Recent research has shown that formal organizational activities are a significant factor in the f... more Recent research has shown that formal organizational activities are a significant factor in the formation of interpersonal ties within intraorganizational networks. Working together on a specific task or working together on the same team provides a new focus that can create new ties or enrich existing ones, while the dissolution of a focus jeopardizes the relationships among the members it united. This paper argues that such conclusions are premature, because seemingly formal organizational foci prescribe activities but do not prescribe who performs them jointly with whom, leaving space for members’ matching through social interactions. Little is known about how homophily, propinquity, and preexisting ties operate in foci where joint activities are strictly exogenous to social interactions. We set up an experiment in which individuals and the preexisting ties among them are randomly assigned to new foci of joint learning activities. The experiment takes place in a large Russian retail bank whose leadershi...
Across the world, policy makers are encouraging the deployment of large quantities of distributed... more Across the world, policy makers are encouraging the deployment of large quantities of distributed energy resources (DERs), including photovoltaics (PVs) and battery energy storage, to mitigate the effects of climate change and implement resiliency-enhancing grid technologies. As part of this effort, many have emphasized the potential value that DERs can provide directly to the distribution grid, thereby increasing their total social, environmental, and infrastructure value stack. However, these same DERs pose integration challenges to electric utilities, particularly as utilities seek to ensure that grid benefits can be affordably and equitably leveraged by all communities the utilities serve. Fairly and accurately quantifying the value that each DER provides to the grid is critical to developing a sustainable economic model for the integration of future DERs.
We offer the first field experiment showing how job assignments create social ties at work and in... more We offer the first field experiment showing how job assignments create social ties at work and influence their persistence. Pairs of managers were assigned at random to project teams. We show that once those pairs work together and become interdependent, they are more likely to create informal relationships (friendships and advice ties). Interdependence also increases the persistence of the informal ties that existed prior to team assignments; the magnitude of this effect decreases with tie strength. As organizations extend their use of teamwork, they also create and maintain social networks across functional and geographic boundaries. Thus, transitory project teams forge an enduring organizational legacy.
Recent research has shown that formal organizational activities are a significant factor in the f... more Recent research has shown that formal organizational activities are a significant factor in the formation of interpersonal ties within intraorganizational networks. Working together on a specific task or working together on the same team provides a new focus that can create new ties or enrich existing ones, while the dissolution of a focus jeopardizes the relationships among the members it united. This paper argues that such conclusions are premature, because seemingly formal organizational foci prescribe activities but do not prescribe who performs them jointly with whom, leaving space for members’ matching through social interactions. Little is known about how homophily, propinquity, and preexisting ties operate in foci where joint activities are strictly exogenous to social interactions. We set up an experiment in which individuals and the preexisting ties among them are randomly assigned to new foci of joint learning activities. The experiment takes place in a large Russian retail bank whose leadershi...
Across the world, policy makers are encouraging the deployment of large quantities of distributed... more Across the world, policy makers are encouraging the deployment of large quantities of distributed energy resources (DERs), including photovoltaics (PVs) and battery energy storage, to mitigate the effects of climate change and implement resiliency-enhancing grid technologies. As part of this effort, many have emphasized the potential value that DERs can provide directly to the distribution grid, thereby increasing their total social, environmental, and infrastructure value stack. However, these same DERs pose integration challenges to electric utilities, particularly as utilities seek to ensure that grid benefits can be affordably and equitably leveraged by all communities the utilities serve. Fairly and accurately quantifying the value that each DER provides to the grid is critical to developing a sustainable economic model for the integration of future DERs.
We offer the first field experiment showing how job assignments create social ties at work and in... more We offer the first field experiment showing how job assignments create social ties at work and influence their persistence. Pairs of managers were assigned at random to project teams. We show that once those pairs work together and become interdependent, they are more likely to create informal relationships (friendships and advice ties). Interdependence also increases the persistence of the informal ties that existed prior to team assignments; the magnitude of this effect decreases with tie strength. As organizations extend their use of teamwork, they also create and maintain social networks across functional and geographic boundaries. Thus, transitory project teams forge an enduring organizational legacy.
Increasingly, conscientious consumers and green marketers are recognizing that material things, n... more Increasingly, conscientious consumers and green marketers are recognizing that material things, not firms, must be made responsible. Even so, many scholars in ethics, sustainability, and governance focus on people and organizations, ignoring the flows of things. In this book, Ryan Burg argues that material things are fundamental features of moral life, serving as both valuable instruments and guides for responsibility. Unless care is taken for these non-living entities, living things cannot be protected. Viewing the global economy as a network of material transfers, Burg argues that to facilitate object care, professionals must act as stewards. By tracing the origins and disposal of workplace objects through this material network, businesses and employees can discover the outcomes for which they are responsible, and managers can align ethics, sustainability and governance with a truly global formulation of responsibility.
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