The Strength of Performative Ties
The Strength of Performative Ties documents and explains the surprising pattern of support and sharing between professionals in a large, global, professional services firm. Such performative ties allow the firm to stream its knowledge between individuals and locations, even when employees do not know each other and do not expect reciprocity from the receiver. Committee: Dr. Randall Collins, Dr. Mauro F. Guillén, Dr. Eric von Hippel, Dr. Sidney G. Winter, Dr. Emilio J. Castilla
Accepted at Academy of Management (AoM), American Sociological Association (ASA), Organization Science, International Institute of Sociology, and others.
- What are performative ties?
- The Antecedents of performative ties
- Business Implications
- Do Talk to Strangers: Encouraging Performative Ties to Create Competitive Advantage
Cooperation and Clustering in Networks
with Prof. R. O. Kurzban, University of Pennsylvania
An inherent duality in networks is the tension between connectivity and clustering: networks enable flows, including knowledge and practices. However, empirically, networks tend to be composed of internally homogenous clusters that are loosely connected. Clustering can be problematic to organizations, as well as to other collectives, because it hinders flows and increases isolation. Recently, evolutionary psychologists have emphasized the principle of positive externalities for understanding friendship. Using experiments, we show that individuals prefer dense network to sparse networks, everything else being equal. We combine evolutionary theory and findings to develop a theory of cascading benefits: we propose that individuals make take advantage of network externalities by belonging to dense clusters, and thus will prefer social ties that are embedded in a dense cluster. We derive testable hypotheses, predicting positive relationships between perceived network embeddedness and variables surrounding social preferences, emotional closeness, and altruistic behavior. We highlight the importance of perception and suggest ways in which the theory can be applied to increase connectedness in organizations.
Accepted at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Academy of Management, American Sociological Association, and International Institute of Sociology conferences.
Simulation of Knowledge Exchange
with Prof. M. J. Prietula, Emory University
We offer a computational model of knowledge exchange that weaves together theoretical elements from economics, sociology, cognitive psychology, and organizational science, as well as two distinct methodologies - qualitative fieldwork and computational modeling - to begin explicating the underpinnings of the knowledge-based view of the firm. We exploring the diffusion micro-dynamics of knowledge under several scenarios, and generate hypotheses for subsequent examination.
Accepted at Organization Science and International Institute of Sociology conferences
Collective Open Source Innovation
In recent years, innovative products and services have come from new commercial actors: loosely bounded collectives that meet primarily on-line, develop, cooperate, and distribute their products and services freely. Their actions, sometimes controversial, have contributed to the spread of open source software, as well as file sharing. Despite the economic importance of the phenomenon there little understanding of the conditions that allow its emergence and maintenance, especially because contributions as voluntary and the goods are freely available to anyone, including free riders. Using a combination of original fieldwork data and analytical simulation, we offer a framework that draws on economic sociology and behavioral economics.
Earlier version published in Best Paper Proceedings, EICAR, Munich 2001.Accepted at the Academy of Management, and American Sociological Association conferences.
What is Collective Open Source Innovation?