Research Groups: Patterns and Processes in Organizational Networks

[RG # 133] Patterns and Processes in Organizational Networks

September 1, 2012- February 1, 2013

Organizers:

Yuval Kalish (Tel Aviv University)
Amalya Oliver (The Hebrew University)

Organizational networks are collaborative systems between organizations that are structured to achieve certain goals. The principle rationale behind organizational networks is that no single organization can achieve its stated outcome by itself due to resource constraints. The resources that are gained from the networks are funding, capabilities, knowledge and learning, legitimacy, consulting and more. While organizations need to collaborate, there are additional factors that hinder these collaborations. These include competition, knowledge protection, free riding, opportunism, inertia, lack of trust and fragility. All these elements are embedded in the process of collaborations and are not well developed in the literature.

Organizational network research is based on sociological and strategy system theories coupled with advanced statistical and algebraic methods on the one hand, and qualitative case studies and egocentric approaches on the other. This area, while witnessing significant growth over the past several years, was mainly characterized by cross-sectional approaches (one-time measurements). The group will focus on areas that are, as yes, not well developed in the general network research fild, and specifically within the overall organizational network domain, i.e. naming patterns of organizational network processes. We have identified three main directions in organizational research - learning networks, temporary network systems and development of networks. Examples of complexities and tensions associated with processes within networks are those that exist between collaboration and competition, innovation and inertia, stability and fragility.

2012-2013 Research Groups 2012-2013

Members

Barak Aharonson

FELLOW

Tel Aviv University

Barak S. Aharonson is an assistant professor in the Strategic Management Department at Recanti Graduate School of Business, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Terry Amburgey

FELLOW

University of Toronto

Terry L. Amburgey is a professor of Stragetic Management at the Rotman School of Mangement, University of Toronto, Canada. His research interests include inter-organizational networks, organizational ecology, and quantitative methods.

Mark Ebers

FELLOW

University of Cologne

Mark Ebers is a professor of Business Administration, Management and Organization Development at the University of Cologne.

Yuval Kalish

FELLOW

Tel Aviv University

Yuval Kalish teaches at the Recanti Business School at Tel Aviv University. His research interests are social networks and networking, leadership, organizational conflict and conflict management.

Sheen Levine

FELLOW

Columbia University

Sheen S. Levine is a Principal Investigator at the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University. He researches how people behave and how their actions impact others, organizations and markets.

Amalya Oliver-Lumerman

FELLOW

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Amalya Oliver-Lumerman is a professor in the department of Sociology and Anthropology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Sorin Solomon

FELLOW

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Sorin Solomon is a professor at the Racah Institute of Physics of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He initiated the European Conferences on Complex Systems series, and the "European PhD Complexity Schools".