Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemStructural Logic of Intraorganizational Networks(INFORMS, 2010-05-01)In this study we examine the structural logic underlying complex intraorganizational networks. Drawing on different propositions about structural regularities in networks and using a comparative case study, we empirically investigate the structural logic of collaborative networks for the strategic decision process in two German corporations. In both organizations, data were gathered on cooperative relationships between all managers belonging to the top two management levels. We model structural regularities at the dyadic and the extradyadic level by applying a class of multivariate exponential random graph models. Our findings contribute to the existing literature in three ways: (1) Although networks are particularly likely to exhibit some types of structural regularities (e.g., reciprocity and transitivity), there are other relational forms such as cycles that seem to be of limited relevance. (2) Structural regularities are not limited to a single type of relation but may comprise instrumental and affective relational ties simultaneously. (3) An organization's formal cooperation structure has surprisingly limited influence on the structural patterns of cooperation, whereas friendship ties are embedded in managers' regular interaction patterns in many different ways.
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ItemPerceived acceptance and work standards as predictors of work attitudes and behavior and employee psychological distress following an internal business merger(EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LIMITED, 2010-01-01)Purpose This study aims to test the relationship between two measures of sociocultural adjustment (perceived acceptance and work standard) with work attitudes and behavior and with psychological distress following an internal merger of two previously distinct working groups within the one business. Design/methodology/approach A field study, using a cross‐sectional design, was used to assess the reactions of 250 employees (host employees=170; relocated employees=80) who had undergone an internal merger within a communications company. Findings Perceived acceptance and work standards following the merger were significantly related to work attitudes and behavior for both the host and the relocated employees. There was no direct relationship between perceived acceptance and work standards with psychological distress. However, work attitudes and behavior were found to mediate the indirect effect of perceived acceptance and work standards on psychological distress. Research limitations/implications The findings must be considered within the limitations of the study which include the use of a cross‐sectional design and testing within one business setting. Practical implications The research suggests that ensuring that employees from both pre‐merger groups are assisted in feeling accepted in the new culture and that both groups are giving support and resources to maintain work standards are important factors in managing post‐merger integration. Originality/value The study is the first to empirically test Berry's concepts of sociocultural adjustment, neutrality and asymmetry within an internal business merger.
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ItemManufacturing relations: An empirical study of the organization of production across multiple networks(INFORMS, 2006)Organizational communities present two generic features that are recurrently documented in empirical studies, but only imperfectly accounted for in current models of interorganizational relations. The first is the tendency of participant organizations to construct observed macrostructure locally, through relational activities that involve only a small subset of possible network ties. The second is the tendency for different types of ties to overlap, concatenate, and induce a variety of local structures - or relational motifs - across network domains. A critical task in the analysis of organizational communities is to specify appropriate local dependence structures across multiple networks, starting from detailed observation of dyadic interaction among participants. In this paper we illustrate one way in which this analytical task might be accomplished in the context of a study of interorganizational networks. We use data that we have collected on different types of relationships among 106 organizations, located in Southern Italy, involved in the production of means of transportation to test hypotheses about patterns of local network ties and paths across multiple networks. Our empirical analysis is guided by the general claim that the formation of network ties is subject to endogenous and exogenous processes. We specify statistical models for random graphs that allow us to examine this claim, and to formulate and test specific hypotheses about the form that such network-based processes might take. The results that we report provide clear empirical support for the relational motifs implied by our hypotheses. We also find strong empirical support for the proposition that interorganizational dependencies extend across multiple networks.