Informal Organizational Structures Research Articles

You Can Knock on the Doors and Windows of the University, but Nobody Will Care: How Universities Benefit from Network Silence around Gender-Based Violence

This paper exposes the role of universities in creating silence around gender-based violence in higher education, drawing on narratives from 39 qualitative interviews with victims/survivors and bystanders about reporting incidents and experiences. In this paper, we extend concept of ‘network silence’ around sexual harassment to other forms of gender-based violence. Our research applies three components of the theoretical model of network silence, namely, self-silencing by victims/survivors, silencing, and not hearing by others, and analyses their contextual manifestations through the reporting experiences of victims/survivors and bystanders. This helps to identify the traits of the informal organisational structures and power dynamics, gendered attitudes, actors, and factors which facilitate silencing. The intersectional approach in our analysis of organisational contextual traits contributes to the research on inequality regimes in universities. The findings suggest that universities are making limited efforts to address silence around gender-based violence. We conclude that shared beliefs among the leadership about the reputation and prestige of the university facilitate the endurance of silence in universities. Our findings indicate reasons why universities fail to create spaces that are safe from gender-based violence.

How does age and gender of the employees influence human resource practices–employee competencies relationship?

PurposeApplying resource-based view and the configurational approach theory, this study seeks to understand the moderating role of age and gender between human resource practices and employee competencies relationship.Design/methodology/approach43 food processing firms of India participated in the study. Applying multilevel approach, the responses of 295 human resource managers and 3,557 employees were used for the analysis.FindingsThe human resource practices–employee competencies relationship was stronger in the case of young employees. Furthermore, the relationship was better in case of male employees over female employees. The results urge for greater attention toward age and gender diversity issues while tailoring human resource practices for enhancing employee skills. This article contributes the human resource management literature by exploring the role of age and gender, which has been used as the control variables as the moderating variables for governing the human resource practices–employee competencies relationship.Practical implicationsSpecial focus can be placed on extensive custom in-house training and development activities. Proper division of work can be done for new employees and experienced employees depending upon their learning capabilities. The firms can do so by either implementing formal or informal organizational structures to achieve full gains. Firms should focus largely on narrowing the development practices adopted for diverse age groups of workforce population. The four practices proposed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2006) for ensuring effectiveness of development practices and its impact on old age employee effectiveness and attitude should be put in practice.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in its exploration of the intricate interplay among age, gender and human resource practices in shaping employee competencies. By understanding how these factors interact within the human resource practices–employee competencies framework, this research offers a unique perspective on the evolving workforce dynamics. It goes beyond the conventional human resource management strategies to uncover nuanced insights, shedding light on tailored approaches that consider the specific needs and aspirations of diverse employees. This innovative perspective contributes to a more inclusive, efficient and adaptable work environment, enriching both the academic understanding of human resources and the practical implementation of strategies for contemporary organizations.

Exploring Digital Communication Needs of Local Communities and Self-organized Collectives

Recent work in HCI has explored the use of ICTs for the mobilisation and organisation of values-led communities and social movements. This paper extends this line of work by exploring the design of a communication system for informal, place-based citizen collectives-also referred to as Social Solidarity Movements. The distinctive characteristics of such collectives, namely their decentralised, bottom-up and self-organised organisation, and their lack of monetary resources, pose interesting challenges for communication technology design. The work reported in this paper sought to explore how the values and practices of such collectives can be embodied in mobile communication tools. A system was designed to mirror on-the-ground informal organisational structures, its primary goal being to serve as a probe for research and discussion. Our findings highlight the diversity of channels and organisational structures prevailing in these contexts, their participatory nature, and issues of temporality, anonymity, privacy, and trust, all of which must be considered when designing technologies to support cooperative work. We contribute methodological insights and design implications for mobile technologies underpinning the work of social collectives and their practices.

Informality in strategic communication. Making the case for a forgotten concept

PurposeAlthough current strategic communication research is particularly interested in deviations from normative ideals, there is a surprising lack of interest in the structures that lead to such deviations from formal specifications. To this end, this paper explores the classic, but of late largely forgotten concept of informality. The aim is to develop a theoretical framework and a systematization that can be used to answer central questions in strategic communication research. The focus is on three research questions: How can formal and informal structures of strategic organizational communication be systematized? How are formal and informal organizational structures thematized in strategic organizational communication? What is the relationship between (in)formal structures of strategic organizational communication and the thematization of (in)formal organizational structures?Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual contribution is based on systems theoretical organization theory, which understands formal structures as decided decision premises and informal structures as undecided decision premises.FindingsThe understanding of informal expectation structures presented here has enormous potential for describing and researching central issues in strategic communication research in a far more significant way, both theoretically and empirically. For example, decoupling can be described in a much more differentiated way than is possible using the neo-institutionalist perspective.Practical implicationsThe systematizing framework for researching informal structures enables a deeper understanding of informal structures and thus a better handling of them in practice. In addition, the framework provides a basis for future empirical studies.Originality/valueInformal phenomena and structures seem to be the elephant in the room in many discourses in strategic communication research. With the theoretical perspective and systematization presented here, these phenomena can finally be explored in a differentiated and meaningful way.

PROMOTING AND SUSTAINING A COLLEGE-WIDE LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAM: FACULTY INSIGHTS AND EXPERIENCES

Abstract Research has identified the benefits and challenges of creating multigenerational classrooms for the purpose of intergenerational learning in higher education. However, much less is known about the systems of support needed at the organizational level to promote intergenerational learning within lifelong learning initiatives. With a focus on formal and informal organizational structures, this session describes insights from faculty who opened their courses to older adults as part of a college-wide course auditing initiative. Many did not understand their own role in the program and offered suggestions to address these issues. Recommendations include ways to acknowledge the work of faculty who participate in the program, and to engage more professors and older adults in the community to ensure program success. To create an age-inclusive, and age-friendly university, formal structural change led from the top-down is as important, if not more important, as creating informal networks that start at the faculty level.

Formation, Size, and Stability of Coalitions within Organizations

This paper investigates the link between coalitions, i.e. informal organizational structures, and individual learning in organizations. Building on the canonical Garbage Can Model (Cohen et al., 1972), we develop an agent-based model that allows us to analyze how organizational members’ learning about others’ preferences enables the emergence of coalitions. Altering the concentration (extremeness) of individuals’ preferences, we find differences in the precision of learning. We observe how large and stable coalitions get as a result of this learning process and how the presence of this informal structure can benefit the overall organization. Subsequently, we find that the organizational benefit of coalitions is greatest for low concentration setups. In exploiting this interplay, this paper also takes a first stab at integrating two hitherto disjointed lines of thinking on learning and bargaining.

The Making of Freedom and Common Forms of Struggle of Runaways in Taiwan

Local labor laws in Taiwan push migrant workers to run away from contracted employment arrangements and become undocumented. This article examines the common forms of struggle pursued by runaway Indonesian migrant workers with a focus on the informal organizational structures that support their daily survival. To open space for maneuver within nation-state borders, runaway migrant workers utilize their agency and negotiate state and nonstate structures such as recruitment companies, NGOs and civil society organizations, migrant communities, illegal agency services, and taxi drivers.

A longitudinal investigation into multilevel agile & ambidextrous strategic dualities in an information technology high performing EMNE

By applying a combined theoretical lens to high-performance work systems (HPWSs), organisational development (OD), and socio-technical systems (STS), this paper examines their impact in creating an agile and ambidextrous context for the management of strategic dualities, especially in times of uncertainty. Using a qualitative case study of an emerging market multinational enterprise (EMNE) from the Indian information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry, this paper presents a longitudinal and processual analysis of how, during challenging times of uncertainty in global competition, the sample EMNE had shifted from a purely managerialistic to a more humanistic set of values through OD interventions and investments in digital assets. We identified and discussed critical interventions for the management of various strategic dualities at multiple organisational levels over time. We contribute to the literature by providing exciting insights into an essential yet under-researched issue: namely, how an MNE can balance pressures for local responsiveness and global integration through the effective creation of dual headquarters, especially before and during global financial crises. Due to global pressures, EMNEs face numerous critical dualities when implementing strategic change initiatives aimed at pursuing firm growth. Some of such dualities include the simultaneous pursuit of exploratory and exploitative learning, local responsiveness and global integration, flexibility vs. efficiency, and formal vs. informal organisational structures. Our choice of a ‘critical’ and exemplar EMNE case analysis and our presentation of future research propositions help identify how and why diverse strategies lead to success through agility ambidexterity during challenging and uncertain periods.

Italian tourism intermediaries: a social network analysis exploration

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to analyse the application of Social Network Analysis (SNA) to the Italian tourism system. The research question is: do relationships among tourist enterprises affect the organizational asset of the Italian travel system? The research takes as unit of analysis the Italian travel agencies and tour operators system and represents quite a significant disclosure for organizational theses because it offers a different view over the structure and governance of a hospitality intermediaries’ network. SNA is helpful indetecting genuine proficiency and therefore in foreseeing possible losses determined by poor or inefficient configurations. Furthermore, it will help delineate new roles within the organizational networks and evaluate the relation between formal and informal organizational structures. This paper provides a structural analysis of the Italian travel agencies network and highlights its self-organization characteristics (typical of a complex system) that lead to the development of informal communities. The methods of network science proved useful and effective and, together with more traditional approaches and a qualitative knowledge of the system, can provide a deeper and more extensive understanding of the system.

Social network analysis: organizational implications in tourism management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of how quantitative analysis methods have been and can be used to improve the competitiveness of tourism destination. The focus of the study is social network analysis (SNA). Design/methodology/approach The research methodology is qualitative and consists of the review literature relevant to this thesis. This methodology is necessary to give an account of the methods and the techniques adopted for the data collection used in other economic sectors. Findings SNA is needed to analyze the creation and configuration of communities of practice within destination and to identify possible barriers to effective interaction. Essentially, it is a complex adaptive socio-economic system. It shares many (if not all) of the characteristics usually associated with such entities, namely, non-linear relationships among the components, self-organization and emergence of organizational structures, robustness to external shocks. Research limitations/implications The most important limit of this paper is that all the results presented here do not concern a single case study. Future research studies will provide a larger number of cases and examples to give the necessary validation to the findings presented here. Practical implications This paper provides a view into the network of relationships that may give tourism organization managers a strong leverage to improve the flow of information and to target opportunities where this flow may have the most impact on regulatory or business activities. Originality/value SNA can help to detect actual expertise and consequently project the potential losses deriving from an inefficient flow of knowledge. In addition, the authors will be able to define roles in the organizational networks and make an evaluation of informal organizational structures over the formal ones. Traditional organizational theories lack a concrete correspondence with mathematical studies and in this respect the authors sought to identify a correspondence.

Identification of User Roles in Enterprise Social Networks: Method Development and Application

The importance of gaining insights into informal organizational structures for management purposes is acknowledged by both research and practice. However, “traditional” approaches to analyzing informal organizational social networks involve significant manual effort and do not scale for larger datasets. Enterprise Social Networks (ESN) have emerged as important tools for informal employee interactions, such as for problem-solving and information sharing. While the analysis of ESN back end data might provide insights into the informal fabric of organizations, and in particular employees’ roles in such networks, there is a lack of systematic approaches for carrying out ESN analytics, such as for user role identification. Following a design science research process, a process-based method to identify user roles from ESN data was developed and evaluated. The method’s efficacy is demonstrated through an in-depth application in a case study of Australian professional services firm Deloitte. In doing so the paper shows how ESN data can be utilized to derive metrics that characterize participation behavior, message content, and structural network positions of ESN users.

The impact of digital transformation on formal and informal organizational structures of large architecture and engineering firms

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of digital technologies adoption on the forms of organization of large architecture and engineering (A/E) firms. Network theory has attracted scholarly and managerial attention, particularly from the perspective of the changes of project organization. However, little research focuses on network theory as a lens for understanding and managing the new forms of firms’ organization. Additionally, conventional organizational analyses are hampered by the lack of methods for understanding the changes in roles and relationships due to the adoption of digital technologies and examining their impact on organizational structures.Design/methodology/approachTo address this gap, this research adopted a mixed-method case-study approach. This approach combined interviews, regular check-ins, and document analysis with data mining and social network analysis (SNA) to capture the changes of intra-organizational roles and relationships and for understanding their impact on the firm’s organizational structure. Using the data gathered, the authors created a dendrogram that shows the formal organizational structure, a sociogram that displays the informal organizational structure and a network map that visualizes the interplay between the two structures.FindingsFrom this analysis, the authors identified four main findings: informal roles – as go-to people for advice and information about digital technologies – play within A/E firms facing digital transformation; such go-to people operate through informal networked relationships and beyond their formal roles; most of these relationships do not overlap with the formal reporting relationships; the combination of both these roles and relationships create an informal social network. The authors also show how managers can use SNA to understand the changes in roles and relationships due to the adoption of digital technologies and to diagnose their impact on organizational structures.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the literature of organizational design and change management from a network perspective in the context of the digital transformation of large A/E firms. It provides a systematic data-driven approach to understanding the changes of intra-organizational roles and relationships within A/E firms facing digital transformation and to diagnosing the impact of these changes on firms’ organizational structures.

Network Analysis: What is it?

This technical note is used in Darden's first year Business Communications course. This technical note examines the organizational structure of the network and provides a brief introduction to network analysis: What is it? Why do it? What are the implications? How can companies best implement it to highlight the strengths and power of networks and minimize the flaws and fragilities? Excerpt UVA-BC-0247 Rev. Mar. 19, 2013 NETWORK ANALYSIS: WHAT IS IT? Defining Networks Versus Hierarchies: Why You Should Know the Difference Organizations have two kinds of structures, one a formal hierarchy, the other an informal network. The two coexist, are interconnected, and have a symbiotic relationship. Hierarchies are usually obvious and displayed through organizational charts and diagrams. They are a mechanism created to organize a system of problem solving and reporting. Hierarchies have a tight control on behavior and rarely change in design. The main purpose of hierarchies is to simplify complex problems and find solutions. Hierarchies are usually very rigid, with determined and strict chains of command. The hierarchical structure often is praised for the way it helps organizations resolve problems. It often receives criticism, however, for restricting employees and stifling their ability to find creative solutions to unexpected problems. Both the strength and the limitation of a hierarchy is its ability to transform complex problems into simple substitutes. In contrast, networks are informal organizational structures with few formal constraints on behavior. They are based on relationships, built on trust and the reciprocal exchange of information and communication. When forming a network, people often seek out others who are similar to them in both appearance and how they think and view the world. These similarities allow groups to form bonds of trust more quickly but can result in the creation of exclusionary groups. These networks are fragile because all the power is concentrated in one group—which also means all the vulnerability is focused in that group. For example, if a relationship within the network fails and a person leaves the organization, a wealth of knowledge goes with him or her. . . .

The microfoundations of human resources management in US public schools

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the extent to which human resources (HR) decision making is influenced by the social context of school systems. More specifically, this study draws upon organizational theory focussed on the microfoundations of organizations as a lens identify key aspects of school HR decision making at the district and school level. Design/methodology/approach – Interview data were collected from district-level HR directors and local union presidents across 11 districts in Michigan and Indiana. The interviews provided information on the formal and informal aspects HR management. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed, and the constant comparative method was used to move from initial codes to higher levels of abstraction (Miles and Huberman, 1994; Strauss and Corbin, 1990). Multiple data collection methods were utilized to help validate the interview data that were collected (Stake, 2004). Findings – The key findings show that social relationships, particularly at the school level, influence the distribution of teachers within a district. The findings support the need for closer attention to be given to the social dynamics of school systems and the impact this has on HR decision making, particular with regard to the influence of informal organizational structures and day-to-day interactions within systems. Originality/value – The current body of research does not fully attend conceptually or empirically to the broader social context of a school system which shape HR decisions. Specifically, researchers and practitioners need to further address the ways that the social dynamics of school systems shape administrative decision making with regard to HR management.

Doing the Organizational Tango: Symbiotic Relationship between Formal and Informal Organizational Structures for an Agile Organization

This paper reports on research with a broad objective to examine the relationship between two organizational entities, the formally structured organization and informal organizational structures, in a changing operational environment, more specifically during military deployments. The paper draws on organizational and complexity paradigms; based on empirical evidence obtained through qualitative techniques, it describes mechanisms that enable a symbiotic relationship between these two organizational structures in a complex operational landscape. Substantive findings provide insights into the dynamics of the interactions between these structures and illuminate the relationship between three enabling factors – accountability, responsible autonomy, and command and control arrangements – that need to be considered to fully exploit the strengths inherent in both formal and informal structures. Based on these findings, a model for enhancement of organizational agility in response to changes in a complex operational environment is described. The model is predicated on feedback and mutual adjustment of the organization, institution and individual through sensemaking; it illustrates the dynamic nature of interactions that are required for such a response.

Financing of Innovation Strategies in Emerging Economies

While finance is a critical input to the innovative process, it is often difficult to obtain, particularly in developing economies with less well-developed financial markets. As innovation is a central driver of growth, it is therefore important for policymakers to understand how different sources of financing may affect innovation. Extant literature emphasizes the relative importance of internal versus debt financing for innovative activity for firms in developed economies, yet the effect on innovation inclusive of other sources of external finance that may be particularly important in the developing context (such as informal financing) remain relatively unknown. This paper investigates the relationship between firms’ external capital sourcing and innovative activity in a large sample of developing economy enterprises. Contrary to the established literature that focuses largely on the impact of internal financing, we argue that external financing plays a central role in financing innovative activity in developing economies, particularly for more difficult to fund innovative activity. Results using instrumental variables estimation across a wide set of economies and a series of robustness checks for endogeneity indicate that a one standard deviation increase in external financing leads to a 28 percent increase in the probability of firm innovation, a magnitude far exceeding prior estimates of the relationship between external financing and innovation in the developed context. We also find that equity financing is a more salient driver of innovative activity for firms, even though most developing economies are bank-centered. These effects are larger for less tangible innovative processes and for firms facing greater a priori obstacles to innovation such as smaller and younger firms, and those with informal organizational structures. Altogether, these results imply that the provision of government incentives to private investors (including family and friends) for equity investment in innovative activity may be an effective development policy tool.

A Study of Organizational Citizenship Behaviours, Organizational Structures and Open Innovation

With increasing technological advances, the need to create not only innovations but faster innovation has become a part of sustaining or gaining competitive advantage. Open innovation paradigm answers this need by utilizing larger resources and expertise that firms involved in the open innovation process offer. Given the recency of the concept of open innovation, the factors that influence the creation of open innovation are hazy. Most of the research on open innovation looks at the hard aspects of organizations, while the soft issues stand less researched. This conceptual paper draws attention to two such aspects of organization: organizational citizenship behaviour and organizational structure. This paper proposes that practicing organizational citizenship behaviours by the employees enhances the chances of creation of open innovation while not doing so can botch up the whole exercise particularly during the infancy stage. It is also proposed that informal organizational structures favour creation of innovation in the open innovation paradigm more than the rigid formal structures. It is further argued that besides proper citizenship behaviours and informal structures, firms need to achieve strategic resonance with suppliers and customers to create successful open innovation. Propositions are developed, managerial implications underscored and future research directions highlighted.

An agent-based approach for structured modeling, analysis and improvement of safety culture

Safety culture is broadly recognized as important for operational safety in various fields, including air traffic management, power plant control and health care. Previous studies addressed characterization and assessment of safety culture extensively. Nevertheless, relations between safety culture and formal and informal organizational structures and processes are yet not well understood. To address this gap, a new, formal, agent-based approach is proposed. This paper shows the application of the approach to an air navigation service provider, including structured modeling, analysis and identification of improvement strategies for the organizational safety culture. The model results have been validated using safety culture data that had been achieved by an independent safety culture survey study.

Organisational Structure: Some Observations on the Importance of Informal Advice and Trust Networks

Formal and informal organisational structures are inter-dependent entities that contribute to the firm’s working environment—an interdependence that reflects cross-employee relationships. The formal organisational structure is prescribed and understood, whilst informal networks are by definition difficult to identify. Indeed, the ability of workers in an organisation to share data, information and know-how can be enhanced through the existence of well-formed but undocumented informal networks. Informal networks are a potential conduit that allows workplace project initiatives to be streamlined, can inform and improve decision-making and provide support for individual-to-individual information or knowledge exchanges. This paper uses the theoretical literature to examine the notion of organisational structure and relates how informal networks are an important element in underpinning the firm’s cohesion and performance. The advice and trust networks are examined with some of the potential positive impacts of each informal entity on the firm being noted.

Notice of retraction: Outward knowledge transfer: the impact of project-based organization on performance

Recently, interfirm knowledge transactions have increased although many firms experience major managerial difficulties in outward knowledge transfer, e.g. technology licensing. To reduce the traditional underemphasis on empirical research into corporate outward knowledge transfer, we use data from 152 firms to test four hypotheses relating firms’ outward knowledge transfer performance to two types of project-based organization, which complement formal and informal organizational structures: projects that are directed at identifying knowledge transfer opportunities and projects that are directed at implementing outward knowledge transfer. The results underscore the benefits from both types of projects, and their positive interaction further contributes to explaining the discrepancies between some successful firms in managing outward knowledge transfer and many others.