior between SMU and job security perceptions of employees.
Practical implications
This study offers implications for employees and their supervisors about the usage of social media for strengthening their perceptions of job security.
Originality/value
This study contributed to the existing stream of research on SMU to explain a chain process through which employees may benefit from social media to strengthen their perceptions of job security.
... H2c: Network collaborations facilitate knowledge sharing among academicians. Cross and Cummings (2004) in their study emphasized the crucial role of network collaborations in fostering knowledge sharing among academicians. They concluded that network collaborations encourage informal interaction, idea exchange, and collective problem-solving, which eventually facilitates knowledge sharing. ...
Most of the studies in the field of social media propose that the usage of social media in an organization fosters the employees’ social capital and further enhances the process of knowledge sharing. In the higher education sector, knowledge sharing plays a great role in strengthening the education system and enhancing the teaching and research skills of the faculties. Meanwhile, social media is playing a very important role by affecting social capital which is further affecting knowledge sharing. The current study aims to understand the impact of social media usage on social capital, measured by using three variables, i.e., shared vision, trust, and network collaboration. It further measures the impact of social capital on knowledge sharing in higher education using SMART-PLS software. The data has been collected from 80 respondents from higher educational institutions in Northern India. The study reveals that social media is significantly affecting trust and network collaborations among academicians but there is no significant impact of social media on shared vision which further helps in exploring the various ways and platforms for constructive usage of social media in academia.
... All startups participate in online groups and communities of practice on the individual initiative of their members and by encouraging internal leaders, pointing out that strong ties involve more excellent emotional proximity (Granovetter, 1973) and that social relationships facilitate the transfer of knowledge and enhance the quality of the information exchanged (Cross & Cummings, 2004). ...
Informed by exchange and social capital theories, reasoned action, and psychological contract frameworks, this paper seeks to elucidate the intricate interplay between psychological contracts and their impact on knowledge-sharing motivations within the context of startups. The research adopts a qualitative approach, employing in-depth personal interviews and focus groups, with subsequent content analysis facilitated by NVivo software. Through a comprehensive exploration encompassing startups spanning diverse industries and maturity levels, the investigation draws upon insights from founding partners, directors, and employees. Notably, this study stands apart from the literature primarily examining established enterprises in Anglo-Saxon nations. Conversely, it distinguishes itself by its novel examination of how psychological contracts exert influence on knowledge sharing across individual, intra-organizational, and inter-organizational strata within startups operating in emerging economies, taking into account their distinctive characteristics. The findings shed light on employees' core perceptions of their reciprocal obligations and the organization's corresponding commitments. Moreover, the research unveils the nuanced impact of contextual factors on the cultivation of social bonds, consequently moulding knowledge-sharing dynamics within startups, thereby directly shaping individual and organizational outcomes.
... The structural hole, which is defined as a network position that connects otherwise disconnected individuals (Burt, 1992). Structural holes lead to positive outcomes, such as promotion, higher salary, career satisfaction (Seibert et al., 2001), and individual performance (Cross & Cummings, 2004;Mehra, Kilduff, & Brass, 2001) because actors who take structural hole positions gain non redundant information and enjoy controlling information flow between two actors or groups of actors. ...
... All startups participate in online groups and communities of practice on the individual initiative of their members and by encouraging internal leaders, pointing out that strong ties involve more excellent emotional proximity ( Granovetter, 1973) and that social relationships facilitate the transfer of knowledge and enhance the quality of the information exchanged (Cross & Cummings, 2004). ...
Drawing upon established theories such as exchange theory, social capital, reasoned action, and psychological contracts, this scholarly article aims to delve into the intricate dynamics of how psychological contracts impact individual motivations to share knowledge, consequently influencing the outcomes of startups. Employing a qualitative research approach, the study utilised in-depth personal interviews and focus groups to gather data, which was subsequently subjected to meticulous content analysis using the NVivo software. The research adopted a triangulation approach, considering data from startups across diverse industries and varying levels of maturity, with insights gleaned from the perspectives of founding partners, directors, and employees. It is important to note that most existing studies predominantly focus on well-established organisations of various sizes, primarily within Anglo-Saxon countries. In contrast, this study pioneers an examination of how psychological contracts affect knowledge sharing in multi-levels: (i) micro - individual, (ii) meso – intra organisational, and (iii) macro – inter organisations, specifically within startups from emerging economies, thereby taking into account their unique idiosyncrasies. The findings shed light on employees' primary perceptions of their obligations and the organisation’s commitments. Moreover, they unveil how contextual and situational factors influence the advance of social relations and subsequently impact knowledge sharing within startups, directly affecting individual and organisational outcomes.
... If those professionals were in a competitive environment, network cohesiveness could be inversely related to performance. In this respect, our findings do not controvert results supporting structural holes (e.g., Cross and Cummings, 2004). ...
... Todas as startups participam de grupos e comunidades de prática on-line por iniciativa individual de seus membros e por estímulo das lideranças internas apontando que laços fortes envolvem maior proximidade emocional (Granovetter, 1973) e que relações sociais facilita, a transferência de conhecimento e realçam a qualidade das informações trocadas (Cross & Cummings, 2004). ...
O objetivo deste artigo é entender o funcionamento das redes de empreendedorismo para startups e o papel que incubadoras e aceleradoras desempenham na aquisição e troca de conhecimento dessas empresas. A pesquisa qualitativa foi realizada por meio de entrevistas em profundidade individuais e em grupos focais e os dados foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo utilizando o software NVivo. Os resultados indicam que as startups recorrem às redes para acessar recursos escassos, absorver conhecimento técnico e, principalmente, fazer uso do network de incubadoras e aceleradoras que desempenham papel basilar na aquisição e troca de conhecimentos por startups. Além disso, os resultados revelam que grande parte do compartilhamento do conhecimento em redes empreendedoras acontece de forma informal, baseada no senso de coletivismo, verdade e confiança entre os elos e com o propósito de amadurecer o reconhecimento, imagem e reputação individual e organizacional.
... Second, members' popularity provides them with social support (Hashim and Tan, 2015;Tajvidi et al., 2021), reducing concerns that arise about purchasing a new product and enhancing the anticipatory pleasure derived from using it (Thompson et al., 2019). Third, high in-degree centrality suggests that a member is trusted by others and quite influential in the community (Cross and Cummings, 2004;Lee et al., 2011). Such opinion leaders can thus accelerate the adoption of a product by other members of the social network Zhang and Gong, 2021). ...
Introduction
Consumers’ adoption behavior is critical to the success of new products, but the effects of brand communities on new product adoption have rarely been investigated. In this study, we draw on network theory to examine how consumer participation in brand communities (in terms of participation intensity and social networking behaviors) affects the adoption of new products.
Methods
We collected longitudinal data from 8,296 members of an online community of a well-known smartphone brand to assess the factors influencing new product adoption.
Results
The results from applying a hazard model indicated that brand community participation increases the speed of adoption of new products. The positive effect of members’ out-degree centrality on new product adoption was found to be significant, but in-degree centrality only had an effect when users had previous purchasing experience.
Discussion
These findings extend the literature by revealing how new products are disseminated across brand communities. The study also makes theoretical and practical contributions to the literature on brand community management and product marketing.
... But, at the same time, there are 29 -+-Low Own Status High Own Status clearly distinct additional benefits to associating with those ofhigh status, regardless of one's own status level. The networks literature has long-recognized the potential benefits of one's ties to others within the organization, mostly in terms of being more central in both formal and informal networks (e.g., Cross & Cummings, 2004). And theory on firm status in markets (e.g., Podolny, 2005) has demonstrated how status can be transferred or "leaked'. ...
In organizations, the advantages of having higher informal status relative to one's coworkers are well documented. This study extends research on status in organizations to analyze the status of one's coworkers as a factor that shapes all individual's own work experiences. In this field study of three organizations, naturally emergent informal status hierarchies in organizations were analyzed to examine independent effects of one's own informal status position, as well as the average status level of his coworkers, on the individual's work outcomes. Results show one's own status position positively relates to her performance and organizational commitment, and, after controlling for one's own status, the average status of his coworkers independently contributes to his or her performance, motivation, and organizational commitment.
... The participant observation technique allowed the identification of behaviors and attitudes towards the interviewees [77,78], confirming in loco the practices used in the company. This technique allowed to define topics closer to reality and to delimit questions that emerged during the exploratory phase of the research. ...
This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis inherent to assessing competitive intelligence and business intelligence concepts using the Scopus database and the Bibliometrix R software. The study’s articles were found using precise criteria in the Scopus database. The 42 publications were then examined with Bibliometrix software, which included extensive parameterization for each component under evaluation. The results of this study consisted of establishing the number of existing publications on the topic under analysis between 2017 and 2021 – in this sense, it was possible to identify that the publications are experiencing an annual decrease rate of 22.69%; the trends in terms of publications and collaborations between countries; the most relevant journals in the area; and the interconnections between authors, keywords, and publications. This study has as an added value the possibility to evaluate the relevance attributed by academics to ascertain the most important contributions in terms of authors, articles, and journals. One major limitation in this study could be addressed in future research. The study focused on a limited study field in the context of business, management, and accounting, so it would be very pertinent to understand how this topic has evolved, particularly in the area of computer science.Keywords
Bibliometric analysis
Business intelligence
Competitive intelligence
Scientometrics
... Requirements for employees that allow increasing the success of network project groups are identified. On the basis of theoretical studies of motivation methods, the principles of motivation of employees of network structures in the organization of production of IT-products are revealed [9]. ...
The article shows the relevance of creating network project groups in the organization of production of Information Technology (IT)-products. The goal of the study was identified, the decomposition of this goal was carried out, and other components of the logical structure of the study were identified. The hypothesis of the study is the following: when transforming an ordinary project group into a network one, characteristics are acquired that ensure the success of the project group and increase the competitiveness of IT-companies, using appropriate methods of motivation. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that the relationship between the use of the network design approach and the company's competitiveness in the implementation of complex and non-standard projects in the IT-companies’ organization of production is revealed. Features of employees’ motivation of such divisions are revealed and fundamentally new solutions in the field of employees’ motivation of IT-companies are defined.
Objective: The objective of this research is to map a scientific research laboratory’s supplier network using Ucinet software and analyze its structural network. Theoretical Reference: Supply chain management is currently becoming increasingly important in companies as a decision-making strategy. The software tool based in Social Network Analysis (SNA) Ucinet allows modeling of a supply network based on its actors. By analyzing the supplier network, it is possible to identify opportunities for improvement that may not have been seen in previous diagnoses. Method: Data were collected using a questionnaire. Ucinet software and its integrated module NetDraw were used for data analysis, which allowed the data to be visualized in graphical format, to model the network and obtain structural indicators. Results: From the analysis of the supply network, improvements for the management of the laboratory’s logistics purchasing process were suggested. Implications of the research: The management of the laboratory’s logistics purchasing process helps researchers and managers and adjust its sizing parameters to the results obtained. Originality/Value: Ability to model the supplier network and obtain structural indicators, contributing to a better clarification of the exchange relationships between the authors.
The increased usage of social media in organizational settings has raised questions about its effect on job performance. This study explains the interplay between social media usage, transactive memory capability, employee creativity, and job performance within the Chinese organizational context. The rationale for this study stems from the need to understand how social media usage can enhance job performance through cognitive and creative processes within teams. On the basis of earlier literature, the survey questionnaire was designed to collect data and the survey included validated scales to measure these constructs. The data is collected from 816 employees in China via online resources like social media and emails and then Structural Equation Modeling is used for empirical analysis through AMOS software. The findings show the positive impact of social media on job performance while transactive memory capability and employee creativity mediates this relationship. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how social media can be leveraged to improve job performance. Practical implications highlight the importance of fostering transactive memory capability through social media platforms, facilitating employee creativity, and ultimately, bolstering job performance. Additionally, this study underscores the need for organizations to strategically harness the potential of social media as a catalyst for innovation and knowledge sharing, thus optimizing workforce performance in the digital era.
This research endeavours to contribute to the existing body of scholarly work by elucidating the pivotal role of social networks in bolstering the resilience of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) amid the propagation of COVID-19. Despite the considerable research on the interplay between networks and firms' performance, extant literature still needs to comprehensively elucidate how social networks influence organizational performance, particularly within the context of the personal dis-contact phase observed in Pakistan. Moreover, the crucial nexus between resilience, social networks, and firm performance still needs to be adequately explored. Consequently, this paper seeks to address these gaps by introducing a novel conceptual framework termed the Resource-Resilience-Performance framework. This framework aims to delineate the intricate mechanisms through which social networks, as a valuable resource, facilitate the adaptive capabilities of SMEs, thereby fostering resilience and ultimately enhancing sustainability amidst crises. Employing a deductive approach, this study adopts a survey strategy to gather data from 410 SME owner-managers, focusing on the third phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan. Data collection is executed through an adaptive questionnaire. Subsequently, an analysis is conducted using SmartPLS with the Bootstrapping approach. The findings reveal that formal and informal social ties are crucial in providing SME owners with valuable information from their social networks. These networks serve as a support mechanism, aiding managers in making informed decisions amidst adversities and granting them a competitive edge over their counterparts. Given the unavailability of a comprehensive and up-to-date list of SMEs in Pakistan during the pandemic, the snowball sampling technique was utilized. Consequently, the generalizability of the findings may be questioned. However, there remains potential to establish a directory of SMEs and employ probability sampling techniques in future studies. This research contributes to social network theory by enriching our understanding of its application during the pandemic. Furthermore, it empirically demonstrates the instrumental role of social networks in providing support during crises, offering guidance to managers on cultivating robust social ties as a proactive strategy for navigating future uncertainties. Ultimately, this study underscores the significance of social capital as an immunizing factor for SMEs operating in developing countries, particularly within the context of Pakistan.
The emotional debt experienced by unemployed people is linked to the need to actively use and put into play personal and social abilities in networking practices. Many unemployed people describe having to draw on contacts and get help from network while being unemployed to discover otherwise unknown job opportunities. This is often accompanied by an inner conversation about which way it is best to activate network and also give back in what is often referred to as the ‘two-way street’. Reaching out often comes with a sense of being in debt or wanting to pay back at a later stage in life. From the previous chapter, the workings of shame have been elaborated, but we have not yet investigated how the workings of shame position the unemployed person in terms of networking practices. To investigate the specifics of how networking is invoked in technologies of power and those of the self, I explore how unemployed people govern themselves in relation to the emotional labor that is required of them in networking. What are the affective currencies at play in networking practices?
This chapter is based in a cross-national comparison of Danish and American jobseekers. This comparison is fruitful as it enables me to better see what the exact DNA of the Danish employment system is and explore what the welfare state means in terms of shaping the unemployment experience. The Danish welfare system is universal and relatively generous, and the American system is characterized as a liberal welfare regime. In that sense the comparison is done with cases of maximum variation (Flyvbjerg, Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219–245, 2006). The analysis builds on the interviews with Danish jobseekers as well as interviews with 15 American jobseekers conducted in 2015 as well as field observations made in Copenhagen and Boston.
In both sites a networking technology is deployed in institutionalized practices encouraging unemployed people to relate to themselves through this lens. Networking stands out as a crucial challenge, and this is related to the overall psychologization of the unemployment issue as it inevitably calls the personality and social skills to the fore in the quest for a job. Governing is not just a matter of governing isolated individuals. It is also a matter of targeting their relations and networks as a potential powerful resource in self-management.
Social capital plays a critical role in newcomer adjustment. However, research is lacking regarding the effective mobilization of social capital, in terms of how different information network characteristics jointly influence newcomer adjustment. Drawing on the literature on social networks and newcomer adjustment, we distinguish two crucial processes of newcomer adjustment, namely assimilation and learning, and propose that the extent to which newcomers' number of information ties influences the assimilation and learning processes depends on the frequency of social interactions (i.e., tie strength) and the status of network contacts (i.e., network status). To test our hypotheses, four waves of data were collected from a sample of 178 organizational newcomers. The results suggest that when network status is low, mobilizing a large information network reduces newcomers' organizational identification (an assimilation indicator), which in turn reduces their job satisfaction. Conversely, mobilizing a large information network with weak ties enhances newcomers' role clarity (a learning indicator) and in turn boosts their task performance. Overall, this study highlights the importance of considering tie strength and network status together with the number of information ties in efforts to facilitate newcomer adjustment.
Purpose – This paper aims at examining the impact of paternalistic leadership on knowledge-sharing behavior with the mediating role of affective commitment and power distance as moderators. Design/Methodology/Approach – A quantitative research design was employed. For collecting data 300 structured questionnaires comprising of a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree) were distributed out of which 146 were received and used. Cronbach alpha, correlation, multiple regression analysis, and mediator analysis were tested on the collected information. Findings – The results showed that PL (AL) has a positive impact while PL (BL) and PL (ML) have a significant positive impact on KSB; moreover, PD fully moderates the PL and KSB relationship when the mediating role of AC is contrary to developed hypothesis. Research limitations/implications – Since this research was conducted among a particular group of construction, manufacturing industry, project-based, and other business professionals, further research should investigate such related relation in some other context with different moderating and mediating variables. Practical implications – Finding of this research can be implemented in different organizations for checking the authenticity and further betterment. Originality/Value – The paper has first-hand primary research data of which results, and conclusions are drawn by following all necessary ethical and scientific research methods.
Purpose
Training activities organized by maker-spaces have become the most important channel through which makers acquire new external knowledge related to problem solving and thus contribute significantly to makers' innovation performance. Is it true that the more training activities in which makers participate, the better their innovation performance? Following the logic of process analyses, this paper empirically verifies the effects of the scope and frequency of makers' participation in training activities on their innovation performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a survey of 134 makers in China, this paper employed the procedure recommended by Preacher and Hayes (2008) to empirically test the total effects, direct effects and indirect effects of the scope and frequency of participation in training activities on makers' innovation performance via their ability to exploit new knowledge.
Findings
The research findings show that the scope (frequency) of participation in training activities has a positive (negative) effect on makers' innovation performance via the mediating effect of the makers' ability to exploit new knowledge. Time pressure acts as a negative moderator.
Originality/value
This paper sheds light on a considerably overlooked research area by investigating the effects of the scope and frequency of makers' participation in training activities on their innovation performance. The authors further identify and empirically test the theoretical mechanism by considering the mediating effect of makers' ability to exploit new knowledge. The research findings also provide a managerial training activity arrangement strategy for makerspaces and government.
This article integrates social capital and social cognitive theories to empirically test the effects of employees’ attitudes, normative expectations, and informal position targeting the organization as offline drivers of online digital platform use and quality of knowledge exchange. Our findings provide several contributions: 1) revealing the relationships between individual and contextual variables targeting the physical and virtual organizational contexts, 2) offering a nuanced understanding of offline drivers for digital platform use and knowledge exchange, and 3) identifying key predictors that managers can leverage to align employee behaviors with organizational goals. This article underlines the need to pay attention to individual motivations to use and contribute to intraorganizational digital platforms as a function of the position that individuals hold within the informal organizational network. Results also suggest that managers should focus on the development of internalized norms related to learning and sharing behaviors as well as to the outcome expectations related to digital platforms as positive motivational drivers of their use and quality of contributions.
Purpose: The aim of this study is to formulate a model of collaborative competence for village government officials in the context of rural development in Indonesia. This study is conducted to fill the research gap on collaborative competence in the context of rural development in Indonesia, which is considered a strategic key to supporting village development in the country. Theoretical framework: The collaborative competency model is the concept of rural community development proposed in this study. Boyatzis (1982) defined competency as an individual's capability manifested in their attitude parallel to work demand. According to Woodruffle (1992), competency should not be considered an element, but rather a concept to demonstrate one's understanding of the relationship between the expected and desired implementations of a project based on previous implementation information. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study uses a qualitative approach with descriptive analysis, which emphasizes on context, research settings, and subjective references. Rural development in Indonesia has received focused attention through Nawacita, and Banyumas Regency in Central Java has built an agrotourism-based site in the villages of Tanggeran, Klinting, and Kemawi in the Gunung Kendeng area, Somagede District. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the development of social sciences, particularly regional development. Findings: The results have Three key elements are required for effective conflict resolution. For starters, each party must be open to different perspectives and opinions while demonstrating mutual understanding and respect. Second, a collaborative capacity that allows parties to turn disagreements into opportunities for collaboration. Finally, despite existing conflicts of interest and disagreement, the ability to compromise is required to reach a mutual agreement. Research, practical & social implications: The findings of this study indicate that effective collaborative capabilities among all parties involved, including the government, community, and private sector, are necessary for the development of rural areas in Indonesia. This highlights the significance of cooperation and collaboration among different parties in striving to enhance rural welfare and development in the country. Additionally, this research contributes to the advancement of social sciences, particularly in the realm of regional development. Consequently, this article serves as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners seeking to enhance their collaborative competencies within the context of rural development in Indonesia. Originality/Value: This research could provide novel insights and solutions that the government, society, and private sector can implement to enhance sustainable and competitive rural development. Additionally, this research may contribute to the advancement of social sciences, especially in the field of regional development, and provide fresh perspectives on enhancing collaboration among the different parties involved in rural development.
Climate change impacts on housing are an essential concern for Alaska Native communities. Adaptation literature has largely ignored the role of inter-organizational coordination networks in supporting housing adaptation. To address this gap, we surveyed 26 organizations and 36 participants from organizations working regionally in rural Alaska on housing service, construction, and engineering projects. We employ social network analysis (SNA), including Logistic Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure (LRQAP), to explore the influence of network centrality on an organization's ability to enact housing adaptation. Results indicate that when two organizations have similarities in their network centrality, or how connected an organization was in the network, the less likely they are to have similar, positive views in their ability to enact housing adaptation. With a limited capacity to prepare for climate change impacts and integrate adaptation into existing programs, it is important for organizations and governments to mobilize the entirety of inter-organizational coordination networks.
Online users are inclined to create and share product information to assist others in their decision-making process. Social media users often rely on eWOM to gather information about products or services before making a purchase. To investigate the impact of eWOM on the purchase intentions of consumer durable items, a study was conducted among 100 consumers in Pune. The study aimed to assess how trust in user reviews and recommendations on the internet influence purchase intentions. It was found that eWOM, particularly when shared through social media, exerts a positive influence on purchase intentions. Additionally, the study revealed that brand awareness and trust play crucial roles in shaping consumers' purchase intentions. The growing popularity of eWOM and its influence on purchase intentions highlight the importance of online user-generated content in shaping consumer behavior. Brands and marketers need to recognize the significance of eWOM and actively engage with consumers through social media platforms to build brand awareness, foster trust, and positively impact consumers' purchase intentions. Online users tend to produce and distribute product information to help others make decisions. Before making a purchase, social media users frequently rely on eWOM to learn more about items or services. A study was done among 100 consumers in Pune to examine the effect of
eWOM on the intentions to purchase consumer durable goods. The purpose of the study was to determine how online user reviews and recommendations affected participants' intentions to make a purchase. It was discovered that eWOM influences purchasing intentions favourably, especially when it is spread via social media. The survey also showed that trust and brand awareness are important factors in determining consumers' purchasing intentions. The increasing use of eWOM and its impact on consumers' desire to buy underscore the significance of online usergenerated content in influencing consumer behaviour. To increase brand awareness, create consumer trust, and have a positive impact on customers' purchase intentions, brands and marketers need to understand the importance of eWOM and actively engage with consumers through social media platforms.
Hybrid marketing encompasses a fusion of traditional and digital strategies to create a comprehensive approach that effectively engages, communicates with, markets to, and sells products or services within the ever-evolving digital landscape. It is essential for companies to embrace a hybrid marketing mindset in their overall marketing strategy, requiring them to think in both traditional and digital terms. Although the initial transition into a hybrid marketing approach may demand conscious effort, it eventually becomes more natural, particularly for those already well-versed in either traditional or digital marketing.
When crafting a hybrid marketing strategy, it is crucial to recognize how offline touchpoints can enhance the customer experience, even in the realm of digital products. Similarly, for offline products or services, leveraging digital channels and platforms can enhance convenience, speed, and efficiency throughout customer transactions. Effective communication and brand equity can be established by leveraging both offline and online channels to engage and interact with customers, albeit at different stages of their journey. Offline media and methods possess unique capabilities for reaching and engaging customers that digital marketing alone cannot achieve.
Hybrid marketing emphasizes the utilization of the most effective resources that generate the highest return on investment. By combining traditional and digital marketing techniques, companies can identify and implement the best practices in hybrid marketing, allowing them to optimize their marketing efforts and achieve greater success.
This Conference Proceedings volume contains the written versions of most of the contributions presented during the Third International Conference on Enhancing Productivity in Hybrid Mode: The Beginning of a New Era. This year it was organized in hybrid mode May 29-31, 2023. The Conference provided a platform for discussing recent developments in various topics, including Marketing, OB & HRM, Entrepreneurship, Strategic Management, Operations Management, Economics, Public Policy, Business Analytics, International Business, Finance, and Accounting.
The goal of the present study is to provide a deeper analysis of the envy‐proactivity link. Drawing upon regulatory theories and Smith's model on envy appraisal, we theorize that when envied individuals focus on the potential negative impact of envy on themselves, they adopt avoidant coping strategies, which hinder proactivity, whereas concern toward others stimulates approach‐motivated coping strategies, which foster proactivity. Specifically, our model operationalizes a parallel mediating mechanism between perceptions of being envied and proactivity via the serial mediation of self‐oriented concern and distancing, and other‐oriented concern and courtesy. Results from a multi‐source survey confirm that being envied indirectly decreases proactivity via the serial mediation of self‐oriented concern and distancing, and indirectly increases proactivity via other‐oriented concern and courtesy.
Knowledge exchange among employees in organizations is critical to employees’ ability to solve problems and innovate. However, the possibility that employees may have different perceptions regarding the existence of exchanges between them and the factors that may reduce these differences have not been considered in the literature. Based on a socio-cognitive approach, we argue that misalignments in perceptions of knowledge transfer are likely to be common in organizations. We also propose that different forms of mutual familiarity with exchange partners will be associated with the alignment of perceptions of dyadic knowledge transfer. Our results show that misalignment in perceptions of complex knowledge transfers is more common than alignment. It is a pervasive phenomenon in the organization we studied. Based on an in-depth sociometric research design and exponential random modelling we further find that only one form of familiarity (mutual trust) contributes to increasing the alignment of dyadic knowledge transfer perceptions. We discuss the implications of our results for practice, highlighting the implications of misalignment in knowledge transfer in organizations. We also suggest actions that managers can take to diminish the risk of misalignments and facilitate the transfer of complex knowledge in their teams.
Considerable research has examined the antecedents and benefits of knowledge sharing in organizations. Workplaces, however, are competitive arenas, and it is generally recognized that rivalry between employees occurs as a result of them jostling for resources, opportunities, and promotion. We theorize that rivalry, i.e., two high-performing individuals competing for the same resources and opportunities, can result in individuals perceiving that others are unwilling to share knowledge. We also seek to understand if high-performing individuals who are co-located are more likely to perceive that others are unwilling to share knowledge. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a study of 185 employees in a global IT department of a large global corporation. Using quadratic assignment procedure (QAP), we analyzed 34,040 dyadic relationships. We find support for our theory that high-performing individuals are more likely to perceive others as unwilling to share knowledge when those individuals are also high-performers and if they are co-located. We discuss the practical implications of our findings for individuals and leaders.
With the development of advanced information communication technology, globally dispersed teams have become increasingly common, and research on such teams is likely to have increased importance following COVID-19. Despite the presence of numerous factors that make discord more likely in such teams, from language asymmetries and cultural differences to technological mediation and differing communication habits, no prior research has addressed misunderstandings, non-understandings, and hidden disagreements (which I label ‘hidden discord’) in global teams. This study used semi-structured interviews and documentary evidence including global team email interactions to investigate the question “How does hidden discord impact global virtual teams?” Using an abductive analytical approach, the research found that when remote, it is more difficult for team members to enter ‘clarification cycles’ where misunderstandings and hidden disagreements can be noticed, which leads to a variety of incidents that must be managed. This study identified and categorised incidents of hidden discord, presenting six sub-categories of hidden discord, including ‘undiscussed disagreements’ and ‘repressed conflicts’ which have not previously been identified in the GVT literature. Importantly, the research found that the same types of discord can have widely varying outcomes depending on the pathways taken, with the process being affected by the team conditions, triggers and communications medium used when the discord was revealed. The highly detailed accounts of these incidents revealed that when the emotional impact of these incidents was not contained effectively, teams became less efficient and had less common ground, leading to splits in the teams, reducing trust, cohesion, and authority of existing leaders. The study also found several protective factors against hidden discord, including communication skill and previous collaborations, and possible interventions such as creating common vocabulary, toleration of difference, and frequent synchronous communication. Whilst this research shows the tendency for dispersed teams to avoid and repress when experiencing communication difficulties it also shows that an array of communication techniques and technologies can prevent, identify and manage hidden discord, ensuring incidents are dealt with through compromise and sensemaking, and creating opportunities for global teams to improvise and resolve underlying difficulties.
This study investigates the implications of increased internet penetration on demand in the context of pharmaceutical prescribing. The internet has changed the information and tools available to make decisions in complex tasks such as those made by physicians, and any impact on prescribing patterns has implications for the marketing activities of drug manufacturers, necessitating a strategic rethink of business practices. This study conceptualizes the prescription decision‐making process through the lens of expectancy value theory. The unique research design allows for the observation of contrasting internet penetration rates of geographically distributed physicians over an extended time period in multiple drug categories. Modeling physician behavior as a combination of learning, peer effects, and face‐to‐face detailing by pharmaceutical firms, the study finds that the growth of the internet has a significant moderating impact on detailing efforts. Interestingly, the study also documents the interaction between learning and peer effects, as well as how the internet ultimately reduces reliance on prior prescription behavior (prescribing inertia) for the four Cardiovascular drug categories under consideration. We discuss the implications of these findings for R&D managers, marketers, and policymakers.
Prosocial personality traits are thought to be essential characteristics of social entrepreneurs. However, extant research has typically focused on how personality traits affect individuals to simply engage in social entrepreneurship but not on the actual prosocial behavior they employ or the eventual outcomes. We posit that studying the link between personality traits and organizational legitimacy, a salient outcome for social enterprise development, is a fruitful avenue for research. Building on the legitimation perspective, we examine the underlying mechanisms and contextual conditions in the relationship between personality traits (agreeableness specifically) and social enterprise legitimacy. Empirical analysis of 230 social enterprises in China demonstrates that a social enterprise’s legitimation strategy via network centrality and the contingent role of the focal venture’s development stage importantly conditions the effectiveness of the social entrepreneurs’ personality traits and their impact on social enterprise legitimacy. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
This paper gives a cross-national comparison, involving West German, Dutch, and United States data, on the use of social ties
in the job-search process. Data for West Germany and the Netherlands are compared with the Lin et al. research on Albany-Schenectady
and Troy. The findings show that (1) there is more use of informal sources in the U.S. than in West Germany and the Netherlands;
(2) informal sources do not generally lead to higher occupational prestige and income; (3) for the Dutch data (no West German
data are available for this question) greater social resources, that is, a contact person with relatively high prestige, do
lead to a job with a higher prestige, though effects are less pronounced than found by Lin et al.; and (4) an extension of
the Lin et al. analysis shows that these social resources do not have a significant impact on income. This last finding is
consistent with the recent results of Marsden and Hurlbert's analysis of Detroit Area Study data. Institutional differences
that might be relevant to the explanation of cross-national differences are discussed.
This article examines how different personality types create and benefit from social networks in organizations. Using data from a 116-member high-technology firm, we tested how self-monitoring orientation and network position related to work performance. First, chameleon-like high self-monitors were more likely than true-to-themselves low self-monitors to occupy central positions in social networks. Second, for high (but not for low) self-monitors, longer service in the organization related to the occupancy of strategically advantageous network positions. Third, self-monitoring and centrality in social networks independently predicted individuals' workplace performance. The results paint a picture of people shaping the networks that constrain and enable performance.
This paper argues that an accurate cognition of informal networks can itself be a base of power, above and beyond power attributable to informal and formal structural positions. To explore this claim, a small entrepreneurial firm was studied. Perceptions of the friendship and advice networks were compared to "actual" networks. Those who had more accurate cognitions of the advice network were rated as more powerful by others in the organization, although accuracy of the friendship network was not related to reputational power.
We introduce social networks theory and methods as a way of understanding mentoring in the current career context. We first introduce a typology of "developmental networks" using core concepts from social networks theory - network diversity and tie strength - to view mentoring as a multiple relationship phenomenon. We then propose a framework illustrating factors that shape developmental network structures and offer propositions focusing on the developmental consequences for individuals having different types of developmental networks in their careers. We conclude with strategies both for testing our propositions and for researching multiple developmental relationships further.
We blend network and organizational memory perspectives in a model of technology brokering that explains how an organization develops innovative products. The model is grounded in observations, interviews, informal conversations, and archived data gathered during an ethnography of IDEO, a product design firm. This firm exploits its network position, working for clients in at least 40 industries, to gain knowledge of existing technological solutions in various industries. It acts as a technology broker by introducing these solutions where they are not known and, in the process, creates new products that are original combinations of existing knowledge from disparate industries. Designers exploit their access to a broad range of technological solutions with organizational routines for acquiring and storing this knowledge in the organization's memory and, by making analogies between current design problems and the past solutions they have seen, retrieving that knowledge to generate new solutions to design problems in other industries. We discuss the implications of this research for understanding the individual and organizational processes and norms underlying technology and knowledge transfer more generally.
Using data from the National Opinion Research Center's General SocialSurvey, we compared the organizational membership networks andcore discussion networks of managers and nonmanagers. For the twogroups, the networks differed on a variety of characteristics, includingties to outside organizations and to co-workers, network size, and closeness of ties. We also found preliminary evidence that network differences were associated with income differences for nonmanagers.
This research examined the relationships between structural positions and influence at the individual level of analysis. The structure of the organization was conceptualized from a social network perspective. Measures of the relative positions of employees within workflow, communication, and friendship networks were strongly related to perceptions of influence by both supervisors and non-supervisors and to promotions to the supervisory level. Measures included criticality, transaction alternatives, and centrality (access and control) in the networks and in such reference groups as the dominant coalition. A comparison of boundary-spanning and technical-core personnel indicated that contacts beyond the normal work requirements are particularly important for technical core personnel to acquire influence. Overall, the results provide support for a structural perspective on intraorganizational influence.
The patterns of interview choices of 170 MBA students were tracked unobtrusively over 5 mo. Two personality variables, self-monitoring (SM) and social uniqueness, were used to partition the sample. The results confirmed that personality types hypothesized to differ in their preferences for social comparison information did differ significantly both with respect to how much their decision patterns resembled those of their friends and with respect to the criteria they used in the decision-making process. In contrast to recent critiques of the SM construct, the research provides evidence in support of an SM typology assessed by a unitary factor underlying responses to the Self-Monitoring Scale. In general, the results suggest that the social network, as a decision-making resource, may be as much an expression of personality as it is a constraint on individual choice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A field study involving 190 employees in 38 work groups representing five diverse organizations provided evidence that social networks, as defined in terms of both positive and negative relations, are related to both individual and group performance. As hypothesized, individual job performance was positively related to centrality in advice networks and negatively related to centrality in hindrance networks composed of relationships tending to thwart task behaviors. Hindrance network density was significantly and negatively related to group performance.
This paper explores the tension between two opposite views on how networks create social capital. Network closure (Coleman 1988) stresses the role of cohesive ties in fostering a normative environment that facilitate cooperation. Structural hole theory (Burt 1992) sees cohesive ties as a source of rigidity that hinders the coordination of complex organizational tasks. The two theories lead to opposite predictions on how the structure of an actor's network may affect his ability to adapt that network to a significant change in task environment. Using data from a newly created special unit within the Italian subsidiary of a multinational computer manufacturer, we show that managers with cohesive communication networks were less likely to adapt these networks to the change in coordination requirements prompted by their new assignments, which in turn jeopardized their role as facilitators of horizontal cooperation within a newly created business unit structure. We conclude with a discussion of the trade-off between the "safety" of cooperation within cohesive networks and the "flexibility" provided by networks rich in structural holes.
This paper examines how the structure and content of individuals' networks on the job affect intraorganizational mobility. Consistent with prior research, we find that mobility is enhanced by having large, dense networks of informal ties for acquiring information and resources. However, studies of networks and organizational careers have overlooked the importance of informal ties in transmitting social identity and normative expectations within organizations, which is facilitated by networks with the opposite features: smaller size and greater density. We use this argument as the basis for developing a typology of network contents, and we document this interaction between network structure and content in analyses of mobility among employees of a high technology firm. We also show how the effects of tie duration on mobility vary across types of network ties. The implications of these findings for theory and research on networks and organizational mobility are discussed.
The problem of informant accuracy is examined in light of principles of memory organization from cognitive psychology. These principles turn out to be powerful, not only in explaining overall patterns of informant error, but in predicting details about the types of errors made. Predictions are made in terms both of different kinds of informants and different kinds of objects. All the predictions are strongly supported by the data. Finally, in the light of these results, two strategies are developed. The “best” informants, it seems, can be used to reveal long-range stable patterns of events, and the “worst” informants can be used to reveal the details of a particular event of special interest.
esearch in organizational learning has demonstrated processes and occasionally performance implications of acquisition of declarative (know-what) and procedural (know-how) knowledge. However, considerably less attention has been paid to learned char- acteristics of relationships that affect the decision to seek information from other people. Based on a review of the social network, information processing, and organizational learn- ing literatures, along with the results of a previous qualitative study, we propose a formal model of information seeking in which the probability of seeking information from another person is a function of (1) knowing what that person knows; (2) valuing what that person knows; (3) being able to gain timely access to that person's thinking; and (4) perceiving that seeking information from that person would not be too costly. We also hypothesize that the knowing, access, and cost variables mediate the relationship between physical proximity and information seeking. The model is tested using two separate research sites to provide repli- cation. The results indicate strong support for the model and the mediation hypothesis (with the exception of the cost variable). Implications are drawn for the study of both transactive memory and organizational learning, as well as for management practice. (Information; Social Networks; Organizational Learning; Transactive Knowledge)
A growing number of sociologists, political scientists, economists, and organizational theorists have invoked the concept of social capital in the search for answers to a broadening range of questions being confronted in their own fields. Seeking to clarify the concept and help assess its utility for organizational theory, we synthesize the theoretical research undertaken in these various disciplines and develop a common conceptual framework that identifies the sources, benefits, risks, and contingencies of social capital.
Research indicates that certain boundary spanning individuals, labelled gatekeepers, can be an important linking mechanism between organizations and their external environments. This study investigates the role of gatekeepers in the transfer of information in a single R&D setting by comparing directly the performance of project groups with and without gatekeepers. Results indicate that gatekeepers perform a linking role only for projects performing tasks that are locally oriented, while universally oriented tasks were most effectively linked to external areas by direct project member communication. Evidence also suggests that gatekeepers do more than mediate external information; they appear to facilitate the external communication of their more local project colleagues. Direct contact and contact mediated by gatekeepers, then, are two contrasting ways to link project groups with their external areas. The relative effectiveness of these linking mechanisms is contingent on the nature of the project's work.
A study of the flow of information about organizational problems was conducted. We found that managers often avoided passing problems to formally designated problem solvers and used personal ties to forward information to problem solvers. The strength of ties between individuals had a weak effect on passing problems across professional boundaries.
What explains differences in firms’ abilities to acquire competitive capabilities? In this paper we propose that a firm’s embeddedness in a network of ties is an important source of variation in the acquisition of competitive capabilities. We argue that firms in geographical clusters that maintain networks rich in bridging ties and sustain ties to regional institutions are well‐positioned to access new information, ideas, and opportunities. Hypotheses based on these ideas were tested on a stratified random sample of 227 job shop manufacturers located in the Midwest United States. Data were gathered using a mailed questionnaire. Results from structural equation modeling broadly support the embeddedness hypotheses and suggest a number of insights about the link between firms’ networks and the acquisition of competitive capabilities. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article deals with the application of regression models to observations on relations in dyads. I address three problems that have troubled past investigations of this sort: (1) how to incorporate measures of nodal characteristics into models explaining ties in dyads, (2) how to specify and estimate the effects of reciprocity, and (3) how to measure and control auto-correlation arising from dyads having common nodes. A model is developed that is designed to overcome these problems. An illustration is then provided via an analysis of data on interorganizational relations. The analysis yields empirical results that suggest the potential of these methods for testing certain social network theories.
This research investigates the role of job characteristics as possible mediating variables in the relationships between the organization's structural context and the attitudes and behaviors of individual employees. The organization is conceptualized as a network of task positions interrelated on the basis of workflow transactions. Three structural relationships of task positions are investigated: (1) the centrality of a task position; (2) the degree to which a task position is critical to the workflow; and (3) the transaction alternatives available to a task position. The results indicate significant relationships between these three relational measures and job characteristics. Further, the findings support the hypothesis that job characteristics mediate the relationship between structure and individual responses.
We examine the extent to which executives' boundary spanning relations inside and outside their industry affect organizational strategy and performance. We posit that the informational and social influences of external ties will be reflected in the degree to which the organization's strategy conforms to or deviates from the central tendencies of its industry and that the alignment of executives' external ties with the firm's strategy will be beneficial to firm performance. Using a multiyear sample of firms in the branded foods and computer industries, we find that executives' intraindustry ties are related to strategic conformity, that extraindustry ties are associated with the adoption of deviant strategies, and that alignment of executives' external ties with the informational requirements of the firm's strategy enhances organizational performance. Our results also show that a unique or differentiated strategy is not universally advantageous and that the benefits accruing from strategic conformity are especially strong in the more uncertain computer industry.
ABSTRACT Economic actors confront various forms of uncertainty in their decision making, and the ways in which they deal with these obstacles may affect their success in accomplishing their goals. In this paper, we examine the means by which relationship managers in a major commercial bank attempt to close transactions with their corporate customers. We hypothesize that under conditions of high uncertainty, bankers will rely on colleagues with whom,they are strongly tied for advice on and support of their deals. Drawing on recent network theory, we also hypothesize that transactions in which bankers use relatively sparse approval networks are more likely to successfully close than are transactions involving dense approval networks. We find support for both hypotheses. We conclude that bankers are faced with a strategic paradox: their tendency to rely on those they trust in dealing with uncertainty creates conditions that render deals less likely to be successful. This represents an example of the unanticipated consequences,of purposive social action. Uncertainty is a fact of life. The lack of knowledge about possible options and the outcomes of the choices associated with those options is a driving force in virtually all aspects of human decision making. From decisions on where to live, what school to attend, whom to marry (or whether to marry), and what occupation to pursue, social actors must almost always make their decision without knowledge,of the consequences. We may seek control over the outcomes of our decisions, but we are never entirely successful in gaining this control. And as much as we bemoan,the existence of
We replicate and extend studies of job-matching by Lin, Ensel, and Vaughn (1981) and Bridges and Villemez (1986), concentrating
on the effects of social network resources on the following outcomes of job-changes: occupational prestige, wages, industrial
sector, firm size, possession of authority, and closeness of supervision. Our replication confirms major findings of prior
work, and demonstrates that these are not affected by incidental selection bias or the absence of controls for the immediately
preceding levels of outcome variables. Our extensions, however, qualify the social resources argument by indicating that effects
of different social resource measures are largely outcome-specific: no single measure among those studied appears as a general
indicator of “social capital” providing advantages in matching people to a broad range of valued outcomes. The analyses also
show no significant net effects of tie strength on either mobility outcomes or access to social resources.
The research described in this article focuses on one important aspect of the innovation process - the need for the innovating system to gather information from and transmit information to several external information areas. Special boundary roles evolve in the organization's communication network to fulfill the essential function of linking the organization's internal network to external sources of information. These boundary roles occur at several organizational boundaries, and their distribution within the organization is contingent on the nature of the organization's work. This research supports literature on boundary spanning in general and highlights the importance of boundary roles in the process of innovation.
Few topics have received more attention in the management literature of recent years than that of virtual organizations. Articles abound on the possibilities of virtual meetings, work teams, offices, factories, firms, and alliances. Given the burgeoning interest in this emerging phenomenon, it is surprising that very little empirical research exists on virtual organizations. Especially lacking are studies of communication processes within virtual organization settings. To help remedy this situation, this special issue provides an early window into several important communication processes that occur in virtual contexts. We are pleased to provide readers with a compendium of six articles that, collectively, advance current knowledge of communication processes for virtual organizations. Both single and multifirm studies are included here, with analyses covering such diverse topics as communication content, communication structure and effectiveness, tradeoffs in electronic and face-to-face relationships, and the use of communication in formation of organizational identity. All of the studies include rigorous analysis and careful measurement of communication, and all take place within naturally occurring organizational contexts, not laboratory settings.
The ability to transfer best practices intemally is critical to a firm's ability to build competitive advantage through the appropriation of rents from scarce internal knowledge. Just as a firm's distinctive competencies might be difficult for other firms to imitate, its best practices could be difficult to imitate internally. Yet, little systematic attention has been paid to such intemal stickiness. The author analyzes intemal stickiness of knowledge transfer and tests the resulting model using canonical correlation analysis of a data set consisting of 271 observations of 122 best-practice transfers in eight companies. Contrary to conventional wisdom that blames primarily motivational factors, the study findings show the major barriers to internal knowledge transfer to be knowledge-related factors such as the recipient's lack of absorptive capacity, causal ambiguity, and an arduous relationship between the source and the recipient. The identification and transfer of best practices is emerging as one of the most important and widespread practical management issues of the latter half of the 1990s. Armed with meaningful, detailed performance data, firms that use fact- based management methods such as TQM, bench- marking, and process reengineering can regularly compare the perfonnance of their units along operational dimensions. Sparse but unequivocal evidence suggests that such comparisons often reveal surprising perfonnance differences between units, indicating a need to improve knowledge utilization within the firm (e.g., Chew, Bresnahan, and Clark, 1990).' Because intemal transfers typi-
This research considers how different features of informal networks affect knowledge transfer. As a complement to previous research that has emphasized the dyadic tie strength component of informal networks, we focus on how network structure influences the knowledge transfer process. We propose that social cohesion around a relationship affects the willingness and motivation of individuals to invest time, energy, and effort in sharing knowledge with others. We further argue that the network range, ties to different knowledge pools, increases a person's ability to convey complex ideas to heterogeneous audiences. We also examine explanations for knowledge transfer based on absorptive capacity, which emphasizes the role of common knowledge, and relational embeddedness, which stresses the importance of tie strength. We investigate the network effect on knowledge transfer using data from a contract R&D firm. The results indicate that both social cohesion and network range ease knowledge transfer, over and above the effect for the strength of the tie between two people. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on effective knowledge transfer, social capital, and information diffusion.
Our analysis focuses on scientists in corporate research and development (R&D) work units. Building on the rich literature on the importance of brokerage and boundary-spanning for intraorganizational mobility, we investigate how scientists' positions in networks of work relations affect the probability that they expect future mobility. Our results support the claim that, in general, actors with disconnected contacts gain a competitive advantage relative to others who do not enjoy the same degree of access to structural holes. In addition to documenting this basic association between contact density and mobility expectations, we demonstrate that the nature of this association differs considerably depending on the larger context for local patterns of interaction. We investigate three such contextual factors: the degree to which the work unit is oriented toward individual rather than collective incentives; the density of the overall pattern of interaction in the unit; and the extent to which brokerage strategies are legitimate. Findings support the conclusion that the effect of contact density on expectations of promotion is contingent on the character of relevant structures and cultures of opportunity. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.
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This paper seeks to discover whether the known inaccuracy of informant recall about their communication behavior can be accounted for by experimentally varying the time period over which recall takes place. The experiment took advantage of a new communications medium (computer conferencing) which enabled us to monitor automatically all the interactions involving a subset of the computer network. The experiment itself was administered entirely by the computer, which interviewed informants and recorded their responses. Variations in time period failed to account for much of the inaccuracy, which continues, as in previous experiments at an unacceptably high level. One positive finding did emerge: although the informants did not know with whom they communicated, the informants en masse seemed to know certain broad facts about the communication pattern. All other findings were negative. For example, it is impossible to predict the people an informant claimed to communicate with but did not; and it is impossible to predict who the five people are that an informant forgot to mention that she or he had communication with. Thus, despite their presumed good intentions, our findings here confirm what we have learned from six previous experiments: What people say about their communications bears no resemblance to their behavior. This suggests that other forms of data gathering, based on questions which require that informants recall their behavior, may well be suspect.
Over the past several decades, social network research has favored either ego-centric (e.g. employee) or bounded networks (e.g. organization) as the primary unit of analysis. This paper revitalizes a focus on the work group, which includes structural properties of both its individual members and the collection as a whole. In a study of 182 work groups in a global organization, we found that structural holes of leaders within groups as well as core-periphery and hierarchical group structures were negatively associated with performance. We show that these effects hold even after controlling for mean levels of group communication, and discuss implications for the future of network analysis in work groups and informal organizations.
Effective work groups engage in external knowledge sharing--the exchange of information, know-how, and feedback with customers, organizational experts, and others outside of the group. This paper argues that the value of external knowledge sharing increases when work groups are more structurally diverse. A structurally diverse work group is one in which the members, by virtue of their different organizational affiliations, roles, or positions, can expose the group to unique sources of knowledge. It is hypothesized that if members of structurally diverse work groups engage in external knowledge sharing, their performance will improve because of this active exchange of knowledge through unique external sources. A field study of 182 work groups in a Fortune 500 telecommunications firm operationalizes structural diversity as member differences in geographic locations, functional assignments, reporting managers, and business units, as indicated by corporate database records. External knowledge sharing was measured with group member surveys and performance was assessed using senior executive ratings. Ordered logit analyses showed that external knowledge sharing was more strongly associated with performance when work groups were more structurally diverse. Implications for theory and practice around the integration of work groups and social networks are addressed.
Part I. Introduction: Networks, Relations, and Structure: 1. Relations and networks in the social and behavioral sciences 2. Social network data: collection and application Part II. Mathematical Representations of Social Networks: 3. Notation 4. Graphs and matrixes Part III. Structural and Locational Properties: 5. Centrality, prestige, and related actor and group measures 6. Structural balance, clusterability, and transitivity 7. Cohesive subgroups 8. Affiliations, co-memberships, and overlapping subgroups Part IV. Roles and Positions: 9. Structural equivalence 10. Blockmodels 11. Relational algebras 12. Network positions and roles Part V. Dyadic and Triadic Methods: 13. Dyads 14. Triads Part VI. Statistical Dyadic Interaction Models: 15. Statistical analysis of single relational networks 16. Stochastic blockmodels and goodness-of-fit indices Part VII. Epilogue: 17. Future directions.
The concept of embeddedness has general applicability in the study of economic life and can alter theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of economic behaviors. Argues that in modern industrial societies, most economic action is embedded in structures of social relations. The author challenges the traditional economic theories that have both under- and oversocialized views of the conception of economic action and decisions that merge in their conception of economic actors atomized (separated) from their social context. Social relations are assumed to play on frictional and disruptive, not central, roles in market processes. There is, hence, a place and need for sociology in the study of economic life. Productive analysis of human action requires avoiding the atomization in the extremes of the over- and undersocialized concepts. Economic actors are neither atoms outside a social context nor slavish adherents to social scripts. The markets and hierarchies problem of Oliver Williamson (with a focus on the question of trust and malfeasance) is used to illustrate the use of embeddedness in explicating the proximate causes of patterns of macro-level interest. Answers to the problem of how economic life is not riddled with mistrust and malfeasance are linked to over- and undersocialized conceptions of human nature. The embeddedness argument, on the contrary, stresses the role of concrete personal relations and networks (or structures) in generating trust and discouraging malfeasance in economic life. It finds a middle way between the oversocialized (generalized morality) and undersocialized (impersonal institutional arrangements) approaches. The embeddedness approach opens the way for analysis of the influence of social structures on market behavior, specifically showing how business relations are intertwined with social and personal relations and networks. The approach can easily explain what looks otherwise like irrational behavior. (TNM)
This paper introduces the concept of knowledge networks to explain why some business units are able to benefit from knowledge residing in other parts of the company while others are not. The core premise of this concept is that a proper understanding of effective interunit knowledge sharing in a multiunit firm requires a joint consideration of relatedness in knowledge content among business units and the network of lateral interunit relations that enables task units to access related knowledge. Results from a study of 120 new product development projects in 41 business units of a large multiunit electronics company showed that project teams obtained more existing knowledge from other units and completed their projects faster to the extent that they had short interunit network paths to units that possessed related knowledge. In contrast, neither network connections nor extent of related knowledge alone explained the amount of knowledge obtained and project completion time. The results also showed a contingent effect of having direct interunit relations in knowledge networks: While established direct relations mitigated problems of transferring noncodified knowledge, they were harmful when the knowledge to be transferred was codified, because they were less needed but still involved maintenance costs. These findings suggest that research on knowledge transfers and synergies in multiunit firms should pursue new perspectives that combine the concepts of network connections and relatedness in knowledge content.
This paper combines the concept of weak ties from social network research and the notion of complex knowledge to explain the role of weak ties in sharing knowledge across organization subunits in a multiunit organization. I use a network study of 120 new-product development projects undertaken by 41 divisions in a large electronics company to examine the task of developing new products in the least amount of time. Findings show that weak interunit ties help a project team search for useful knowledge in other subunits but impede the transfer of complex knowledge, which tends to require a strong tie between the two parties to a transfer. Having weak interunit ties speeds up projects when knowledge is not complex but slows them down when the knowledge to be transferred is highly complex. I discuss the implications of these findings for research on social networks and product innovation.
- Davis T. R. V.
- Monge P.
- McEvily B.