Sub-theme 49: Living the Network: Practices of Connecting and Bridging at Work
Call for Papers
In organizations, people from various cultures and worldviews need to work together to achieve their own and their organization's
goals (Armstrong & Cole, 1995; Northcraft et al., 1995). Research has emphasized how networks connect people and bridge
various boundaries keeping them apart (Brass et al., 2004; Tichy, 1981).
This sub-theme explores networks in
organizations from a practice perspective that views organizational networks as something that people do, instead of something
that people have. In a practice perspective, structures of meanings, rules and norms are (re-)produced as people adopt, adapt,
and improvise practices to address their everyday challenges (Orlikowski, 2002). This approach has often been applied to prescribed
procedures and ties of authority and cooperation. Our sub-theme calls for practice-based research on the formation and negotiation
of informal ties.
Topics of interest include:
- Practices of building and maintaining social ties among people who do not have prescribed ties of authority and cooperation
- Practices of seeking and negotiating others' help to address challenges at work, i.e. how people use their networks
- Practices of bridging occupational cultures, worldviews and geographic locations
Connecting practices
We invite papers that explore practices of establishing and maintaining social ties, e.g.:
- How do people build social ties across the boundaries raised by different institutional and occupational cultures, worldviews, and locations?
- How do people use information technology to connect with others in their organizations?
- How do individuals turn shared experience and shared membership into enduring social ties with others?
- How do individuals protect social ties from requirements of cooperation in organizations such as secrecy, conflicting goals and tensions among departments?
Bridging practices
We invite papers that explore practices of bridging cultures and worldviews, e.g.:
- How do people turn their personal and positional power into influence tactics?
- How do people enlist the help of others across departmental boundaries, cultural differences, clashing worldviews and gaps across continents?
- How do people enlist the help of others when others do not want to help them?
- What are the intended and unintended outcomes of informal social networks at work?
We intend to host conversations that uncover the practices that
generate and extend networks of informal relationships in organizations. We call for original, theoretical and/or empirical,
contributions that rely on a variety of methods and theories.
References
Armstrong, David & Paul Cole (1995): 'Managing distances and differences in geographically distributed work groups.' In: S.E. Jackson & M.N. Ruderman (eds.): Diversity in Work Teams: Research Paradigms for a Changing Workplace. Washington, D.C.: APA, 187–216.
Brass, Daniel J., Joseph Galaskiewicz, Henrich R. Greve & Wenpin Tsai (2004): 'Taking stock of networks and organizations: a multilevel perspective.' Academy of Management Review, 47 (6), 795–817.
Northcraft, Gregory B., Jeffrey T. Polzer, Margaret A. Neale & Roderick M. Kramer (1995): 'Diversity, social identity and performance: emergent social dynamics in cross-functional teams.' In: S.E. Jackson & M.N. Ruderman (eds.): Diversity in Work Teams: Research Paradigms for a Changing Workplace. Washington, D.C.: APA, 69–96.
Orlikowski, Wanda (2002): 'Knowing in practice: enacting a collective capability in distributed organizing.' Organization Science, 13 (3), 249–273.
Tichy, Noel M. (1981): 'Networks in organizations.' In: P.C. Nystrom & W.H. Starbuck (eds.): Handbook of Organizational Design. New York: Oxford University Press, 225–249.