Abstract
This article analyzes the combined effect of the formal and informal structures on the outcomes of six technologically innovative projects in an R&D laboratory of a Fortune 500 company. To this end, it employs qualitative and social network analyses. The study not only identifies four factors as critical to R&D project success but also specifies how they operate. Success on technical projects is enhanced through a unique project design--one that weaves social networks and social capital into the projects' formal structures. The results also demonstrate that centrality in two social advice networks--technical and organizational--constructed to reflect the information exchange and communication flow in an R&D environment is critical in shaping the projects' outcomes. In addition to providing one of the few empirical accounts of the effects of social networks and centrality on the performance of R&D projects, the study challenges the prevailing views with regard to the relationship between formal and informal structures. It demonstrates that on the successful technical projects the two structures shape the outcome not separately but in interaction.
Published Version
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