Organization Mining using Online Social Networks
by Michael Fire
Co-authored with Rami puzis and Yuval Elovici
Mature, developed social networking services is one of the greatest assets todays’ organization may have. However, it... more Mature, developed social networking services is one of the greatest assets todays’ organization may have. However, it is also a non-negligible threat to the organization confidentiality. Many details on organizations are exposed on social networking websites by their members along with personal information. In this paper we analyze several commercial organizations by mining data their employees exposed on Facebook, LinkeIn, and other publicly available sources. Using a web crawler designed for this purpose we extract a network of informal social relationships of employees of a given target organization. Our results show that, using centrality analysis and machine learning techniques applied on the structure of the informal relationships network, it is possible to identify leadership roles within the organization. It is also possible to get valuable non trivial insights on the organization structure by clustering this network and gathering publicly available information on the employees within eac h cluster. Organizations willing to conceal, their structure, location and specialization of branches, the identity of leaders, etc. must enforce strict policies controlling the use of social media by their employees
Download (.pdf)Learning from and with Customers with Social Media: A Model for Social Customer Learning
by Jari Jussila
Co-authored with Hannu Kärkkäinen and Maija Leino, published in International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning, 2012
Social media can enable and significantly increase the collaboration and learning from customers in various ways, for... more Social media can enable and significantly increase the collaboration and learning from customers in various ways, for instance by novel social ways of providing and receiving feedback from new products and concepts. We have created a model that can support managers and researchers to better analyse and understand the possibilities of social media approaches especially from the business-to-business (B2B) customer interface standpoint. We used the model to analyse found various types of business-to-business related social media approaches to create new understanding of the scarcely researched field of social media in the customer learning and the customer interface of B2B innovation.
Turning Practically: Broadening the Horizon
Introduction by Olav Eikeland and Davide Nicolini to Special Issue of Journal of Organizational Change Management,pp. 164-174, Vol.24, No. 2, 2011, on Changing Practice Through Reflection
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue, positioning the articles... more
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue, positioning the articles in relation to the current “turn to practice” within organisation and management studies.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper introduces a schematic classification of ways of putting practice at the centre of the concern of social scientists depending on the interest of the researcher and his/her position with regard to the object of the research.
Findings – The paper finds that turning to practice does not necessarily, or simply, equate with becoming more engaged, or with making social science relevant, or with moving social science closer to the practical concerns of separate practitioners. It is argued that the effort should be concentrated on developing a type of theory that helps practitioners articulate what they already do, and therefore somehow know. The model for this way of theorising would therefore be not physics or astronomy but rather grammar – a discipline that although just as old, has been based traditionally on a very different relationship between knower and known.
Practical implications – The paper argues that when conceived after a grammatical model, “theory” may become a resource to be used in action and for action to produce emancipatory awareness and trigger change through critical reflection.
Originality/value – The papers in this special issue constitute an initial contribution in this direction as they indicate different ways in which theory, when developed “with” and “amid” and not “for” or even “about” practitioners, may become a powerful trigger of change and transformation.
Networks, Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management: NHS Cancer Networks
Addicott, R. McGivern, G. & Ferlie, E. (2006) ‘Networks, Organisational Learning and Knowledge Management: The Case of NHS Cancer Networks.’ Public Money & Management, 26 (2) 87-94
There has been increased interest in the UK in network-based modes of organizing in the public services, as opposed to... more There has been increased interest in the UK in network-based modes of organizing in the public services, as opposed to markets or hierarchies. One supposed advantage of the network form is a greater capacity for the transfer of evidence-based or ‘best’ practices across the network and accelerated organizational learning. Such networks may have a knowledge management role and stimulate the formation of ‘communities of practice’. This article tests these arguments using data from a study of managed NHS cancer networks in London. The general pattern was for networks to concentrate on structural reconfiguration, while their knowledge management role remained marginal. Some alternative implications for future policy development are considered.
A note on the hierarchy-team debate
Published in: Strategic Management Journal, 1996
In this research note, I explore the debate between proponents of organizational learning who have criticized... more In this research note, I explore the debate between proponents of organizational learning who have criticized hierarchy as an obstacle to learning and those who have defended hierarchy as indispensable for large organizations. By considering hierarchy and team as ideal-typical information systems, it is argued that both teams and hierarchies are essential for organizational learning in large organizations. Teams appear to be the key learning units which are indispensable for producing and understanding novel information, and hierarchies are indispensable for processing and storing important learning results. The trade-off between teams and hierarchy can be solved by emphasizing the idea of circularity, involving the ability to switch between teams and hierarchies as complementary information systems in the context of organizational learning.
Organizing education by drawing on organization studies
Published in: Organization Studies, 2003
In this paper I explore how scholars researching organizations and organizing processes can use and exploit their... more In this paper I explore how scholars researching organizations and organizing processes can use and exploit their knowledge not only in terms of course contents, but also in organizing and managing students' learning activity. A design-oriented research approach is used in order to develop grounded design principles for organizing education. By drawing on the literature about organizational design and learning, several preliminary design ideas for organizing undergraduate education are described. Subsequently, two examples of how these design ideas can be applied are discussed. The first example involves the design of an undergraduate course in Organizational Behaviour. The second example is a tool for collaboratively supervising thesis projects. The design principles grounded in these two cases are, in sum: designing education as an authentic organization; exploiting the benefits of peer mentoring and assessment; acting and delegating as a senior manager; and setting vivid standards. Lastly, the contribution that organization studies can make to educational theory and practice is explored, and the role of design methodologies is discussed.
Organizational learning, circularity and double-linking
Published in: Management Learning, 1997
In recent writings on organizational learning, an interesting debate between proponents of team learning and those... more In recent writings on organizational learning, an interesting debate between proponents of team learning and those defending hierarchy as an essential condition for learning has developed. Here it is argued that teams appear to be the key learning units in organizations, but hierarchies are necessary to store and accumulate important learning results. Thus, in larger organizations teams must be integrated into some kind of hierarchy. Several authors have dealt with the problem of combining the benefits of both hierarchical and team-like structures. Attempts by Likert and Ackoff to combine the benefits of both hierarchical and team structures are based on the ideas of circularity and the (single) linking pin. A further elaboration of these solutions involves the idea of double-linking, as it is used in several Dutch organizations. Double-linking between teams provides the kind of vertical linkages which support and safeguard upward as well as downward information processing. As such, through the principle of double-linking organizations may become reflexive learning organizations.
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Once Upon a Social Web: Social Media and Firms' Learning Behavior In Two Worlds
co-authored with Ted Tschang and Jordi Comas
While the social Web has been examined previously by various scholars, this study addresses a gap in that research by... more While the social Web has been examined previously by various scholars, this study addresses a gap in that research by examining how firms learn in and about social media. From the perspective of organizational learning, we make a comparative case study of two social media applications. One case is a network of fashion bloggers and a traditional fashion magazine trying to play a role in that network. The other is an immersive virtual world called Second Life and a number of firms trying to play a role within that world. Our study found considerable differences in the firms’ ability to learn and to cope with the governing logic illustrated by the two cases. We argue that the relationship between a virtual world and the real world has a strong influence on a firms’ ability to learn in and about that world. We are able to explain why so many firms have failed in their attempt to get a foothold in virtual worlds such as Second Life while other, less realistic and less immersive social media applications rapidly have become integrated and accepted parts of many firms’ communication arsenal.
" Organizational Learning and Knowledge: Reflections on the Dynamics of the Field and Challenges for the Future,"
co-authored with Meinolf Dierkes, John Child & Ikujiro Nonaka
Networks and organisational learning: Evidence from broiler
Purpose – The aim of this study is to the test the hypothesis that a network involved in the division of labour can... more
Purpose – The aim of this study is to the test the hypothesis that a network involved in the division of labour can contribute to individual skills creation.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper is divided into two parts. First, it proposes and examines the fundamental of the hypothesis. In the second part, it reports the results of the investigation designed to test the hypothesis.
Findings – The hypothesis that task specification in organisational learning influences skills creation cannot be rejected. The evidence indicates that information on network integration of task specifications engages agents in problem solving and promotes skills creation according to opportunities of interaction in a structured context.
Originality/value – This study tests the hypothesis that a network involved in the division of labour can contribute to individual skills creation
It Takes a Network to Build a Network
by Maria Christina Binz-Scharf
Co-authored with David Lazer
The information government paradigm focuses on how information flows through government. Many of the chapters in this... more The information government paradigm focuses on how information flows through government. Many of the chapters in this volume concentrate on the potential impact of technology on information flows. This chapter’s focus is the converse, asking what the impact of information flows on the use of information technology in government is. The role of the institutions, informal networks, and other mechanisms of information diffusion are critical to understanding how information and communication technology (ICT) is integrated into government because ICT creates a novel malleability to information flows, which poses substantial challenges to government managers. Novelty by its nature poses risks to any manager for two reasons: first, there is the possibility of unanticipated consequences, and, second, there are costs involved in trying to minimize what is unanticipated. One critical mechanism that individuals use to manage novelty is to learn from others’ experiences. People learn from each other by multiple mechanisms—through personal networks, from organizations, through news media. Within the organization, such a learning network generally includes peers and individuals involved in the relevant processes. In addition, organizations rely heavily on others’ experiences. Intergovernmental organizations are especially important in bridging distant parts of a diffuse policy community, as well in aggregating information by offering their take on what constitutes good practice. In short, it takes a (human) network to process the information involved in building a (transformational ICT) network. Drawing on interview data we collected from e-government projects (see Binz-Scharf 2003; Binz-Scharf and Lazer 2007), we begin by examining the collective (human) information processing challenges that the development of e-government presents to organizations. The implementation of e-government involves, in significant part, a search—for information, solutions, opportunities. Because e-government is a global phenomenon, many individuals are simultaneously engaged in parallel searches to deal with similar issues. How those individuals are connected must have a major impact on the course of development of e-government globally. In this chapter, we begin with a discussion of the challenges of managing novelty. We then turn to the diffusion of information literature to examine how the structure of a network might affect the performance of the system. We break this down into two subsidiary questions: (1) How does the network affect the diffusion of information? (2) How does the system sustain the creation of new information? We then examine the roles of different intra- and interorganizational networks in the e-government arena.
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Searching for Answers: Networks of Practice Among Public Administrators
by Maria Christina Binz-Scharf
Co-authored with David Lazer and Ines Mergel, published in The American Review of Public Administration 2012 (42)202, pp.202-225
How do public administrators find information about the problems they confront at work? In particular, how and when do... more How do public administrators find information about the problems they confront at work? In particular, how and when do they reach across organizational boundaries to find answers? There are substantial potential obstacles to such searches for answers, especially in a system of decentralized governance such as the U.S. government. In this article, we examine the alternative mechanisms within the public sector that compensate for this dispersion of expertise, focusing on knowledge sharing across public DNA forensics laboratories. In particular, we propose that the emergence of informal interpersonal networks plays an important role in providing access to necessary expertise within a highly decentralized system. Our findings point both to the need for further research on knowledge sharing networks within the public sector as well as practical implications around the value of investments into facilitating the creation and maintenance of networks of practice.
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Learning and External Technology Management: the networks approach
1st. Founding Conference of the European Academy of Management (EURAM) “European Management Research: Trends and Challenges”, Barcelona, Spain, Apr. 19 – 21, 2001
co-authored with Giannis Tselekidis
It is argued that efficient learning, combined with efficient use and assimilation of available external knowledge,... more It is argued that efficient learning, combined with efficient use and assimilation of available external knowledge, can provide a sound basis upon which the technological capabilities of a firm can be built, for long–term efficiency and survival.This is especially true for firms that lack necessary technological capabilities and seek to improve their position in the global market by gradually creating a competitive advantage.
A configuration model of organizational culture
SageOpen (forthcoming)
The paper proposes a configuration model of organizational culture, which explores dynamic relationships between... more The paper proposes a configuration model of organizational culture, which explores dynamic relationships between organizational culture, strategy, structure and operations of an organization (internal environment) and maps interactions with the external environment (task and legitimization environment). A major feature of the configuration model constitutes its well- defined processes, which connect the elements of the model systematically to each other such as single- and double-loop learning, operationalization of strategies, legitimization management, etc.. The model is grounded in a large review of literature in different research areas and builds on widely recognized models in the field of organization and culture theory. It constitutes a response to the call for new models, which are able to ‘capture the empirical complexity of contemporary organizations’ (Suddaby, Hardy & Huy, 2011, p. 237). The configuration model of organizational culture is of particular interest to scholars who investigate into cultural phenomena and change over time.
A configuration model of organizational culture
SageOpen (forthcoming)
The paper proposes a configuration model of organizational culture, which explores dynamic relationships between... more The paper proposes a configuration model of organizational culture, which explores dynamic relationships between organizational culture, strategy, structure and operations of an organization (internal environment) and maps interactions with the external environment (task and legitimization environment). A major feature of the configuration model constitutes its well- defined processes, which connect the elements of the model systematically to each other such as single- and double-loop learning, operationalization of strategies, legitimization management, etc.. The model is grounded in a large review of literature in different research areas and builds on widely recognized models in the field of organization and culture theory. It constitutes a response to the call for new models, which are able to ‘capture the empirical complexity of contemporary organizations’ (Suddaby, Hardy & Huy, 2011, p. 237). The configuration model of organizational culture is of particular interest to scholars who investigate into cultural phenomena and change over time.