Can Informal Communication Networks Disrupt Coordination in New Product Development Projects?

This paper investigates how the structure of the informal communication network that results from efforts to coordinate task interdependence between design teams in complex product development projects moderates the effect of task interdependence on interteam communication. Drawing on theoretical mechanisms from the social network and knowledge transfer literature, as well as on recent empirical advances in exponential random graphs models of social networks, we examine how the presence of a common third party in the communication network affects the likelihood of technical communication between interdependent teams designing the components of a large commercial aircraft engine. Although task interdependence has a strong and significant effect on the likelihood of communication between teams, this effect is moderated by the presence of common third parties. The nature of this moderation depends on the position of the common third party within the triadic communication structure. When the common third party seats in the middle of a communication chain between the potential source and the potential recipient of technical communication, its presence increases the likelihood of communication between these two teams. However, when the communication between the source and recipient can trigger cyclic exchanges between the three teams, the presence of the third party reduces the likelihood of communication between the two interdependent teams, increasing the risk of coordination disruptions. We discuss the implications of our findings on the literature of intraorganizational networks in new product development.

[1]  M. Tushman,et al.  External Communication and Project Performance: An Investigation Into the Role of Gatekeepers , 2011 .

[2]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  Sloan School of Management Working Paper Factors That Influence Technical Communication in Distributed Product Development: an Empirical Study in the Telecommunications Industry Factors That Influence Technical Communication in Distributed Product Development: an Empirical Study in the Telecommunica , 2022 .

[3]  Herbert A. Simon,et al.  The Sciences of the Artificial - 3rd Edition , 1981 .

[4]  Carliss Y. Baldwin,et al.  The Mirroring Hypothesis: Theory, Evidence and Exceptions , 2016 .

[5]  Ray Reagans,et al.  Bridging the Knowledge Gap: The Influence of Strong Ties, Network Cohesion, and Network Range on the Transfer of Knowledge Between Organizational Units , 2012 .

[6]  Deborah G. . Ancona,et al.  Bridging the Boundary: External Activity and Performance in Organizational Teams. , 1992 .

[7]  Bill McEvily,et al.  More Formally: Rediscovering the Missing Link between Formal Organization and Informal Social Structure , 2014 .

[8]  Christoph H. Loch,et al.  Problem - Solving Oscillations in Complex Engineering Projects , 2003, Manag. Sci..

[9]  Philippa Pattison,et al.  Manufacturing Relations: An Empirical Study of the Organization of Production Across Multiple Networks , 2006, Organ. Sci..

[10]  H. Simon,et al.  The sciences of the artificial (3rd ed.) , 1996 .

[11]  Robert P. Smith,et al.  Identifying Controlling Features of Engineering Design Iteration , 2015 .

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

[13]  Craig M. Rowles.  System integration analysis of a large commercial aircraft engine , 1999 .

[14]  Ezra W. Zuckerman,et al.  How to Make the Team: Social Networks vs. Demography as Criteria for Designing Effective Teams , 2004 .

[15]  Nile W. Hatch,et al.  Design Rules, Volume 1: The Power of Modularity , 2001 .

[16]  James D. Thompson.  Organizations in Action , 1967 .

[17]  Julien Brailly,et al.  Exponential Random Graph Models for Social Networks , 2014 .

[18]  Kim B. Clark,et al.  Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of , 1990 .

[19]  R. Burt.  Brokerage and Closure: An Introduction to Social Capital , 2005 .

[20]  R. Burt,et al.  Kinds of Third-Party Effects on Trust , 1995 .

[21]  K. Eisenhardt,et al.  PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: PAST RESEARCH, PRESENT FINDINGS, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS , 1995 .

[22]  Mark S. Granovetter.  Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness , 1985, American Journal of Sociology.

[23]  Christoph H. Loch,et al.  Exchanging Preliminary Information in Concurrent Engineering: Alternative Coordination Strategies , 2002, Organ. Sci..

[24]  Herbert A. Simon,et al.  The Sciences of the Artificial , 1970 .

[25]  Michael L. Tushman,et al.  Competing by design: the power of organizational architecture , 1998 .

[26]  P. V. Marsden,et al.  NETWORK DATA AND MEASUREMENT , 1990 .

[27]  W. Raub,et al.  Reputation and Efficiency in Social Interactions: An Example of Network Effects , 1990, American Journal of Sociology.

[28]  Martin Gargiulo,et al.  Trapped in Your Own Net? Network Cohesion, Structural Holes, and the Adaptation of Social Capital , 2000 .

[29]  Ezra W. Zuckerman,et al.  Networks, Diversity, and Productivity: The Social Capital of Corporate R&D Teams , 2001 .

[30]  James D. Herbsleb,et al.  Identification of coordination requirements: implications for the Design of collaboration and awareness tools , 2006, CSCW '06.

[31]  Jonathan L. Johnson.  Brokerage and Closure: An Introduction to Social Capital , 2006 .

[32]  Christophe Van den Bulte,et al.  The Effects of R&D Team Co-Location on Communication Patterns Among R&D, Marketing, and Manufacturing , 1998 .

[33]  Mark S. Granovetter.  The Strength of Weak Ties , 1973, American Journal of Sociology.

[34]  Garry Robins,et al.  Structural Logic of Intraorganizational Networks , 2010, Organ. Sci..

[35]  P. Pattison,et al.  New Specifications for Exponential Random Graph Models , 2006 .

[36]  Kim B. Clark,et al.  The Option Value of Modularity in Design: An Example From Design Rules, Volume 1: The Power of Modularity , 2000 .

[37]  Jay R. Galbraith.  Designing Complex Organizations , 1973 .

[38]  J. Coleman.  Foundations of Social Theory , 1990 .

[39]  Tom A. B. Snijders,et al.  Exponential Random Graph Models for Social Networks , 2013 .

[40]  Wallace J. Hopp,et al.  The Impact of Misalignment of Organizational Structure and Product Architecture on Quality in Complex Product Development , 2010, Manag. Sci..

[41]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  A Network Approach to Define Modularity of Components in Complex Products , 2007 .

[42]  Kim B. Clark,et al.  Design Rules: The Power of Modularity Volume 1 , 1999 .

[43]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  Predicting technical communication in product development organizations , 1995 .

[44]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  The Misalignment of Product Architecture and Organizational Structure in Complex Product Development , 2004, Manag. Sci..

[45]  M. Tushman.  Special Boundary Roles in the Innovation Process. , 1977 .

[46]  D. Hunter,et al.  Goodness of Fit of Social Network Models , 2008 .

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

[48]  Ranjay Gulati,et al.  Reorganize for Resilience: Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business , 2010 .

[49]  Tyson R. Browning,et al.  Linking Cyclicality and Product Quality , 2012, Manuf. Serv. Oper. Manag..

[50]  Ray Reagans,et al.  Network Structure and Knowledge Transfer: The Effects of Cohesion and Range , 2003 .

[51]  Jonathan Cagan,et al.  Unlocking Organizational Potential: A Computational Platform for Investigating Structural Interdependence in Design , 2006 .

[52]  Steven D. Eppinger,et al.  Managing the integration problem in concurrent engineering , 1993 .

[53]  Garry Robins,et al.  The Focused Organization of Advice Relations: A Study in Boundary Crossing , 2014, Organ. Sci..

[54]  Stanley Wasserman,et al.  Testing Multitheoretical, Multilevel Hypotheses About Organizational Networks: An Analytic Framework and Empirical Example , 2006 .

[55]  Peng Wang,et al.  Closure, connectivity and degree distributions: Exponential random graph (p*) models for directed social networks , 2009, Soc. Networks.

[56]  James E. Rauch,et al.  Bandwidth and Echo: Trust, Information, and Gossip in Social Networks , 2001 .

[57]  S. Wasserman,et al.  Logit models and logistic regressions for social networks: I. An introduction to Markov graphs andp , 1996 .

[58]  Donald R. Lessard,et al.  Breaking the silos : Distributed knowledge and strategic responses to volatile exchange rates , 1996 .

[59]  Manuel E. Sosa.  A structured approach to predicting and managing technical interactions in software development , 2008 .

[60]  Robert P. Smith,et al.  A model-based method for organizing tasks in product development , 1994 .