Formal versus Informal Knowledge Networks in R&D: A Case Study Using Social Network Analysis

The existence of informal social networks within organizations has long been recognized as important and the unique working relationships among scientific and technical personnel have been well documented by both academics and practitioners. The growing interest in knowledge management practices has led to increased attention being paid to social network analysis as a tool for mapping the nature and membership of informal networks. However, despite the knowledge-intensive nature of research and development (RD more efficiently disseminate information throughout the function; and more effectively understand the working habits and activities of employees.

[1]  Thomas J. Allen,et al.  Communication networks in R & D Laboratories , 1970 .

[2]  Thomas J. Allen,et al.  International technological gatekeeper. , 1971 .

[3]  T. Allen.  Managing the flow of technology , 1977 .

[4]  Michael L. Tushman,et al.  Technical Communication in R & D Laboratories: The Impact of Project Work Characteristics , 1978 .

[5]  Michael L. Tushman,et al.  Characteristics and External Orientation of Boundary Spanning Individuals. , 1979 .

[6]  Henry Mintzberg,et al.  The Structuring of Organizations , 1979 .

[7]  M. Tushman,et al.  Characteristics and External Orientations of Boundary Spanning Individuals , 1981 .

[8]  M. Tushman,et al.  Boundary Spanning Individuals: Their Role in Information Transfer and Their Antecedents , 1981 .

[9]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Organization Theory and Design , 1983 .

[10]  R. Katz,et al.  Organizational issues in the introduction of new technologies , 1984 .

[11]  L. Vogel,et al.  Strategy and Structure , 1986 .

[12]  John Scott.  What is social network analysis , 2010 .

[13]  A. F. J. van Raan,et al.  Handbook of quantitative studies of science and technology , 1988 .

[14]  Michael Gibbons,et al.  THE USE OF CO-NOMINATION ANALYSIS IN THE EVALUATION OF COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH , 1988 .

[15]  C. Prahalad,et al.  The Core Competence of the Corporation , 1990 .

[16]  Arnoud Cyriel Leo,et al.  Tech Talk: How managers are stimulating global R&D communication , 1991 .

[17]  Edward J. Ottensmeyer.  Third generation R&D: Managing the link to corporate strategy : by Philip A. Roussel, Kamal N. Saad, and Tamara J. Erickson, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 1991, 192 pp. , 1993 .

[18]  F. Blackler.  Knowledge, Knowledge Work and Organizations: An Overview and Interpretation , 1995 .

[19]  D. Leonard-Barton,et al.  Wellsprings of Knowledge: Building and Sustaining the Sources of Innovation , 1995 .

[20]  Denis Loveridge,et al.  The use of co‐nomination to identify expert participants for Technology Foresight , 1996 .

[21]  H. Tsoukas.  The firm as a distributed knowledge system : A constructionist approach , 1996 .

[22]  Robert Kevin Grigsby.  "Wellsprings of Knowledge: Building and Sustaining the Sources of Innovation" , 1996 .

[23]  M. Tushman,et al.  Managing Strategic Innovation and Change: A Collection of Readings , 1996 .

[24]  Rod Coombs,et al.  `Knowledge management practices' and path-dependency in innovation , 1998 .

[25]  J. Sparrow.  Knowledge in Organizations: Access to Thinking at Work , 1998 .

[26]  D. Teece.  Capturing Value from Knowledge Assets: The New Economy, Markets for Know-How, and Intangible Assets , 1998 .

[27]  Etienne Wenger,et al.  Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity , 1998 .

[28]  E. Wenger.  Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity , 1998 .

[29]  Morten T. Hansen,et al.  What's your strategy for managing knowledge? , 1999, Harvard business review.

[30]  Rodney McAdam,et al.  The process of knowledge management within organizations: a critical assessment of both theory and practice , 1999 .

[31]  Andrew Parker,et al.  Knowing What We Know: Supporting Knowledge Creation and Sharing in Social Networks , 2001 .

[32]  Andrew D. James,et al.  Knowledge and capabilities - a new view of the firm , 2000 .

[33]  Nicolai J. Foss,et al.  Resources, technology and strategy : explorations in the resource-based perspective , 2000 .

[34]  Thomas H. Davenport,et al.  Book review:Working knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak. Harvard Business School Press, 1998. $29.95US. ISBN 0‐87584‐655‐6 , 1998 .

[35]  Paul Hildreth,et al.  Communities of practice in the distributed international environment , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[36]  Paul Duguid,et al.  Structure and Spontaneity: Knowledge and Organization , 2001 .

[37]  Ron Sanchez,et al.  Knowledge Management and Organizational Competence , 2001 .

[38]  Ikujiro Nonaka,et al.  Managing Industrial Knowledge: Creation, Transfer and Utilization , 2001 .

[39]  Wanda J. Orlikowski,et al.  Knowing in practice: Enacting a collective capability in distributed organizing , 2002, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[40]  S. Borgatti,et al.  Making Invisible Work Visible: Using Social Network Analysis to Support Strategic Collaboration , 2002 .

[41]  R. Cross,et al.  Six Myths About Informal Networks -- and How to Overcome Them , 2002 .

[42]  Michael S. Dahl,et al.  Social networks in the R&D process: the case of the wireless communication industry around Aalborg, Denmark , 2005 .

[43]  Ann Lieberman.  The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations , 2005 .

[44]  Jonathon Mote,et al.  R&D ecology: using 2-mode network analysis to explore complexity in R&D environments , 2005 .