Leveraging Social Networks for Results

Leveraging Networks for Tangible Results Dr. Robin Teigland Stockholm School of Economics [email_address] www.knowledgenetworking.org

Everyone is talking about networks National Innovation Networks Formal Networks Entrepreneurial Networks Ego Networks Regional Networks Infrastructure Networks Social Networks FAS.research Electronic Networks Informal Networks Networks of Practice Networked organization

A world of rapidly growing knowledge …. Growth Time Information and knowledge Human absorptive capacity Cohen & Levinthal 1989

A world of rapidly growing knowledge …. > One week in 2007 A person’s lifetime in 18th century

A world of rapidly growing knowledge …. 50% knowledge relevant 50% knowledge outdated First year of technical-based education Third year of education

....that is increasingly connected new friends family local colleagues old friends old colleagues colleagues at other offices Just a click away… virtual communities local networks old classmates

” No one knows everything,
everyone knows something,
all knowledge resides in humanity.”
networks. Lévy 1997

What is a network? A set of actors connected by ties
Ties/Links
Knowledge, trust, team, sit by, dislike, etc.
Alliance, customer, investment, etc.
Tie
Actors/Nodes
Individuals
Teams, organizations, etc.
Actor

Swedish hip hop artists Liljeros 2006 ?? Timbuktu

Individuals within a firm Mattsson 2004 < 1 yr 1-5 yrs 5-10 yrs 10-15 yrs > 15 yrs Time at firm

Individuals between business firms SEB Ray-Adams & Sandberg 2000 Interlocking directorates of Sweden’s 110 largest public firms, 2000 ??

Networks of firms Dahlin 2007 Nocom Ericsson Telia Nokia TietoEnator

Groups of organizations (Sectors) Teigland et al. 2004 Social interaction in Uppsala Biotech Cluster Government Inter-sector organizations Academia Biotech firms Servicefirms Financial Institutions

Uncovering networks in an organization Teigland et al. 2005 Formal organization Informal organization

Central connectors within one location Bottleneck  Teigland 1998 Surprise!! Stockholm

Boundary spanners between locations Stockholm London Brussels Helsinki Madrid Copenhagen Transferred from Stockholm Teigland 1998 San Francisco

Trust & reciprocity are essential for knowledge exchange in networks

Peripheral players between organizations San Francisco Stockholm London Brussels Helsinki Madrid Copenhagen Teigland 1998 Other firms Electronic communities

Dual loyalties Loyalty Loyalty Organization Professional network

Increasing job turnover Time Number of jobs in lifetime Estimated time at one organization in Silicon Valley: ~18 months

What about performance? Firm A High creative Low on-time High on-time Low creative Teigland 2003 High creative Virtual community Firm B

The strength of weak ties Network A’s knowledge Network D’s knowledge Network B’s knowledge Network C’s knowledge Granovetter 1973

Two divisions within Sundlink (Öresund Bridge) Section 1 Section 2 Improved efficiency over time Stagnant performance over time Schenkel & Teigland 2007

Comparing across firms Teigland et al 2000

Hewlett-Packard (1990s)
Networking activities recognized and rewarded at individual and unit levels
Management support for informal and formal networking activities across internal and external boundaries
Extensive socialization : personnel rotation, cross-office teams
A visionary organization
Clearly defined mission: ”To make technical contributions for the advancement and welfare of humanity”
Supporting core values, e.g., teamwork
Company-wide goal of World’s Best Laboratory

Other network outcomes?
Individual level
Improved effectiveness
Improved job opportunities
Higher salaries
Faster promotions
Increased influence & power
Improved health
Organizational level
Organizational learning
Improved innovation
Increased sales
Decreased employee turnover
Painting by Idahlia Stanley

Myths about networks
I already know what is going on in my network
We can’t do much to help informal networks
To build networks, you have to communicate more
Adapted from Cross et al. 2002

More social get-togethers and coffee breaks are not the solution

“Managing” networks in your organization Before After Anklam & Welch 2005 1. Uncover networks 2. Analyze networks 3. Improve connectedness

When you hire someone,… … ..you “hire” his or her network.

Encourage an open innovation attitude Not all the smart people work for us. We need to work with smart people inside and outside the company. The smart people in our field work for us. If you create the most and the best ideas in the industry, you will win. If you make the best use of internal and external ideas, you will win. Closed attitude Open attitude Chesborough 2003

So, what does this mean for you?
An actor’s position in a social network, i.e., social capital, determines in part the actor’s opportunities and constraints
Casper & Murray 2002 German biotech scientists

What can you do?
Where do you sit?
With whom do you eat lunch?
With whom do you socialize?
To which communities, networks do you belong?
Think strategically…
How are decisions made in your organization?
What information flows would you like to be in?
What resources will you need in the future?

Develop participation in a variety of networks Strong ties Weak ties Outside organization Inside organization SOCNET

Start your own network Swedish International Business School Alumni Network (SIBSAN) Stanford GSB Alumni Club Nobel Laureates Government Ministers Stanford

But…….
“ Lika barn leka bäst”
People find similar people attractive and develop relations with people like themselves
Our networks tend to be homogeneous
and not heterogeneous
Marsden 1987, Burt 1990

Go meet someone different

Make yourself easy to find - Create a live CV
Blog
blogger, livejournal, typepad, wordpress, etc.
Social software
LinkedIn
Shortcut
ecademy
Media
Slideshare.net
Flickr.com
YouTube.com

Myths and reality checks
I already know what is going on in my network
Those who think they know their network the best are usually the ones who know the least
We can’t do much to help informal networks
Informal networks can be “managed” through changing the organizational context
To build networks, you have to communicate more
Networks can be strategically developed
Adapted from Cross et al. 2002

The positive spiral of social networks tschaut’s photos Contribution Reciprocity Accumulation Value

References and acknowledgements
Books
Barabási, Linked: The New Science of Networks . Perseus, 2002
Castells, The Rise of the Network Society . Blackwell, 2000
Cross & Parker, The Hidden Power of Social Networks . Harvard Business School, 2004
Gladwell, The Tipping Point . Abacus, 2001
Scott, Social Network Analysis . Sage, 2000
Teigland, Knowledge Networking , SSE, 2003
Teten & Allen, The Virtual Handshake . Creative Commons, 2007
Homepages
Stephen Bird, people.bu.edu/sbird
Steve Borgatti, www.socialnetworkanalysis.com
Rob Cross, www.robcross.org
International Network for Social Network Analysis http://www.insna.org/
David Krackhardt, www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/krack/index.shtml
Valdis Krebs, www.orgnet.com
Fredrik Liljeros, www.sociology.su.se/home/Liljeros/index.html
James Moody, www.soc.duke.edu/~jmoody77/presentations/index.htm
Giancarlo Oriani, www.informalorg.eu (In Italian)
Barry Wellman, www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman/

Go network! Thanks!!!

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Leveraging Social Networks for Results

by Robin Teigland on Apr 18, 2007

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