Engle, Scott L., Structural holes and Simmelian ties: Exploring social capital, task interdependence, and individual effectiveness. Doctor of Philosophy (Organization Theory and Policy), December 1999, 175 pp., 15 tables, 13 figures, references, 167 titles.

Two contrasting notions have been put forward on how social capital may influence individual effectiveness in organizations. Burt (1992) sets forth the informational and control advantages that are possible by building an open network characterized by large numbers of structural holes. In contrast, Krackhardt (1996), Coleman (1990), and Simmel (1950) have suggested that network closure, exemplified by large numbers of Simmelian ties, enables actors to develop trust, cohesiveness, and norms which contribute to effectiveness. Simmelian ties are strong, reciprocal ties shared by three actors.

It is proposed that an actor’s network cannot be dominated by both structural holes and Simmelian ties. Thus, this study examines whether a moderating variable is at work. It is proposed that the actor’s task interdependence in the workplace influences the relationship between network closure and individual effectiveness. Actors in less task interdependent environments will benefit especially from the information and control benefits afforded by a network characterized by structural holes. Conversely, actors in highly interdependent environments will benefit especially from the creation of trust and cooperation that result from large numbers of Simmelian ties.

Data was collected on 113 subjects in three organizations. Subjects were asked to rate the strength of their relationship with all organization members and their own level of task interdependence. Contrary to expectations, nearly all subjects reported high levels of task interdependence. Raters in each organization provided individual effectiveness measures for all subjects. Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical set regression and bivariate correlation. The results indicated support for the hypothesized relationship of Simmelian ties with task interdependence. When examining all cases, no support was found for the hypothesized relationship of structural holes and Simmelian ties with individual effectiveness and of structural holes with task interdependence. Nonetheless, additional analyses provided some indication of an association between Simmelian ties and individual effectiveness. Task interdependence did not moderate the relationships between either Simmelian ties or structural holes and individual effectiveness.

Harvard Business Review [Jul-Aug 1998 Page 17] has a very positive write-up

of Social Network Analysis, describing research by Harvard's Morten Hansen. Hansen found that business units that were more central completed their projects faster. He also found that those that used the appropriate media to

transfer either implicit or explicit knowledge also finsihed projects sooner.

IBM Consulting Group found that adaptable organizations[those that deal effectively with change] have distinct network 'signatures' similar to

Hansen's findings.

Burt, Ronald S., Structural Holes--The Social Structure of Competition,  Harvard University Press, 1992. Especially Chapter 1.

Monge, P. R., and Contractor, N. (2000). Emergence of communication networks. In F. M. Jablin and L. L. Putnam (Eds.), The New Handbook of Organizational Communication (pp. 440-502). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. In the article they summarize ten families of social theories that can and have been used to give substantive meanings to the network analysis, including exchange theory, dependency theory, contagion theory, etc.

Baker, W. 1984. "The Social Structure of a National Securities Market." American Journal of Sociology 89:775-811.

Businesses organize differently in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan because of

different historically developed social structures. Japan has their highly

networked keiretsu ; Korea has their vertically structured chaebol; and

Taiwan--following traditional division of inheritance--has over 80% of its

businesses with less than 20 employees.

." If I recall correctly, he (Bruce Money) did a US-Japan comparison, including Japanese businesses in the US and US businesses in Japan, looking at their contact networks

and how these and other constraints affect businesses behavior and organization.

Bearman, P. 1997. "Generalized Exchange." American Journal of Sociology 102(5):1383-415.

Karen Stephenson has developed an end-user network analysis program that

may meet your needs... this is from an article about her in a recent issue of CIO magazine:

"This isn't for academics or consultants," says Stephenson, of her software called Mercator and marketed by NetForm, a Norwegian-based company she founded. "We built the software

to give managers and business executives the ability to do this for themselves."

A course on "strategic management" could include a section on organizational networks-- discussing both what types of organizational networks allow an organization to function well, and how the individual should use those networks.

The first week of 1999 was a good week for social network analysis and economic sociology. The Wall Street Journal ran an article on Joel Podolny and Scott Morton Hanson's research (referring to Joel as an "economic sociologist-perhaps the first time that clause has been used in print) and the New Yorker magazine has an article on Six degrees of separation and business/life success that prominently features Mark Granovetter's 1995[1974] work.