Session 8: Managing innovation networks

Question 1

What is the definition of social capital?

Answer 1

Social capital is the goodwill engendered by social relations that can be mobilized to facilitate action.

Question 2

What can the social capital do?

Answer 2

1. Draw upon resources, advice or support.
2. Obtain valuable information that others do not have.
3. Gain access to right people through referrals.

Question 3

What’s the value of the social capital?

Answer 3

Can contribute to:

1. Innovation
2. Creativity
3. Job effectiveness
4. Status
5. Income

Question 4

Example of advice seeing in PSFs

Answer 4

PSFs compete on the basis of their ability to solve clients problems

Solutions to those ‘wicked problems’ need to be found in limited time and with limited resources

Many of those problems are multidimensional and require the recombination of diverse sets of knowledge

Developing these solutions requires the ability to successfully draw upon the skills and knowledge of colleagues

Question 5

What are the three key network analytic measures?

Answer 5

1. Boundary spanning
2. Homophily
3. Brokerage and closure

Question 6

Why are exchange networks important and hence boundary spanning ties?

Answer 6

Exchange networks consisting of people that differ in their knowledge, skills and ideas form the seedbed in which the recombination process takes place.

Question 7

What are the advantages of within discipline links as social capital?

Answer 7

1. A shared disciplinary background creates common ground that facilitates interaction and collaboration.
2. A shared disciplinary background may help the exchange of complex information.

Question 8

What are the advantages of boundary spanning links as social capital?

Answer 8

1. Spanning boundaries provides access to knowledge not available in your own discipline and provides opportunities for learning
2. Spanning boundaries enables the cross-fertilization of ideas from different backgrounds and thus can facilitate “recombination”.

Question 9

What are the advantages of Homophily links?

Answer 9

1. Similarity breeds trust, which in turn may stimulate exchange of more sensitive information
2. Similarity breeds familiarity, which make people feel more comfortable in their day-to-day interactions
3. Similarity creates a reference group again which you compare your own abilities and views.

Question 10

What are the advantages of Heterophily links?

Answer 10

1. Diversity creates a greater awareness of the views and perspectives of others and thus may offer new perspectives on how to solve problems
2. Diversity challenges deeply ingrained assumptions and views that people may have built through engagement with similar others.

Question 11

What are the advantages of closure as social capital?

Answer 11

1. trust-based, intensive knowledge exchange

2. possibility to cross-check information through indirect channels

Question 12

What are the advantages of structural holes as social capital?

Answer 12

1. efficient knowledge transmission throughout the network
2. unique access to knowledge for nodes at bridges
3. the power to act at the “nexus” of diverse information

Question 13

Who are Low self-monitors?

Answer 13

True-to-themselves low self- monitors present themselves consistently in different social situations.

Question 14

Who are High self-monitors?

Answer 14

Chameleon-like self-monitors adapt their self-presentation to the demands of different groups or situations.

Helps brokerage, boundary- spanning, and heterophily

Question 15

Social networks key learning points

Answer 15

1. Social networks describe the relationships among sets of nodes (e.g. individuals,
   organizations).
2. Networks are a form of social capital that provides access to knowledge and
   resources, which in turn can facilitate creativity and innovation.
3. There is a debate whether brokerage or closure is more beneficial for innovation: brokerage secures access to diverse information, whereas closure generates a high- trust environment.
4. Often the novelty associated with brokerage is beneficial for idea generation, whereas the trust associated with closure fosters the implementation of ideas.
5. Individuals have strong tendencies to associate with others who are similar to them (homophily). Such tendencies may need to be overcome to maintain access to diverse perspectives.
6. Interaction within (disciplinary) boundaries benefits from common ground which facilitates in-depth interaction, but spanning such boundaries offers greater potential for accessing novel information.

Question 16

Organizations have three main levers through which they can build transactive memory in their organization:

Answer 16

“Knowledge about who knows what”

1. Lever 1: Expertise location systems
2. Lever 2: Office lay-outs
3. Levers 3: Project membership (Job rotation key mechanism)

Question 17

What is the definition of transactive memory?

Answer 17

An organization’s transactive memory is the aggregate knowledge of employees of who knows what in the organization.

Question 18

Organizations can build transactive memory through influencing:

Answer 18

1. Implementation knowledge management systems
2. office layouts
3. patterns of work (job rotation and flexible project membership

Question 19

Key learning points in Managing Networks

Answer 19

An organization’s transactive memory is the aggregate knowledge of employees of who knows what in the organization.

When seeking advice from colleagues, they look for someone with enough overlapping expertise to have common ground to ease communication, but also enough non- overlapping expertise to maintain scope for novelty.

Organizations can build transactive memory through influencing:
• Implementation knowledge management systems
• office layouts
• patterns of work (job rotation and flexible project membership