Effective Organizing on the Fly: Social Capital in Temporary Organizations

Abstract

ABSTRACT When mass collaborations face situations that are not readily resolvable, just like traditional organizations, they need to form task forces to address these complicated problems. Referred to as temporary organizations, small, task-focused, time-bound, agile groups, these task forces exist in organizations and corporations to address situations outside of existing procedures. Temporary organizations can be created in online platforms, like mass collaborations, to serve a similar purpose, as existing policies and procedures cannot address all situations that arise during collaboration. Given that mass collaborations are people-driven, informal, and voluntary, this study explores the impact of the dimensions of social capital on the success of online temporary organizations, exploring its structural, relational, and cognitive aspects. We suggest that participants’ access to social capital and their willingness to exercise it lead to a greater likelihood of success.